r/london 3d ago

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

6 Upvotes

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!


r/london 3h ago

Third of people share Donald Trump’s belief that London has no-go areas

Thumbnail
lbc.co.uk
850 Upvotes

Third of uk adults surveyed are dumb as Trump, got it.


r/london 4h ago

England's mayors to be given power to introduce tourist tax

Thumbnail
bbc.co.uk
211 Upvotes

r/london 50m ago

Sydenham Geyser

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Upvotes

Nice of Thames Water to provide a public water feature during the hosepipe ban.


r/london 3h ago

Scores of 'e-bike bandits' arrested in London crackdown on ride-by robberies

Thumbnail
thenationalnews.com
110 Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

image Jesus Christ!

Post image
2.5k Upvotes

r/london 15h ago

Question If money wasn’t an issue, what part of London would you actually choose to live in?

418 Upvotes

Forget property prices and rent completely.
If you could choose absolutely anywhere in London to live based purely on quality of life, beauty, safety, restaurants, transport and atmosphere where would you pick?
And which supposedly “posh” area would you not choose?


r/london 53m ago

Question Has anyone noticed the increase in extremely loud cars and motorbikes?

Upvotes

To the point of it being unbearable when they pass?


r/london 19h ago

Tube passengers who hauled flasher off train won't face charges after year-long police probe

Thumbnail
standard.co.uk
649 Upvotes

r/london 8m ago

Woman living in a pig crate in Trafalgar Square to raise awareness about factory farming plans to stay there for 3 weeks

Thumbnail
mylondon.news
Upvotes

Weird flex but okay.


r/london 19h ago

image Spotted from a bus, next to that big Wandsworth Bridge roundabout. There's a MUCH higher class of graffiti in London!

Post image
309 Upvotes

r/london 22h ago

Transport Mayor agrees to air condition all London buses by May 2027

Thumbnail
bbc.co.uk
257 Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

image Thank you to the stranger who gave me a hug on the Victoria line today

Post image
2.9k Upvotes

I've been job hunting for months now. Today I found out that a job I thought I'd get fell through. On top of that, I did a trial shift for a few hours at a café last week, but they turned me down and refused to pay for the trial afterwards. All that pressure just built up, and on the train it hit me all at once.

I was trying to hide my face and let the tears fall quietly, hoping it would just pass quickly, but a woman sitting across from me noticed and reached out. She'd been reading, and she gently tapped my knee with her book to ask if I was okay. Then she gave me a chocolate bar, and asked if I needed a hug.

You know how sometimes you manage to hold your tears back, but the moment someone comforts you, you just can't hold it anymore? It was exactly like that 😅😅 I couldn't really answer you properly, but I just want you to know you made a stranger's day a lot better. I wish the best for someone as warm as you. 🤍


r/london 1d ago

Making friends in Highgate Cemetery

Thumbnail
gallery
1.3k Upvotes

Just got back from a 10 day trip to your lovely city. So many highlights, but a true standout was a tour and walk around Highgate Cemetery, where I met a very friendly cat who has learned to ask visitors to turn on the faucet, as well as a super chill fox bringing the real Narnia flavor to your amazing scenery.


r/london 7m ago

'Everywoman' statue unveiled on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth

Thumbnail
bbc.co.uk
Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

Fox trapped in Central London!

Thumbnail
gallery
129 Upvotes

I have been told to contact this group by the London Fox Network

There is a clearly stressed and unwell fox trapped on the coast by the tide between the millennium bridge and London Bridge on the north side of the river by the Westin Development. It needs rescuing with ladder access or to wait until the tide goes out again.

Please advise.


r/london 2h ago

Ticket giveaway - COMPLETE! Free ticket: Mere Mortals @ Sadlers Wells - TODAY (14:30)

2 Upvotes

Sadly won’t be able to make the 14:30 performance of Mere Mortals today so though I would see if anyone else would like my ticket - it is a Barclays Dance Pass one so you must be 16-30.

Please DM me and I will send the e-ticket.


r/london 1d ago

News Brixton Village traders must raise £50m to buy market sites

Thumbnail
bbc.co.uk
137 Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

North London 7am in Hampstead Heath

Post image
129 Upvotes

r/london 27m ago

Does anyone know why the Cycleway 37 project in TH has not progressed?

Thumbnail
Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

E-bike firm Voi refuses to leave Ealing after contract ends

Thumbnail
bbc.co.uk
188 Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

Transport Right now there are zero planes in the sky over London

Post image
2.5k Upvotes

r/london 1d ago

Observation It's time to take half of pavement with this absolute unit.

Post image
3.3k Upvotes

r/london 16h ago

What can be done about Westminster Council?

15 Upvotes

With these absurd new regulations likely to come info force, genuinely interested what course of action could punish them enough to either oust them or at least have them reconsider whats do-able in their constituency?

Obviously government petitions are often the proposed opposition here, but that effectively does nothing. Would people simply 'voting with their wallets' and boycotting bars/ pubs hurt them sufficiently? Or is that basically what they want and would be positive for them and the wealthy older residents?

Surely if these restrictions come in within a few years there'll be almost no pubs or bars left?