How do I kill time in the middle of the night in London (Victoria)

Question

I will get into Victoria coach station about 2.15 a.m on a Monday night/Tues morn and can't get train till 5 a.m. Anyone know how I can kill time? I've heard there's a 24 Hr Italian Cafe nearby, but don't know the name. Any ideas welcome. P.s. Does the station stay open 24 hrs?

Thanks :O)

Answer 1

I suggest you hang around inside the station. Not a safe place at all to go walking around at night.

Answer 2

The main area of the station is locked. If you are with a friend take it in turns to sleep.

PS I was there in the middle of the night last November. To be honest there is nothing to do and we were too tired to go wandering too far to find an open cafe and we couldn't find anything in the immediate vicinity.

Answer 3

Best thing you can do is to stay at Victoria Coach Station till you see a nice steady stream of people walking up and down Buckingham Palace Road. I've walked a couple of times at about midnight from a pool place just a bit further up Buckingham Palace Road, walking right past Victoria Coach Station in my way to Victoria Station but I don't think I'd chance it at 2am when the streets are deserted, especially if I'm carrying luggage with me. It seems like an unnecessary risk to take.

I've never spent a night at Victoria Coach Station but see what someone who has says about it:

"Victoria Coach Station is an absolutely vital place to know if you're penniless in Central London and looking for a safe place to spend the night. Although the main terminal (the commercial bit, tickets, left luggage, etc) closes at 11pm, coaches are always arriving through the night to ferry people to London airports (for late night/early morning flights) from the coach departure hangar. This means that there are lots of other people resting/sleeping for their 4am coach to arrive, on most nights there's about 20 to 30 other tourists bedding down with their luggage (many with sleeping bags) before they leave London. Victoria Coach Station departure hangar is also probably one of the safest places to spend a night central London outside of a paid room, due to it being less than 200 metres from the modern and huge Belgravia Police Station, there are also always night-time cleaning staff preparing the terminal for it's next day who will never bother you, presuming you're your waiting for a coach (which you very well might be). The only downside is that you are not actually inside the building, which opens at around 7am(ish) so it could get chilly in winter without a sleeping bag, etc, but at least you won't get rained on and will find company in other travellers in the same situation. I greatly recommend it."

Answer 4

I don't think it's physically possible to close Victoria station as there are no gates on the access ways ... I would expect it to be patrolled by police etc, I don't think they would harrass you but they would probably check who you are and what you're doing ... but Victoria station is not a comfortable place to hang around, there's not much in the way of benches etc ... I'm sorry I don't know the area well enough to know about 24 hour cafes and I checked the Easy Internet Cafe but it seems to shut at 11pm

Answer 5

Stay Safe Dear,and Don't get talking to no ladies of the Night!You might end up getting Arrested.

Know What I mean?!

Answer 6

I wouldn't recommend traveling far from the station at that time of day, no matter what scare stories you have heard about London, it is not a safe place to be around at night (or day depending on where you are).  

Answer 7

To contradict the guy above, I wouldn't advise sleeping in public in central London at night.

Answer 8

have found this don't know if it is of any help to you or not but does look a bit like it

www.talkingcities.co.uk/london_pages/f...

Listings for cafes, patisserie and sandwich bars in London ... A real cubbyhole of a café, it remains chock full around the clock, staying open 24 hours a day. ...

Answer 9

I would take a nap!  Or it seems like you have your computer handy, just watch a movie or tv shows. Hulu.com is a great place to waste time!

Answer 10

The train station is closed at 1am.  It reopens around 3am after maintenance work finishes (exact time depends on day of week).

Although not the best of ways to spend your night, the forecourt of the station is full of people making camp, awaiting their trains.  I would say its pretty safe due to the numbers around, the rail staff being so close by, and the British Transport Police being very close if any trouble starts!