Things to Do in London
• Enjoy citywide views from a climate-controlled glass pod featuring LED lighting and a rotation system that ensures a smooth ride in any weather.
• From Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament, this ride delivers all the postcard-worthy London views you could ask for—no zoom lens required.
• Take your visit up a notch and pick from a range of upgrades in the next step, like fast-track entry, curated beverages, and more.
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 6 walking tours on GuruWalk: 1) The City), 2) Soho, 3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, 5) Mayfair & St James & 6) ArtLand, which together have over 2,800 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.
• Get up close with 150+ lifelike wax figures, including Harry Styles and other A-list stars, and marvel at the precision of their craftsmanship.
• Step into immersive sets, from the Marvel Universe 4D movie experience to selfie moments with the Royal Family on the palace balcony.
• Travel through London’s past on the nostalgic Spirit of London ride and test your bravery in the chilling Chamber of Horrors.
• Upgrade your ticket with fast-track entry or add the Champagne Bar Experience with a complimentary drink for a wholesome experience.
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
The South Bank: A Story 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 6 walking tours on GuruWalk: 1) The City, 2) Soho, 3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, 5) Mayfair & St James and 6) ArtLand, which together have over 2,800 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk).
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 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.
Turn back the clock 2000 years and join us as we trace the journey of the City of London, from the arrival of Julius Caesar and its roots as a square mile trading village along the River Thames, all the way to becoming the financial capital of Europe, home to dozens of the quirkiest glass skyscrapers on Earth.
Along the way, you will hear stories of the Viking occupation, William the Conqueror's Norman Conquest, the construction of London's medieval fortress, the devastation of Great Fire, the destruction of the Blitz, captured perfectly by a bombed out church, and the resilience and bravery of the people who lived through it and so much more!
Nowhere else in London is the clash of ancient crumbling icons and trailblazing modern architecture so obvious, with huge skyscrapers and historic 12th century churches standing proudly, shoulder to shoulder.
How can one self-governing little square mile, with ancient laws created by its council and imposed by its police force, stand so separately from everything around it?
Tour Highlights include:
- The Tower of London
- Monument
- London's Roman Wall
- The Blitz
- St Paul's Cathedral
- Tower Bridge
- Mansion House
- The Bank of England
- The Royal Exchange
- A walk along the River Thames
The tour finishes at St Paul's Cathedral.
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
• Behold the world-famous collection of Crown Jewels, a display of 23,578 exquisite gemstones still used in royal ceremonies today that are guarded round-the-clock.
• Venture into the White Tower, the oldest part of the fortress, built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century and see its displays of arms and armour.
• Stand on Tower Green, where the tragic fates of royal figures like Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey unfolded, as you listen to stories of executions and betrayals.
• Enhance your visit: dive deep with an AI-powered audioguide, join an expert-led English tour, enjoy a meet-and-greet with Beefeaters, or add a Thames River cruise.
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!☺️🙏🏼
Dickens described it as the place of “smoke and song”, little has changed. We call it London's home of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll. Soho is where you go for a good night out. It's where you go to let your hair down and be a little bit naughty.
In its long and varied history, Soho has seen it all; secret meetings of the Communist Party (under Karl Marx himself), virtuoso performance by an 8 year old Mozart, the home of the world's most famous lover, Casanova, a cholera outbreak that threatened to end life in London, and of course, it's had more than its fair share of alcohol induced scandal.
See where the Beatles played their first and last gig in London, and where Beatlemania was born. Join us as we visit some of the top music venues from the 1960s that helped to launch the careers of The Who, The Rolling Stones, and many more. We will saunter into what is left of the old red light district and take a stroll down the one and only Carnaby Street, the hub of swinging 60's fashion and the birthplace of the miniskirt.
This tiny district has left an indelible mark on pop culture and has risen from being a seedy dangerous realm thirty years ago to becoming one of the most famous and fashionable parts of the capital today.
Tour Highlights include:
- The London Palladium
- Leicester Square
- Carnaby Street
- Liberty
- The Beatles
- Jimi Hendrix's last gig
- The Cholera Outbreak
- The Old Red Light District
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
Discover London's Tower Bridge with our unbeatable-priced ticket. Experience the thrill of exploring its rich history and crossing its mesmerizing glass floor.
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
