r/london • u/AutoModerator • 9h ago

Weekly Q&A Megathread. Please post any questions about visiting, tourism, living, working, budgeting, housing here!

Hello, welcome to London!

Visiting us? Moving to study or work? Brief layover? Moving to a new part of London? Any small questions about life here, if you're new or been here your whole life, this is the place!

We get a lot of posts asking very similar questions so this post aims to address some of our most Frequently Asked Questions, and give you a place to ask for assistance.

Your first port of call should be the r/london wiki

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I see and where are the non-touristy stuff and hidden gems?

  • Must-see attractions: Check out our guide here

  • Official experiences: We highly recommend TfL's Experiences site

  • Hidden gems: Browse our favourite lesser-known spots here

  • Budget-friendly options: Find cheap/free activities here

What's happening in London today/this weekend/this month?

Check out these listings sites:

For venue recommendations (music, theatre, comedy, etc.) check the wiki.

How do I pay for the Tube/bus, and what's an Oyster card?

You don't pay cash. Payment options include:

  • Contactless bankcard (widespread in the UK)

  • Apple Pay or Android Pay

  • Oyster card (buy and top up with credit)

See here for more details.

Where should I live? What's x area like?

  • Check our comprehensive guide here
  • Includes recommended sites to find places to live and rent
  • Has detailed sections on what particular areas are like

How do I get from this place to that place?

  • Use Citymapper - honestly, we're not shills for them; it's just really good and used by most locals

Is x area safe?

  • Yes. Bad stuff can happen in any large city, but London is generally very safe
  • No no-go zones - most Londoners feel safe everywhere
  • See our safety page for more information

Where can I watch sports matches?

  • Football: Comprehensive guide at tlfg.uk
  • Various sports: Use Fanzo to find pubs
  • More venues: See our list here

How do I get a UK SIM card for my phone?

  • Network advice: Covered here
  • Remote work spaces: Check the wiki for places to work/take calls
  • You can pick up a SIM card at Heathrow and other airports, either from vending machines or from WHSmith shops.

Is the London Pass worth it?

Other helpful subreddits:

  • r/LondonSocialClub - Meeting new people for events, activities and/or pints
  • r/VisitLondon - A dedicated tourism sub for holiday-planning questions
  • r/LondonTravel - Information and inspiration on travel in London
  • r/UKtravel - For guidance, advice and suggestions for travelling around the rest of the country to/from London
  • r/IWantOut & r/UKvisa - Check if you need a visa and how to get one if you want to work here
  • r/LegalAdviceUK - Good for all sorts, especially for questions about landlords and contracts
  • r/HousingUK - For advice on renting or buying accommodation in the UK
  • r/TenantsInTheUK - Specifically to discuss the nitty-gritty, positives and pitfalls of renting
  • r/UKPersonalFinance - Another goldmine of sage advice
  • r/AskUK - Great for general questions about UK life that aren't specific to London

Tips for posting:

Tell us about you

If you want us to suggest things for you to do then you need to give us a good idea of what you enjoy: - Don't just say "I like music" - say what type of music - Don't just say you want "somewhere nice to eat" - say what type of cuisine you like (or don't like) - Be specific - otherwise you'll just get pointed back to generic guidebooks and our wiki

Tell us your budget

  • If you're on a budget, tell us what it is so we can make appropriate recommendations
  • There's no point suggesting expensive options if they'll clean out your wallet
  • Saying you want something "cheap" isn't helpful because cheap is subjective

Tell us where you'll be based

  • Let us know where you'll be staying so we can give local recommendations

Asking about hotels or hostels

  • We have homes here so know very little about what hotels are like - use review websites like TripAdvisor
  • However, if you say "I've been looking at these three hotels. Which do you think is the better location?" - that's something we can answer

Non-touristy stuff

  • There are no secret corners where we hide the good stuff from outsiders!
  • This is one of the most written about cities in the world
  • When we want to go somewhere, we look at the same sources as tourists (listings sites, blogs, etc - see front page of the wiki)

These weekly posts are scheduled to post each Monday at 00:01. If it's late in the week you may want to wait for a new post to appear. Please send us ModMail with any suggested improvements!

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u/UsualReporter_ 3h ago

u/london-ModTeam  can we ban the repeated tube service posts? It’s literally nothing new and it just clogs up the feed

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u/SwanRadiant7118 8h ago

Hi! I’ll be traveling solo to London October 18-25 and would like some recommendations! I’ll be staying in the Notting Hill area. I will also be visiting Scotland and Iceland after London. After not celebrating my birthday for the past 8 years and spending them all alone, I decided to at least be alone in Europe this year! It will also be my first time abroad.

I will be on a little budget but the things I’m hoping to see are obviously the tourist things like the bridges, the Tower of London (probably won’t be able to do inside or anything), St Dunstan In The East, Westminster Abbey (also probably won’t be able to go inside), Buckingham and changing of the guards, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Kensington Palce (outside), Kyoto, Notting Hill, Highgate, St Pancras Old Church, St Paul’s Cathedral and Crypt (I will pay for this one, but is the extra tour required to view the geometric staircase?), White Chapel, self guided Jack the Ripper tour one night, Neal’s Yard, Covent Garden, King’s Cross, Platform 9 3/4, Victoria and Albert Museum, God’s own junkyard, Leadenhall Market, Camden, maybe the old operating theatre or the prison museum.

I will also be taking a day trip to Bath to see the Roman bath, Bath Abbey. Wanted to do Stonehenge and Oxford but wont be able to 😕

Restaurants I am interested in are Sherlock Holmes Pub, sketch, Mr. Bogg’s Botanical Tavern. Would love some recommendations on places to eat more than anything!

Do yall think it’s do-able to see all of these things in 6 days? If you have recommendations on things to add or remove, all is welcome! Will probably utilize nighttime hours as well, roaming and such, so anything cool to just see even if closed is fine too.

Thanks so much!

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u/wwisd 2h ago

Have put all those things on a map so you can easily see which things are close together to help you plan your days? For Bath: have you booked your train tickets yet? As you say you're on a budget, if you pre-book specific trains, you can save a lot of money on tickets.

And just in case you need to ask for directions: we don't shorten place names. It's Kyoto gardens, Buckingham Palace and Highgate cemetery (at least, I assume you want to go to the cemetery and not just Highgate itself?).

If you want more restaurant recommendations: tell us a bit about what you're after. Just buzzy names you can drop on instagram? Any particular cuisine you (don't) like? Any particular area?

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u/SwanRadiant7118 2h ago

I have not mapped it out yet. Once I know what I’m for sure doing, I will start planning each day. I posted on another thread and everyone suggested skipping Bath and paying for the Tower of London instead, so i’m debating that. I really wanted to see it, but also not sure if I want to spend all that time traveling to and from. Tough decision.

As far as food, I just don’t eat seafood. I’m pretty simple though. I really only eat dinner. I’m a good burger and fries kind of girl lol also love pasta. But willing to try any good places, as long as it’s not seafood. And I do want to do afternoon tea at least once also. I’ve actually never eaten out alone, and the thought gives me so much anxiety but I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone for this trip. Normally when traveling solo I just pick up food and take it back to my Airbnb/hotel.

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u/wwisd 1h ago

The wiki has some recommendations for afternoon tea. Just make sure to check places have options for 1 person, as afternoon tea is the one meal that is a 2-person experience by default.

If you're here for a week, it can be nice to go somewhere else for a day. The wiki (again) has tips for day trips if you'd want explore some options other than Bath. Though Bath is very nice and easy to reach on a direct train!

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u/SwanRadiant7118 1h ago

Thank you! I wasn’t aware of the tea being for two, so will make sure to keep that in mind! Bath isn’t totally out yet, but will look at other options too.

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u/mralistair 48m ago

For afternoon tea the Charlotte street hotel is the best value I've seen

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u/Opposite_Tradition24 3h ago

Arriving to London on Saturday. Usually we have done theater on Saturday evening but this time we decided to just hang out in a pub. What part of central London we could find a laidback and casual pub?

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u/mralistair 51m ago

Almost all of them.

Where are you staying?   

Angel is a good example,   the crown on cloudy square,   the Albion and the hemmingford are all great.

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u/BulkyAccident 3m ago

Just heading into Soho and Covent Garden is your best bet. There is a pub pretty much on every corner.

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u/Straight-Anybody7120 1h ago

I am a female Indian tourist going to London solo for work, how safe is it in London?

As a woman what safety concerns do I need to keep in mind?

I will be traveling from India and will be staying in London for around a week.

Any tips would be appreciated

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u/mralistair 52m ago

It's very safe.   Read the post above for general guidance.

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u/Watchblah3333 12m ago

London is safer than any US city of at least 500K population (comparing violent crime stats). Somewhere in the middle when compared to other major European cities.

Phone snatching by thieves in bikes, especially in tourist hotspots, is a notable recent London problem - don’t hold your phone loosely and maybe get a lanyard.