Dangerous Destinations In London You Should Really Skip On Your Trip

Food, culture, history, entertainment — London truly has it all. Travelers flock from all over to visit this ancient English city, making it one of the most popular destinations in the entire world. But between unmissable attractions like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, and its thousands of restaurants and pubs, London is home to many of the same dangers as any other big city.

Any Londoner who's called the capital home for more than a few months will be able to guide you on the dos and don'ts of staying safe during your visit. If you aren't lucky enough to navigate with a local at your side, we've put together a guide of the areas you may want to avoid with the aid of our own lived experience in the city and some trusty crime stats. Of course, that doesn't make these spots total no-gos. Realistically, you could run into danger anywhere — and you should always remember that touristy areas tend to be hotspots for crimes like petty theft, purely because thieves see out-of-towners as easy targets. Stay vigilant, and you'll make the most of your time in The Big Smoke.

Not so long ago, Oxford Street was the pinnacle of high street shopping — home to flagship stores such as Selfridges, Primark, and the Disney Store. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it's gradually become a shell of its former self. While it's still the busiest shopping street in Europe, an ever-growing number of retail spaces sit abandoned with the likes of Topshop, Debenhams, Miss Selfridge, Adidas, and more packing up shop.

As brands have left the area, it's become increasingly more dangerous. Pickpocketing rates are high on Oxford Street, as are vehicular accidents and lootings. In August 2023, a disturbing TikTok trend saw crowds gather to loot the sports fashion retailer JD Sport. Long before this, a travel advisory was even issued to residents of the United Arab Emirates visiting London, warning them to avoid Oxford Street in general.

Fortunately, you aren't missing out on much if you don't go. Other areas — such as Carnaby Street, Regent Street, or even London's two Westfield malls — provide a much better shopping experience, both in terms of options and atmosphere. Unless you're desperate to shell out £20 on chocolate in one of its many overpriced American candy stores, you're best leaving Oxford Street off your itinerary.

Taylor Swift may sing about enjoying nights in Brixton in "London Boy," but we have our doubts about how much time the songstress has actually spent in the area. While Brixton definitely has a buzzing nightlife scene — and it's far safer today than it was even five years ago — it doesn't have the best reputation come sundown.

Although gang activity has been on the decline in the past decade, there's still been a concerningly high number of drive-by shootings and stabbings in recent years. It also has a notorious history of drug-related crimes. In 2021, a local resident described Brixton to local news outlet My London as a place where "it's literally a big thing to make eye contact with someone, an argument could start from a small thing like that." As with most parts of London, the area around Brixton tube station tends to be one of the dodgiest spots, so it's best to keep your wits about you, especially when traveling at night.

Back in 2013, Lewisham had the unfortunate honor of being named the least peaceful area in the entire United Kingdom. Whether that unwanted title holds up today is up for debate, but it certainly still has a not-so-peaceful reputation.

The borough is packed with students because it's home to Goldsmiths College, University of London. This means that the main streets are almost always buzzing, which can be a comfort. However, New Cross — the area where Goldsmiths is located — does have some of its highest crime rates at 181 per 1,000 people. Lewisham Central and Park fares even worse statistically at 194 per 1,000. The biggest concerns are knife crime and violence. Unless you're a student, your odds of passing through the borough are pretty low. If you do, however, just be sure to have your wits about you and try to avoid any unlit streets at nighttime.

At first glance, Finsbury Park is much like any other popular green space in London. Actual London residents feel differently, however. In 2021, Hackney and Islington residents named Finsbury Park as the area where they felt most unsafe. A real sign of how unsettling people find the park itself — which is delightfully scenic in places — is that in 2022, residents banded together to push for local authorities to introduce measures that would once again make the park "safe to enjoy or travel through, particularly at dusk, dawn and when dark."

While the park gets the worst rep in the area, visitors should also be careful around Finsbury Park Station. In fact, it's one of the tube stations that sees the most theft in all of London, which isn't exactly a landmark anybody puts on their travel itinerary. Metropolitan Police have upped the ante around the station in recent years, sending out more officers to help keep the area safe. However, it's still a good idea to double-check that your bag is zipped up and in sight at all times if you are passing by.

The South London borough is out of the way — especially for tourists — but those who do find themselves dropping by the area's Boxpark or Museum of Croydon should probably note that it has been dubbed one of the most dangerous places not just in London, but the entire country. Its main shopping area, Fairfield, has the highest crime rates, with theft proving to be an issue.

Croydon's biggest issue is, yet again, youth crime. Children as young as 13 have been stabbed in the area. The issue is so bad that a knife arch was installed in a local McDonald's to crack down on violence in 2023, a year that happened to see Croydon's highest number of stabbings since 2018. There are plenty of reasons why violence has spiraled in the area, but a considerable part of it comes down to the fact that Croydon has had to declare bankruptcy three times in recent years — massively destabilizing the local services that exist to get to grips with these issues.

There's much more to an area than its statistics, and Croydon residents have reassured others on r/Croydon that most conflicts tend to happen between gangs or youths. However, there's also a general consensus that East Croydon tends to be safer than West Croydon.

Some of London's best nights out start (or end) in Hackney. Hoxton and Shoreditch are extremely popular areas for lively nightlife and, by day, are also equally popular for their shopping and foodie scenes. However, they're also two of the most dangerous areas in Hackney, with even police officers complaining that they don't feel safe in Shoreditch come nightfall thanks to a rise in alcohol-fuelled violence.

For women in particular, the nightlife poses another risk: drink-spiking. While it's rare, female patrons of local bars, clubs, and restaurants have reported numerous serious incidents. You shouldn't leave your drink unaccompanied anywhere in London, but it's worth being extra careful. There are also plenty of nifty gadgets that can help you identify a spiked drink, such as testing strips and wristbands. Theft is also common, with Shoreditch proving to be another popular spot for phone swiping both out on the streets and in clubs.

To break down the most dangerous spots in London, we drew on our own personal experiences of living in the city and combined them with the cold, hard statistics. Crime stats available through the Metropolitan Police are some of the biggest indicators of whether an area is safe or not, as are public posts on websites such as Reddit and Tripadvisor from those who have either visited or live in the area.

Of course, this isn't an exhaustive list — and the definition of a 'dangerous' area isn't always black and white. The reality is that London is a big, bustling city, home to millions of people and attracting millions more visitors each year. Some people live in areas viewed as dangerous for their entire lifetime and face no trouble. Others may visit once and stumble into bad luck. The places on this list are those with more recorded details of theft, violence, antisocial behavior, and other crimes.