London is generally a very safe city, but like any big city, there are definitely some areas to avoid in London that I would recommend you to take into account.
Actually, deciding which neighborhoods and which areas are the most conflictive in London is not an easy task, since it is a fairly subjective opinion, but although it is difficult to generalize there are some London neighborhoods that have a bad reputation in London. Among the places that I am going to name below as places to avoid in London, are the neighborhoods that have had increasing crime rates in recent years, neighborhoods with a bad reputation, or simply places that I would not recommend to my friends to live in London or to visit London at night for example.
As I mentioned, all this can be quite subjective, and we must not forget that within the same neighborhood there can be very good areas and bad areas… And there are people who live in these neighborhoods known as troubled neighborhoods in London who would disagree with me!
Take a look at our article where to stay in London if you are looking for a safe area to choose a hotel in London.
What will you find in this article?
Non-hazardous areas in London
If you are going to visit London, the truth is that I have to say that London is really a safe city. Central London and the more touristy parts of the city are always packed with people, and I have to say I haven’t felt unsafe walking the streets of London late in the morning. But, as in any city, I recommend being careful if you are going to party at night.
soho _London is located in the very center of the city, next to the most famous shopping streets in London Oxford Street and Regent Street, and although it is known as a troubled area, the truth is that I have never considered it to be particularly dangerous. During the day there is absolutely no problem to walk around this area, as it is full of restaurants, cafes, boutiques and above all full of people in any corner. There is a small area of Soho in particular where the lively bars are located and another area with erotic shops or sex shops, but these are not dangerous areas during the day at all, and it is very easy to identify them. So if you go with children for example and you don’t want to have to give explanations about the books that are in the windows of some of these stores,Carnaby Street is part of Soho, and you cannot miss it if you are going to travel to London, and it is not dangerous even if you go at night. The Soho area in London at night becomes the quintessential area for dining, cocktails and partying. The best thing is that it is always full of people, and I don’t consider it dangerous either. We ourselves usually go to Soho for dinner and a drink and it has never seemed dangerous to me. Obviously, the only thing I can say is that as the night progresses, the number of people intoxicated by high levels of alcohol in the blood increases, as in any drinking area…
Other places in the tourist center such as Covent Garden or Leicester Square are also usually full of people until the wee hours of the morning, for the simple fact that there are many restaurants and bars in these areas. The area of Westminster where Big Ben and Westminster Abbey are is also not an area that I would consider dangerous, and the walk along the river bank called Southbank , by the London Eye area is also a safe area at night in my opinion . .
London areas that are safe during the day, but best avoided at night
There are some areas of London that I recommend visiting during the day but that I do not recommend for walking at night , and by this I mean night really, in the afternoon there are no problems. Like for example the Brick Lane flea market area , although there are websites that recommend tourists to go to Brick Lane for dinner, personally it is not something I would recommend and I think that if you want to visit Brick Lane it is better to do it during the day. The area under London Bridge, where Borough Market is located, it is another area that you cannot miss in London during the day or at sunset, but at night, although it is not unsafe, I do not see why you are going to pass through here, since it is a closed market and there are no shops or restaurants open, so there are usually no people. It is the same thing that I would tell you about Camden Town , the truth is, during the day there are many people thanks to the famous Camden Town market and the many restaurants, cafes and shops in the area, and it is not dangerous at all, and during the afternoon and early I don’t consider it dangerous at night either, but it is true that I wouldn’t recommend going to Camden at night.
What to see in London at night
If you want to know what to do in London at night, take a look at our recommendations. In addition to what to see in London at night, we propose several special plans to make it an unforgettable night and a walking route through the areas that we consider to be the safest in London to see the best of London at night.
Areas to avoid in London
In general, the areas to avoid in London are those areas that for one reason or another can be conflictive. Broadly speaking, different neighborhoods located in the south of London are the ones that Londoners themselves usually avoid to live in to go out at night, so these are the neighborhoods that I am going to name below. Some of these areas have great ethnic diversity, economic and social problems, high unemployment and crime rates.
The Brixton neighborhood is one of the least popular neighborhoods to live in. That said, Brixton Market is one of the places that has caught our attention in London, and I would recommend visiting Brixton and its market during the day, since there are so many people that I do not consider it dangerous. But Brixton would not be the neighborhood that I would recommend to go out for dinner at night, much less the neighborhood where to choose a hotel to visit London.
Other neighborhoods I wouldn’t recommend in South London include Stockwell , Balham , Peckham , Elephant and Castle , Limehouse , Canning Town and Camberwell.
In addition, there are some areas in North London that are not recommended either, such as Finsbury Park , Seven Sisters or Tottenham Hale . We lived for a few years near Finsbury Park and Seven Sisters, and the truth is that I do not consider these areas to be dangerous, and during the day I would not hesitate to walk here, but it is true that at night it can be a bit intimidating stroll through some of these areas. And we all know that when you live in an area you end up getting to know the streets and you learn which are the best streets and the worst streets to walk at night.
To the east of London we find the Hackney area , where we find some of the most fashionable areas of London to go during the day, for its pop-up markets and its trendy cafes and restaurants, but at night it is not one of the best areas making it one of the areas to avoid in London at night.
To the west of London we find other areas that I would surely not recommend and that I think you should avoid in London when looking for accommodation, specifically the areas of North Acton , South Harrow , White City , Harlesden and Willesden Junction .