The most dangerous areas for tourists in London have reportedly been revealed in a new list.
Outside the National Portrait Gallery off Trafalgar Square came top with 3,060 crimes over the past year including 1,200 thefts, according to MailOnline.
But a gallery spokesman hit back saying it was aware of two instances of reportable crime among 1.6 million visitors since 2024.
Royal Academy of Arts about half a mile away on Piccadilly was second, the news site claimed, after looking into the scale of offending near popular attractions.
The venue allegedly had 1,652 crimes reported in a year, of which 550 were theft.
Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House and London Transport Museum were third and fourth respectively, it is said.
The British Museum near Holborn - Britan’s most-visited attraction, the National Gallery, The Monument, British Library, Southbank Centre and Cutty Sark made up the rest of the Top 10.
Other areas attractions with high crime rates in their vicinity included Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Young V&A, Wellcome Collection, St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Dungeon, Sea Life London Aquarium and Shrek’s Adventure, Banqueting House, Courtauld Gallery, Natural History Museum and Buckingham Palace.
Outside of Westminster, London Wetland Centre in Barnes, Greenwich’s National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College, Kensington Palace and Eltham Palace were said to be safer.
The website used data from police.uk for the period May 2024 to April this year, rather than the Metropolitan Police’s monthly crime database or Office for National Statistics figures.
If more than two attractions were within 250 metres of a crime, that incident was added to the total of the closest - to ensure none were duplicated, it claimed.
MailOnline said this provided a quantitative view of safety outside the attractions – with recorded offence types including anti-social behaviour, bicycle theft, robbery and theft from the person.
Others were vehicle crime, violence and sexual offences, burglary, criminal damage and arson, drugs, public order, shoplifting and then “other theft” or “other crime”.
Last month, a major crime survey suggested London is the 15th most dangerous city in Europe for crime amid the epidemic of violence, phone snatching and robbery.
Scotland Yard chief Sir Mark Rowley apologised to broadcaster Selina Scott after she claimed the city’s streets are unsafe following her mugging by a gang in the West End.
The 74-year-old was surrounded by a group of thieves near Waterstones on Piccadilly who hit her on the back of the leg and stole her purse.
A National Portrait Gallery spokesman told the Standard: “The National Portrait Gallery is located in an area of London with huge daytime and tourist footfall. The Gallery received 1.6 million visits in 2024/25 and had two instances of reportable crime.
“The Gallery is committed to the safety of our visitors, with comprehensive measures in place including trained security staff on all entrances, CCTV monitoring and regular safety patrols, plus we work closely with local police, Heart of London Business Alliance and Westminster Council.
“Our audience feedback indicates that visitors have a safe and enjoyable time at the Gallery, with 99% saying they would recommend a visit to friends and family.”
Met Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes said: “Our intelligence and data-led approach to tackle the crimes that matter most to Londoners – such as shoplifting, robbery and anti-social behaviour – is already working.
“We’re arresting 1,000 more criminals each month, neighbourhood crime is down 19 per cent and we’ve solved 163 per cent more shoplifting cases this year.
“In 32 of the hardest hit areas, we’re working with the community, councils, businesses and partners, to focus our resources and bear down on prolific offenders and gangs who blight too many neighbourhoods across the capital.”
The Royal Academy of Arts and Royal Ballet and Opera were approached for comment.
