Things to Do in London

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

 When you are tired of London, you are tired of life’ the old saying goes. From the home of the British Royal Family to the packed pubs; from the heart of British politics, to the theatrical West End; from invading Romans to conquering Kings, London has it all.

On the Welcome to London tour, join us to see the city as it’s meant to be seen. Starting by the ‘mother of all Parliaments’ in Westminster, we’ll take you to the most iconic and beautiful sites you need to visit in London. We might even end near a pub, in true London fashion.

We’ll talk about why Big Ben isn’t called Big Ben, see the Abbey that has witnessed over a 1,000 years of royal coronations, walk through the royal parks of Buckingham Palace, discuss great military battles both old and new, and get under the skin of modern London at Covent Garden. 

The Welcome to London tour is the perfect introduction to one of the greatest cities in the world. We’ll fuse history with tips and recommendations, and set you up for your London experience. From Winston Churchill to the Suffragettes to Queen Elizabeth II to James Bond, London has a fantastic story to tell.

Some of the sites we will see on the tour include:

• Big Ben and Westminster Abbey
• Buckingham Palace and St. James’ Park
• Trafalgar Square
• Pubs and Theatreland
• Covent Garden

I know, I know! Visiting a museum can be stressful sometimes. Specially one with 8 million objects and a place visited by more than 6 million people a year… it can be overwhelming! 

But at the same time, how can you visit London and not go to the British Museum??? (everybody will ask you this when you get back home, trust me!) 

THAT'S WHY I PUT TOGETHER THIS ROUTE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
TO VISIT ONLY THE HIGHLIGHTS, MOST IMPORTANT, ESSENTIAL AND FAMOUS ITEMS.

 In just over one hour, I promise we will see:

• EGYPTIAN
• GREEK
• ASSYRIAN
• PERSIAN
• ROMAN
• POLYNESIAN
• BRITISH

Art and other objects, sculptures and statues. I will share some very interesting facts and stories about it. 

YES IT IS POSSIBLE! 

So now you’ll have time to visit other hundred (or two hundred) important and unmissable places in London! 

Of course, we’ll go straight to the point when we get to the museum. 

Book now, get here in time and let’s enjoy the tour. 

Oh, Yes, I forgot to mention: you don’t even need to book tickets to the museum, I’ll take care of it. (Because it’s free 😉  

We will meet under the columns, in front of the museum entrance just after you pass security!☺️🙏🏼
 

Retrace the steps of the world's most infamous, unidentified serial killer, as we take you back to the Autumn of Terror 1888. 

In just 3 months, under the cover of darkness, Jack the Ripper brutally murdered 5 innocent Women on the streets of Whitechapel and then vanished, never to appear again. 

Come with us as we ponder some of the most compelling theories as to his identity and motives, hear about the vicious murders he committed and learn the tragic life stories of the poor women he preyed upon.
Along the way, we will visit, the Prostitute's Church, Mitre Square, Frying Pan Alley, Spitalfield's Market & The 10 Bells Pub.

The tour finishes at Spitalfields Market, not far from Liverpool Street Station.

Please note, groups larger than 6 and any educational groups will need to get in touch to arrange a private tour, as they will not be able to join the public tour

This one and a half hour tour will begin with a brief history of the area, from the time when highwaymen would stalk the Hampstead Road and move on to discuss how Camden became a boom town in the railway era. We will then talk about some famous faces who have called Camden home, including the likes of Charles Dickens and of course, Amy Winehouse. Camden has however also been witness to some rather turbulent times, such as in the 1920s when the Camden Town Gang fought rival gangs in the Camden pubs and Camden's very existence threatened by a planned road through its very heart. Camden nowadays is famous for its market, or rather markets which sell almost everything one could imagine, including excellent food from every corner of the globe. It is of course impossible to do a tour in Camden without talking about Camden's role in the music scene, from Rock and Roll to Britpop, Camden has it all. So come here with an open mind and an empty stomach and enjoy this incredible area with us!

Discover London's Tower Bridge with our unbeatable-priced ticket. Experience the thrill of exploring its rich history and crossing its mesmerizing glass floor.

Covent Garden: Theatre Land, Brothels, Bad Behaviour, the Birth of Bohemia, Plus Britain's First Police Force

Welcome, I'm Justin, a huge fan of plays and musicals (I can give you advice on the best theatre in town and where to get cheap tickets), and a lover of history.

The Covent Garden tour is one of 6 different tours that I lead in London, which together have gathered over 2,000 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk).

From the late 1600s, Covent Garden become the centre of bohemian London. A field of dreams for both the upper and lower classes. A place where social barriers fell away and artists and intellectuals mixed and played.

Shakespeare famously said that

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

And Covent Garden was the stage that many a man and woman played upon, whether formally in the theatre, in artists' studios or informally on the street.

Let me lead you through the streets of Covent Garden, and in so doing bring the past to life.
 
Over the centuries, the area has had its ups and downs. originally being the home of the super-rich, who wanted to escape from the crowded and disease-ridden old town (which we call “the City of London” between the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral). 

But with the arrival of an outdoor market and then a succession of theatres, Covent Garden morphed into a bohemian playground full of pubs and prostitutes, and the rich fled further west. 

Today, the area has gone upmarket again, with a thriving bar and restaurant scene and hundreds of shops. Critically, the theatres are still here, with a total of 13, offering everything from rock and film musicals to opera and ballet. 

As we walk around the area, I’ll lead you down secret passages few Londoners know and tell you the stories each building has to tell. 

I'll also give you recommendations for plays and musicals in the area and where to eat & drink before a show. 

Highlights of the tour include: 

• Benjamin Franklin’s House:  One of the birthplaces of the United States of America 
• The Nell Gwynne: An ancient pub that celebrates King Charles II’s favourite actress and mistress Nell Gwynne.
• The People's Piazza: The central Covent Garden market. Formally a giant fruit, vegetable and flower market and now a warren of small boutiques and restaurants. 
• The Lamb and Flag: Covent Garden's oldest pub, famous for boxing matches that led to it being called "the bucket of blood". 
• St Paul's Church: the magnificent actors’ church of St Paul’s, with its hidden garden and plaques commemorating past stars of screen and stage. 
• Goodwin Court (aka Knockturn Alley): A piece of 17th century London now immortalised as the model for a Harry Potter film set.  
• The Theatre Royal Dury Lane: The original theatre opened 350 years ago and has been centre of scandal ever since. 
• Bow Street Police Station & Magistrates Court: Home to London's first police force. 
• The Royal Opera House: Providing panoramic views of Covent Garden piazza from the top floor.  

The tour will end a short walk from Covent Garden underground station on the Piccadilly Line. 

The Covent Garden walking tour is one of the 6 walking tours I do around London for GuruWalk: 1) The City of London), 2) Soho,  3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, 5) Mayfair & St James's and 6) ArtLand (which together have around 1,500 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk). Hope to see you soon! 

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

Admire London from the River Thames on this boat ride from Westminster to Tower Bridge. You'll see the British capital's important monuments. Don't miss it!

Few characters in literature are as intrinsically linked to a city as Sherlock Holmes is to London. Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories and the many TV and film adaptations are love letters to this city, the foggy back alleys and low-lives of London as important and distinctive as Holmes himself, so grab your deer stalker hat and join the Free Sherlock Holmes and the Art of Deduction Tour to explore many locations visited by the famous detective!

Stop at famous hotels, gentlemen’s clubs, and even London’s only Sherlock Holmes Pub. The tour will be a treat for any Holmes fan, as you’ll visit places mentioned in the original stories; 

• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• A Scandal in Bohemia
• The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
• and many more.

Don’t worry if you haven’t read the books as you will see places frequented by Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downie Jr, Christopher Plummer and Jeremy Brett in their screen appearances as the great sleuth.

On the Free Sherlock Holmes & the Art of Deduction Tour, you will delve a little into Conan Doyle’s life, including his friendship with Oscar Wilde and his belief in the paranormal,
among many more surprises that will leave you amazed to the core!

The tour finishes at The Lyceum Theatre.

Please note, groups larger than 6 and any educational groups will need to get in touch to arrange a private tour, as they will not be able to join the public tour