Portrait of a City: Private, Guided Walking Tour of London

2,000 years of London’s history are explored during a 3-hour, privately guided walking tour

A scholarly guide will focus on how London developed from a Roman town into the centre of the British Empire

Walk through a timeline of London in the Museum of London and see what is left of the Roman wall and fort

Visit what remains of London’s medieval market and structures view the Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire

Tour All-Hallows-by-the-Tower, the oldest known church in London and if time permits the Tower of London

London’s 2,000 year history is brought to light during this 3-hour, privately guided walking tour.

The city of London has a rich history, but much of it can be difficult to uncover and learn about by the uninitiated. This private walking tour exposes much of this history, focusing broadly on the story of the city, its history, traditions and culture.

You will meet your guide at the imposing sundial located directly outside of the Tower Hill tube station. Throughout the tour, your scholarly guide will place special attention on how London developed from a Roman town into the bustling centre of the British Empire.

The tour will commence at the Museum of London, where you will walk through a timeline of the history of the city. As you depart the museum, you will pass some remainders of the Roman wall and fort that were situated in the area.

You will proceed to the Guildhall, London’s medieval town hall, which is the only pre-1666 secular building that survived the Great Fire and the 1940 to 1941 Blitz. This site is also where the Roman amphitheatre was situated. You will have the opportunity to examine the remains here.

From this location you will take a short walk to a 3rd century AD Roman Mithraeum that was originally located next to a small river called the Walbrook. It no longer exists. You will then proceed to walk through the heart of the city via Eastcheap, which was once part of the area containing London’s medieval market.

Afterwards, you will view the Monument, a monolithic structure built to commemorate the believed starting point of the Great Fire of 1666. It is presently undergoing a careful restoration to bring it back to its old glory and reminds us that this fire destroyed most of the medieval city. You will learn about how many of the 96 churches which existed in this area were destroyed and how the job of their restoration was given to Christopher Wren. His masterpieces are still a major feature of London today.

Your walk will continue to All-Hallows-by-the-Tower, a church that escaped the Great Fire, but could not withstand the Blitz. The church is the oldest known in London and contains remains from the Roman, Saxon, medieval and modern periods. It was also the place where Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire spread across the capital, where William Penn was christened and where John Quincy Adams was married.

From here, depending on your interests and on the time left, your tour may continue to the Tower of London, where you will see the last vestiges of a Roman walk, or head towards the Lloyd's Building and Tower 42, to discuss the development of the city in the last century.

This privately guided, walking tour is perfect for first-time and return visitors to London who are looking for a comprehensive and vivid primer on the history, culture and traditions of this great city.