Things to Do in London

City of London Tour: From Sugar and Slaves to Tea and Opium.

Welcome, I'm Justin. But some friendly advice! If you just want to take pretty pictures to put on social media (and don't really like walking much), I am the wrong tour guide for you! My tours attract people who like ideas, history and books. If that is not what interests you, book another tour 🙂

I have 5 walking tours on GuruWalk: 1) The City), 2) Soho, 3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, and 5) Mayfair & St James, which together have over 3,000 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk in London).

City of London is my flagship tour.

This tour takes you through the "City of London", which is not the same thing as London!

The "City", as it's known to locals, is many things. Nowadays, we know the "City" as the central business district, with its many iconic skyscrapers, towering over ancient churches (providing the chance to take some stunning photos). It's also, however, the "old town", built within the footprint of the Roman city of Londinium.

The "City" also has its own police force, ancient laws and unique government and once financed the largest Empire the world has ever seen, spanning a quarter of the globe.

From being a European backwater in the 1500s, London became the largest city in the world in the 1800s, the centre of immense power and wealth.
 
I'll tell the story of London's rise by walking with you along the English capital's oldest streets, many of which date back 2000 years.

The triumph of London is also often a tale of "dirty money", from the Bishop of Winchester's brothels; sugar and the slave trade; and the East India Company's rape of a subcontinent and hooking of China on opium. Come with me to learn all about London's secrets

Highlights of the tour include: 

• The Monument: Centre of the Great Fire of London.
• The Gilt of Cain: The City of London's first open recognition of the contribution of slavery to their wealth.
• The Modern City: the Gherkin, Cheese Grater, Scalpel and Walkie Talkie.  Where the City stands in the world today. 
• The Golden Triangle:The tiny alleys that housed the coffee shops of the 17th & 18th centuries frequented by stock market speculators and fraudsters but which also gave birth to modern capitalism.
• The Bank of England and the Royal Exchange: Financiers of sugar and the slave trade.
• Leadenhall Market: Stunning Victorian marketplace used as a set in a Harry Potter movie.

The tour will end a short walk from the Monument Tube Station where the tour started. I do have a card reader so can can take credit/debit cards for tips. 

The South Bank: A Social History of Pubs, Prisons, Prostitutes and Shakespeare's Plays

Welcome, I'm Justin. But some friendly advice! If you just want to take pretty pictures to put on social media (and don't really like walking much), I am the wrong tour guide for you! My tours attract people who like ideas, history and books. If that is not what interests you, book another tour 🙂

I have 5 walking tours on GuruWalk: 1) The City, 2) Soho, 3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, and 5) Mayfair & St James which together have over 3,000 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest for GuruWalk in London).

My South Bank tour is especially liked by those interested in history and literature

The South Bank of the Thames at Southwark is one of the oldest parts of London. The wealthy and powerful traditionally lived and worked north of the Thames in the "City of London" and pushed the theatre, entertainers and lower classes across London Bridge into Southwark.

The area is fascinating and associated with the birth of English theatre. It is also the oldest part of London south of the river. Apart from Southwark Cathedral, it does not have big, impressive buildings like Westminster Abbey and St Paul's but it has so many different stories to tell!


Highlights of the tour include: 

• The George Inn: Ancient galleried pub reputed to have staged Shakespeare's plays
• Crossbones Graveyard: Home to 15,000 bodies of paupers and prostitutes
• Borough Market: London's foodie mecca
• Southwark Cathedral: Rich in American associations, from the founder of Harvard University to a governor of England's first successful colony in North America, Virginia
• The Clink Prison: Used to imprison religious dissenters, the forerunners of America's Pilgrim Fathers
• The Golden Hind: The ship that opened the door to the English colonisation of America
• The Globe Theatre: Plays were popular entertainment in the late 1500s and early 1600s. Shakespeare was not high culture, but a fun night out for the masses! 

I do have a card reader so can can take credit/debit cards for tips. 

Step back in time 2,000 years and explore the City of London, on this special sightseeing tour. Starting at Tower Hill Station, our Free Historic City of London Walking Tour guides you through the centuries, tracing the journey from its founding as a trading settlement along the River Thames to becoming one of Europe’s leading financial centres, home to some of the quirkiest glass skyscrapers on the planet.

Walk in the footsteps of Romans, Vikings, and Normans, and hear about Julius Caesar’s arrival, the Viking occupation, and William the Conqueror’s Norman conquest. Discover how the City developed through the medieval period, the construction of London’s stone fortress, The Tower of London, and the bustling trade that made it the hub of commerce for centuries.

Experience stories of survival and resilience as we recount the Great Fire of London, the devastation of the Blitz, and how Londoners rebuilt their city time and again, leaving iconic landmarks that endure today. See history and modernity collide as 12th-century churches and Roman walls stand shoulder-to-shoulder with glass towers and futuristic architecture, capturing the City’s ever-changing skyline.

Tour highlights include:

London’s Roman Wall - remnants of Londinium

The Tower of London - royal fortress, prison and home of The Crown Jewels

Tower Bridge - the world-famous drawbridge

The Shard - Britain's tallest skyscraper

The Monument to the Great Fire - a symbol of rebirth

Mansion House - historic home of the Lord Mayor

Bank of England & Royal Exchange - financial institutions shaping global trade

St Paul’s Cathedral - architectural masterpiece and survivor of the Blitz

Along the way, your expert guide will share fascinating stories of ordinary Londoners and extraordinary events, from medieval merchants and Tudor citizens to daring heroes of wartime London. Discover the quirks of a self-governing square mile whose laws and governance have kept it distinct from the rest of the capital for centuries.

The tour concludes at St Paul’s Cathedral, leaving you in the perfect location to continue exploring the City. Ideal for first-time visitors, Londoners, families, history enthusiasts, and architecture lovers, this tour blends Roman and medieval history, financial district landmarks, iconic London architecture, and the City’s resilience through fire, Blitz, and rebuilding.

Book now to explore 2,000 years of history in the heart of London’s financial and historic district!

Please note: Groups larger than six people and educational groups must arrange a private tour in advance.

On this Rock ’n’ Roll Walking Tour of Soho, we explore the salacious, scandalous, and sensational history of an area that has always lived life louder, faster, and freer than the rest of London. Charles Dickens called Soho a place of “smoke and song", very little has changed.

From secret political meetings led by Karl Marx, to an eight-year-old Mozart astonishing London audiences, Soho has long attracted radicals, creatives, revolutionaries, and rule-breakers. It was home to Casanova, playground of princes and prostitutes, and the epicentre of a cholera outbreak that nearly brought Victorian London to its knees.

But Soho’s true legend was forged in music.

Walk the streets where The Beatles played their first and last London gigs, where Beatlemania exploded, and where the British music industry was turned upside down in the 1960s. Visit legendary venues that launched the careers of The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, and countless others who defined rock history.

We’ll explore the remnants of Soho’s infamous red-light district, once filled with strip clubs, sex cinemas, and late-night haunts where musicians, gangsters, and celebrities collided. Stroll down Carnaby Street, the epicentre of Swinging London, where fashion exploded, the miniskirt was born, and youth culture finally took control.

Along the way, you’ll hear stories of outrageous scandals, drug-fuelled nights, police raids, banned records, and performances that changed music forever. Discover how Soho transformed from a dangerous, seedy neighbourhood just a few decades ago into one of the most fashionable, creative, and culturally influential areas of the capital.

Tour highlights include:

• The London Palladium Theatre
• Trident Studios
• Carnaby Street
• Liberty London
• Golden Square
• The Bag o'Nails
• The John Snow Pub
• Soho’s old red-light district

This tour is perfect for music lovers, pop culture fans, history buffs, visitors looking for unusual things to do in London, and locals who want to experience the city’s wild side.

Book now and discover why Soho became the beating heart of rock ’n’ roll, rebellion, and nightlife in London.

Please note: Groups larger than six people and educational groups must arrange a private tour in advance.

Old Money, New Money, Dirty Money in Mayfair & St James Tour: London's Super Wealthy (Not Suitable for Children)


Welcome! I’m Justin. This one of the newest of the 5 tours I lead in London, which together have gathered over 3,000 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk).

The Mayfair & St James district of London boasts the highest concentration of billionaires in Europe. Some got their money honestly, some not!

Traditionally, this part of London was home to royals and aristocrats along with the nouveau riche of Empire (the sugar-and-slave plantation owners of the West Indies and senior East India Company employees, rich from looting India and China).

Today, the old British elites are being sidelined by a tsunami of new money arriving from all over the world as London becomes the second-home capital of the world's mega wealthy.

While Britain has lost an empire, it has instead found a new role as butler and fixer to anyone who will pay. In the process, dictators, tyrants, oligarchs, plutocrats and kleptocrats have been welcomed with open arms into the UK's capital city.

But some friendly advice! If you just want to just take pretty pictures to put on social media and have no interest in history (and don't really like walking much), I am the wrong tour guide for you! My tours attract people who like ideas, history and books. If that is not what interests you, book another tour 🙂 

You do get a chance to take some great photos, but also I hope you get to "think" a little about what this area of London represents as well! 

Also, this walking tour is not suitable for children unless they are older teens interested in history, politics, economics or international affairs. 

Still reading? OK, this is the tour's heart. 

I'll navigate you through the natural habitat of many of the richest people on the planet, centring on St James's and Mayfair. 

You will get to see the traditional "old money" haunts, but I'll also point out the $200 million homes and $30k-a-month apartment complexes and private members clubs beloved by the "new money" (often dirty money). And you'll see the places this new global mega elite go to shop, eat and play.

You'll also learn how the web of hedge funds, private equity companies and family offices based in this area put both clean and dirty money to work around the world: tax free of course!

Highlights of the tour include: 

• Saville Row: Famed for its tailors, who make high-end suits for the world's wealthy.
• St James Street: Street hosting old money, new money and dirty money clubs along with a Russian oligarch's trophy building frozen by the UK government after Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 
• Burlington Arcade: Central London's longest and most beautiful shopping arcade dating back to 1819. 
• Pall Mall: The heart of London's "old money" club land, where royalty, aristocrats, politicians and civil servants mix.   
• St James Square: One of the capital's most exclusive squares. Home to the East India Club, the private members only London Library and famous think tank Chatham House.
• St James Palace: The oldest royal palace in London: the venue where the King greets new ambassadors when they arrive in London. 
• Marlborough House: Commonwealth Headquarters. HQ of ex and current British colonies club, the latter group of which have turned themselves into the world's largest dirty money laundering network.
• Berry Brothers: London's most exclusive and oldest wine merchant, which also hosts a hidden alley and pocket square.
• Piccadilly Arcade: A beautiful arcade of shops fronted by fashion icon Beau Brummell. 

The tour will end a short walk from Piccadilly Circus underground stations. Note I do have a card reader so can take tips by credit or debit card. 

Would you like to see the city with a native English-speaking tour guide who has had the honor of being a full-time tour guide in multiple European cities since 2014? Then read on. 👇

Through years of experience, I have learned that these tours are most enjoyable for you if I hone it down to just the most exciting stops and the most interesting stories.

Alfred Hitchcock once said "the length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder," and I think that applies doubly so to a tour. You're on holiday, I appreciate that. You want to see the main sites, take the best photos, maybe laugh a little, and then head off on to the next adventure.

With that in mind, I keep the tour to an entertaining one hour and fifty minutes. During that time we will see the main sites, allowing you to take photos of:

• Buckingham Palace
• Houses of Parliament
• "Big Ben"
• Westminster Abbey
• Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column
• Horse Guards Parade
• Wellington Arch 
• St Martin's In The Field
• National Gallery
• Apsley House
• RAF Bomber Command Memorial
• The Commonwealth Gates
• St James' Palace
• The Mall and Pall Mall
• Crimean War/Nightingale Memorial
• Waterloo Place
• 10 Downing Street
• Churchill War Rooms
  
  
• On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday the 11am tour will see and hear the army band march by us for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Unless it is cancelled due to rain.

More important than the sites themselves are the stories. Little insightful or interesting anecdotes; what the little horse steps are at Waterloo Place, why Constitution Hill is called that when we don't... um.. have one, tales from the Battle of Britain, the Gunpowder Plot, what the Queen did when she woke up to find a drunken man had climbed the walls of Buckingham Palace and broken into her bedroom at 7am, etc, etc.

Having done these tours for the better part of a decade, I can usually field any history question you may have about the nation or the city, and can also offer suggestions of the best places in the city for gin, pretentious coffee (my vice), or the most memorable dining experiences with something unique to them.
I hope to see you soon,
Theo

Welcome to London! My name is Rich, and as a qualified guide and lifelong Londoner, it will be my pleasure to welcome you and show you the city I love and live in.

East London is renowned for its electric mix of traditional and contemporary influences, making it a fascinating destination for anyone interested in experiencing the true essence of London and the London Market Scene.

As we wander through the lively streets of 4 of the most authentic London Sunday Markets, you will see and experience how we Londoners spend our Sundays. Experience sensory delights, vibrant sights & tantalizing smells. Sample delicious street food, browse unique handmade crafts, and shop for vintage treasures and stunning cutting-edge fashion. Discover the history and heritage that make these markets and areas so special. As a passionate East Londoner and son of a market trader, I will also share tips, history, stories, and secrets that will enhance and deepen your appreciation for this dynamic part of London's life.

The tour includes

• Broadway Market
• Columbia Road Flower Market
• Brick Lane Market
• Spitalfields Market
• The Regent Canal .. and much more!

*TIP* Skip Breakfast .....so much to taste on route ! 

London by a Londoner.