City of London Walks
“At the West End you may be amused but in the City you are deeply excited” Charlotte Bronte
We have a wide selection of tours to suit all styles and passions. Whether your thing is literature, history, architecture, archaeology or food (or a combination thereof), there is a walk for you to get to know the City of London at a much deeper level. Award-winning guides who know where they’re going and what they’re doing, it’s an unbeatable combination.
Architecture
St. Paul’s Cathedral
1. Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, St. Paul’s Cathedral, is to the City of London what Westminster Abbey is to Westminster. 2. All of St. Paul’s speaks individually and collectively at once. 3. “We see nothing till we truly understand it” (John Constable). 4. “I wouldn’t dream of going in there without a great guide” (your good self).
Old London
The guided walking tour that follows the yellow brick road, gives you a stunning overview, from St. Paul’s Cathedral to the Tower of London! On the way, we explore twisty little alleyways that might have been taken from a Harry Potter film.
The Ancient City at Night
This is a beautiful tour of the oldest and newest part of London to enjoy after-hours. You will see many hidden gems behind-the-scenes, which will take us to London’s ancient history.
Eastcheap & the Tower (Building Stones)
If you didn’t love stones you are definitely going to be fascinated by them after this tour. Discover the history of the building of London from the Norman Conquest to the present day and the geological stories of stone-building.
Fabulous Fleet Street Virtual Tour
In this tour you are going to see all kinds of architectural styles, dating from the Roman origins of Fleet Street, to Tudor, Victorian and even the sumptuous Egyptian style Art Deco clock of the old Telegraph building. We will dig into Fleet Street’s legal, publishing and literary history and its tavern culture.
Archaeology
London Archaeology Virtual Tour
When you walk through the streets of a city, do you ever wonder what treasures might be lying a few metres under your feet? On this virtual walking tour of the City of London, we peel back the layers and take a look!
What Lies Beneath Virtual Tour
This is part two of our archaeological series where we will see ancient objects that were discovered during the construction of tunnels and rail stations in London. If you’re a history buff or archaeology lover this virtual tour from your living room will make the best plan for your Saturday morning.
Bloody / Dark London
Painting of the Great Fire of London. Photo by Ben Sutherland
Crime & Punishment
London was once a very bloody city. And we are not talking about Jack the Ripper bloody, but about the cruel crime and punishment model this city once endured. Check out our Crime and Punishment tour and will show you the horrifying traces of London.
The Blitz
It seems London has a thing for fires. We will take you back to the night of the Blitz, one of the most tragic and devastating nights in London’s history.
Disastrous London (& Virtual)
Plague, the Great Fire, death & Revolution. You will explore London’s historical alleyways, centuries-old architecture, the Tower of London and filthy street names. This virtual London Walk has it all!
1666 Fireworks
We’ll take you to an ancient monastery, built especially to pray for the souls resting in its nearby plague pit. And to an execution spot. Then fast forward to 1666 and the Great Fire of London to see many old structures that are still present and we’ll even get to see Shakespeare’s pub.
Slavery & the City
London and the slave trade. This walk goes over the ground of the foulest chapter in London’s history. A time and a place of a few wealthy men profiting enormously. And a few good men and women taking it on and getting it abolished – driving a stake through its evil heart. We time-travel back to those days. Survey the “urban geography” of the abomination. The where and when and how and why and who. To lift the veil on history this raw is to have here become where, now become then. It peoples the battlefield again. Reenacts the battle – the principals, the turning points, how and why and what happened.
Zeppelin Nights Virtual Tour
8th of September 1916. The Zeppelin drops its first bombs near Russell Square. We follow it discovering the traces of World War I, all the way to Liverpool Street where it threw its last bomb.
Culinary
Photo by Pierre Blaché from Pexels
Biscuits & Banquets – the City Foodies Foray
In this foodie tour we retrace the steps of Londoners’ dinners through the ages in the City of London. We’ll weave our way around gin and tonic, Pimms, and recipes from Sir Christopher Wren and his friends and much more.
Roaming Down by the River
This walk once rejoiced in the title: “Fish & Ships.” Its undoubted highlight is the river Thames Riverside Walkway, which contains so much of London’s history and of course, a lot of fish.
Financial
How the City Got Rich
We will be exploring the ancient City of London alleyways and historic hotspots. We will discover how (and why) thanks to merchant shipping, monarchy, Methodism, Mercers and much more, London came to be so much richer than many other cities around the world.
Bank Junction: the In Focus Walk
This In Focus walk explores Bank Junction – named after the Bank of England – the Fort Knox of the City of London, Mansion House, London’s third most important river, the Royal Exchange and cutting-edge architecture. Yup, Bank Junction’s got it all for finance lovers.
Hidden Gems
Punch Tavern in Fleet Street. Photo by Tony Hisgett
Hidden London
Distillation of a brilliant guide’s many years’ experience probing the hidden places and forgotten nooks of the world’s most elusive city. Join us to explore the secret beauty of the City of London.
London’s Secret Village
The ancient, hidden village of Clerkenwell is just a stone’s throw from St. Paul’s Cathedral. Our route there is along the via Dolorosa of London’s history. Clerkenwell itself – all gnarled alleyways and secrets and surprises – is studded with hidden gems and shipwrecks from the past.
Secret London
Join us in this fascinating tour to bring out the Sherlock Holmes in you and uncover a millennium and more of London’s history through its courts and alleys.
The Lost World of the River Fleet
The historic Fleet is one of the capital’s underground rivers although in the Middle Ages it wasn’t. In fact they were sailing boats up it as far as King’s Cross. We will explore its importance in the past, its life along its banks and see what’s there today and wha used to be there.
C the City
C for cheese, cordwainers, cathedral, cetera. In short, if it begins with C chances are you’ll hear about it and/or see it on this walk: camels, cockneys, coffee, costermongers, Cross keys, churches and cherubs.
History
Alleyways of the Old City (Virtual)
In this hour-long virtual tour, we’ll discover some of the secrets of the city, the ones hidden down the darkest alleyways to get a glimpse of medieval London. Passages walked by Shakespeare, Chaucer and Thomas Beckett.
Jewish London
Most Jewish history tours focus on the East End, where Jewish refugees settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. But London has a much older and richer Jewish heritage, so get ready to see a millennium of Jewish history in “other” Jewish London.
The Famous Square Mile (& Virtual)
The London Walking tour of tours! It explores the most historic part of the capital and best for sightseeing. You will see 2,000 years of London’s history through its great buildings; from the ruins of the Roman Temple of Mithras, to the Bank of England, Leadenhall street and even the Gherkin.
The London Wall Walk
Why, where, when and how it was built? The wall’s strata can give us an incredible amount of information about how life was in the city throughout history and we will be telling you all about it in this unique walk.
Roman London
An archaeologist-guided exploration of Londinium, the Roman city. Guided by Museum of London Emeritus Archaeologist, Kevin.
Chaucer’s medieval London (Virtual)
Geoffrey Chaucer’s poetry shows a rugged, joyous medieval England including many scenes reflecting life in London. He documented many historic events during the Middle Ages which you can explore from the comfort of your sofa.
Literary
Shakespeare’s & Dickens’s London
London was to Shakespeare and Charles Dickens both their canvas and their inspiration. They, in turn, became its “special correspondents for posterity”. Today, despite the ravages of time, riot, bombing, and especially fire, traces of their London still abound in the City.
Shakespeare of London
Welcome to Shakespeare’s London. The London where he lived and worked. Visit the places that changed his life, work and art.
Samuel Pepys’ London
Pepys, the greatest of the Londoners. Here, it will not just be Pepys we track down, it’s his London. His years in the city are the bridge between medieval London to recognisable modern London and also the city’s most dramatic years.
William Shakespeare, Born in Stratford, made in London (Virtual)
This is a virtual version of Ian’s 5* rated real-world experience, “Shakespeare’s London”. He takes you back 400 years to the places where William Shakespeare lived and worked. Starting near St Paul’s Cathedral, we will visit some of the most beautiful sites in London.
Private tours
All of the above tours are available as private tours. Want to fit in Westminster and Big Ben on your City of London tour? No problem, we can organise this. We go at your own pace whether you are a first time visitor on your first walks or it’s your 30th, the heart of the city and London Walks always delivers. We cater for small groups for you and your friend/partner/family as well as school trips. Running late, need to reschedule your private tour of London or even make a cancellation, we will always do our very best to accommodate you.
To enquire about a Private Walk call or email Mary, Fiona or Noel on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected].