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3 Hour Guided Private Walking Tour: A Journey Through London's History and Landmarks
5.0
40 Ratings
Greater London
Embark on a 3-hour private walking tour of London's iconic landmarks and delve into the city's rich history. Explore famous sites like Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square with a knowledgeable guide.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Big Ben - The famous clock tower of Westminster Palace.
- Thames River - Behind Parliament is the River Thames and you’ll learn a little of the life it has played in shaping London.
- London Eye - We won’t go on it but we’ll see it from the river.
- Houses of Parliament - The Mother of Parliaments. Once a royal palace, it has inspired democratic movements in the France, the USA and around the world. We’ll learn of its history and the role it still plays today.
- Parliament Square - Parliament Square the the political heart of Westminster. Full of statues of people dedicated to Democracy and Liberty from Winston Churchill to Abraham Lincoln to Nelson Mandela. Surrounded by Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the High Courts.
- Whitehall - The broad avenue in Westminster full of beautiful and famous London government buildings.
- The Cenotaph - Our national memorial to the fallen of WW1, WW2 and recent wars.
- Downing Street - The home of the Prime Minister at Number 10.
- Horse Guards Parade at Whitehall - The primary ceremonial parade ground is surrounded by beautiful buildings and parks. It must be why the Queen has her birthday celebrations here.
- Westminster Abbey - Beautiful Westminster Abbey is where every monarch has been crowned since the times of William the Conqueror almost 1,000 years ago.
- Admiralty Arch - The beautiful old headquarters to the Royal Navy.
- Trafalgar Square - The most famous square in London. Home of fountains, statues, galleries and culture.
- Nelson’s Column - Learn the story of Admiral Nelson and the famous lions at the base of his majestic column
- The National Gallery - Overlooking the fountains and large plaza, The National Gallery is full of paintings on the inside and street performers and art on the outside.
- Cecil Court - This beautiful old street is full of niche art and cultural shops and the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter.
- Covent Garden - The cultural heart of London with a unique vibe. From Opera to sword jugglers, this is the place to be.
- Leicester Square - The beating heart of the West End. Surrounded by cafes and movie-cinemas.
- Women of World War II Memorial - Learn the story of the women who died during the epic war effort.
- Piccadilly Circus - New York has Time Square, London has the much older Piccadilly Circus.
- Fortnum & Mason - One of many high quality retailers in Piccadilly and one where everyone from The Queen downwards buys their goodies from!
- Green Park - One of the Royal Parks. It is called Green Park for a particular reason!
- Spencer House - From Green Park, we will see the London family home of the Spencer family.
- The Mall - The primary Ceremonial road in London. You might recognise it from Royal Weddings and national celebrations.
- Buckingham Palace - Buckingham Palace, the home of The Queen.
- Chinatown - Chinatown in Soho is a unique mix of old London, Chinese heritage and contemporary culture.
- St. James’s Park - An ornately beautiful Royal Park with great views of the palace and Westminster. Sometimes used in TV shows such as Downton Abbey.
- St. Paul’s Cathedral - On the extended tour, we will see the cathedral for London and learn its fascinating history.
- Millennium Bridge - Londons newest iconic bridge. (Extended Tour)
- Tate Modern - The largest modern art gallery in the world. (Extended Tour)
- Borough Market - Londons most famous food market, here since Roman times. You can get food from all over the world here… freshly made. Many a tour has come to a halt here :-) I like the dairy free goat ice-cream and also the Ethiopian curry but everyone has their favourites! (Extended Tour)
- Southwark Cathedral - One of the smaller and less famous London cathedrals but beautiful nonetheless. (Extended Tour)
- London Bridge - The original bridge was built by the Romans and pulled down by the Vikings. A millennia later and this modern bridge still has a tall spike on the end with a gory story to tell. (Extended Tour)
- Shakespeare’s Globe - Learn the story behind the famous Globe theatre and all things Shakespeare! (Extended Tour)
- HMS Belfast - From London Bridge we will see this old Royal Navy Cruiser. (Extended Tour)
- The Monument to the Great Fire of London - From out of nowhere, the epic Monument to the Great Fire of London appears. (Extended Tour)
- Tower of London - Built by William The Conqueror and home to the Crown Jewels and with an active military history up past WW2. We will visit the ominously named Traitors Gate. (Extended Tour)
- Tower Bridge - We finish by one of the symbols of London, Tower Bridge and learn a little of its interesting history along the way. (Extended Tour)
- Ye Olde England Tours - This is just one of over 50 tours run and organised by Ye Olde England Tours. Believe it or not the list of places we visit in this tour is not exhaustive. This is the tour for you for your first or only day in London.
What's Included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off to selected hotels
- Private guide
What's Not Included
- Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information
Explore the remarkable sights and renowned landmarks of the UK capital on this private 3-hour walking tour around London. Led by a private guide, delve into the city’s streets filled with years of British history. Listen to the striking sounds of Big Ben and visit notable locations like Covent Garden, China Town, and Trafalgar Square along the way. Experience the vibrant ambiance of Piccadilly Circus and observe the regal guards at Buckingham Palace. This exclusive tour offers pickup and drop-off services at select London hotels.
- This tour involves a moderate amount of walking please wear comfortable shoes
- Generally the sights are relatively quiet and we always practice social distancing but at some locations it is possible small sections may have small crowds so we will do our best to avoid them though social distancing is generally not a problem. All of our tours are private so it is just you/your family and your guide.  To make it easier and safer for all concerned we would suggest starting this tour a little later than the usual time, perhaps around 10.30-11am which allows us all to miss rush-hour. We are happy to still come to your hotel to meet you but for the moment we would suggest meeting us at the tour starting point.  This allows you to arrive by a taxi or uber rather than public transport. Please feel free to wear masks throughout or at times during the tour.  Your guide will also have a mask with them.
Location
Westminster
Bridge Street
Just outside Westminster Underground Station on Bridge Street, opposite Big Ben. There is a Caffe Nero, we start from there. Of course we can meet you at your London hotel too.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(40 Ratings)
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Erin_s
Jan 23, 2024
Top tier tour - Kevin was a phenomenal tour guide. We walked from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, seeing tons of sites in London from Big Ben to the Tower of London. He regularly asked if I needed a stop but was happy to march on. He also added a ton of fun anecdotes to the history he shared. Fantastic!
Review provided by Viator
E8245spsusanf
Aug 9, 2023
Simply an Amazing Tour Experience - Book Now - We had an amazing private walking tour with our guide, Stephen. Stephen was punctual at our hotel as agreed upon via text the day before. He is a very friendly, genuine and authentic person. His extensive breadth of knowledge of sites that we visited was impressive. I asked many questions and he managed to answer all of them. Stephen was very patient and stepped up to the task of letting my tween see and pet some horses. I would absolutely recommend this company. I look forward to taking more tours in the future.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jennifer_b
Mar 8, 2023
Best Tour of London for First Timers - HIGHLY RECOMMEND!! This tour takes you past all items on itinerary and you get so much more. Guide Stephen is highly knowledgeable and a Freeman of the City of London (we learned what that was on the tour). Great info on history, royals, Parliament, churches, modern buildings and great places to eat. Stephen also made recommendations on opportunities to take pictures and even took pictures of us so we didn’t have to miss the background with selfies. We did this our first full day in London and the rest of our trip we ate at restaurants, including a pub from the 1600s, all recommended on tour.
We did the 2 hour extension and if your feet can handle it, well worth it. Walked 11 miles that day and learned how to navigate all key tourist areas. We will book a private tour with Stephen each time we return to London.
Review provided by Viator
Julie_u
Oct 29, 2022
Learning and loving London with Stephen! - We did the extended walking tour and absolutely LOVED our time with Stephen. His depth of knowledge of both history and current events made our tour fascinating and fun. We were in London at a really interesting time (between Prime Ministers!) And he answered ALL of our questions...which were many for these curious Americans! We'll be back in London next summer with our kids and will definitely book with Stephen again and recommend him to anyone who wants a great tour of London.
Review provided by Viator
Travis_d
Oct 9, 2022
Kevin is awesome! - I scheduled this tour on my birthday and boy was it worth every penny. Kevin was incredibly personable and hugely knowledgeable about London's main points of interests. I loved every minute of the tour and I'll definitely be looking to have him as a tour guide for future trips to London!
Review provided by Viator
Sean_c
Oct 7, 2022
London Adventures - I havent been to london in about a decade and we had the best time roaming around the city with Kevin. He knows the ins and outs of both the history and the streets of london. I loved the stories he had about moments of the past and how he cited what'd happened in random spots we'd walked to. All in all, a great way to start our trip!
Review provided by Viator
Loreenc20
Oct 4, 2022
Best tour we have ever done! Worth every penny. - Steve was amazing!!! Full of fun facts and interesting stories. We really enjoyed the pace of the tour and how many hidden treasures he showed us. We have travelled Extensively and have done many tours, by far this was the best. Worth every penny!
Can’t wait to have The privilege of another tour with Steve.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinemaloneyy
Oct 4, 2022
Site seeing in London - This was a fantastic tour and Simon a very knowledgable tour guide. Although we had been there for a few days before our tour and walked by some sights, Simon answered all the questions we had and added points and facts we would not have know about (with lots of humour). The tour covered a lot and probably one of the best things we did.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Federico_a
Jul 2, 2022
Most knowledgeable tours we have attended! - I would recommend this tour to everyone visiting London! the tour guide was extremely knowledgable and never felt by any means boring. He catered directly to our liking and seemed to know everything about the city. We were extremely impressed by all the various opportunities he made us aware of! I wish we had another day in the city to explore all the options. I loved how the guide was always informing us about information and history of the city, I feel like our family had never learned more about any place we have visited! I would recommend to anyone visiting to definitely go with full energy, and be willing to follow the lead of the guide, I was astounded by the quantity of things I had never known before, yet perfectly catered to what we wished to see.
Review provided by Viator
Stodorof
Jun 15, 2022
First time in London! - Simon really made our tour special. He showed us everything we asked for and even more. He was considerate of our time constraints and got us exactly where we needed to be on time. He kept the pace quick but also was very patient with us taking pictures, asking questions, etc. 1000% would recommend if you’d like an insider view of London!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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