London street art area:safe?

If we decide to walk around the general street art areas near the tube stops of Shoreditch and Old Street, would that be safe for 2 seniors? Would it be smarter to take a tour? Would there be restaurants or coffee houses in the area? Many thanks to anyone who knows the area. :)

It has become one of the most fashionable areas of London. Safe day and night as there are always lots of people around. Loads of pubs, restaurants and coffee shops in the area.

Busier at night than during the day. Absolutely jammed Friday and Saturday evenings. Restaurants and cafes galore.

I have never felt unsafe anywhere in London. Great city. You'll have a great time.

London is extremely safe partially because every young person you see on the streets is NOT carrying a gun they way they seem to be doing in the big cities of the USA. We, too have never felt unsafe anywhere we've been in London in 36 stays.

Thank you everyone! Sounds like this is definitely a London area that will be new to us and we'll certainly explore it. :) :) :)

It's perfectly safe in this area, but I would recommend a walking tour as it can be hard to find some pieces

The tour I took is free - you pay what you think it is worth. Plenty of history and stories about the street artists to enjoy.

I did this tour last year with my family - ages 8, 12, 30, 40, 45, 48, 67, 70! Everyone loved it! I gave 10 pounds at the end, not sure what others gave. Probably could have given more it was so good!

Here is the link: http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/about_us.php?dev=mob

I highly recommend this group of art enthusiasts

Other places to enjoy in the area are:

Traditional fish and chips at Poppies in Spittalfields

Beigel bake Brick lane (local institution open 24 hours)

English curry houses on Brick Lane

Ten Bells pub where Jack the Ripper's victims enjoyed their last drinks

Spitalfields market

This is one of favourite parts of London. Enjoy :)

My sister lives in Spitalfields, so I know the area well. I agree with the recommendations by the previous poster. You could also do one of the Jack the Ripper walks.

Some of the curry houses on brick Lane are not so good these days, but you could visit the Sunday Up Market or Colombia Road flower market, also both close by.

If you want to try a curry, I would recommend the Cinnamon Kitchen in Devonshire Square, Spice Namaste in Leman St or the more authentic Tayyabs.

Excellent tips, thank you so much. Spitalfields market and an "Alternative" tour are just what we'd love. I'll book the tour next week when it is our 3 weeks ahead date. Will check restaurants for lunch as we walk around the area! Can't wait!

Completely safe, and you will love it! We took two walking tours of this area, but not for safety. One was a "foodie" tour, which was both tasty and a lot of fun. The other was a "street art" tour, where we walked through all of the street art (which is outstanding!) with one of the street artists. Excellent! In fact, we enjoyed this area so much that we went back on our own again just one more time. It's just the best area to photograph. We are returning to London next July, and I guarantee you that we will be revisiting the East End. Hope that helps. Have fun!

Shelley

A follow up from me, the OP: The area was very safe and we enjoyed the Alternative street art walking tour which we'd reserved before hand. Our guide was/is a local street artist and had some interesting stories. Getting to the meeting location at Old Spitalfields was a simple tube ride to Liverpool Street station. If you're looking for a change from the usual London sites, I think you'd enjoy this tour. :)

Thanks for letting us know - it's always great to see feedback, especially when it is positive. Glad you had a good time.