Few would deny that a privately guided, chauffeur-driven tour of the town is a splendid way to go, but don’t worry if your budget doesn’t stretch quite that far. You’ll be delighted to hear there are plenty of great tour options at the free or cheap end of the spectrum.
City Guides host dozens of free or inexpensive walks around London’s historic areas. All start from the City Information Centre near St Paul’s Cathedral. Popular ones include Charles Dickens Walks, London’s Burning, Roman London and Monuments to Murder.
City Garden Walks lead low cost, environmentally-friendly tours of colourful gardens, ancient burial grounds, secret green spots and other downtown horticultural delights, while Walk London run free guided weekends thrice a year. Look out for their Autumn Ambles in late September and Winter Wanders in early 2018.
Footprints of London specialise in culture- connected walks; upcoming choices include Rumpole and the Legal Life, Constable’s Hampstead, Soho and all that Jazz and Tracing the Tudors: the Real London of Wolf Hall. Throughout October the company runs an innovative Literary Footprints Festival.
London’s top museums offer free gallery tours and self-guiding trails along with free entry. Highly recommended are daily tours at the award-winning Victoria & Albert Museum, opening your eyes to some of the treasures on display at this, the world’s greatest museum of art and design. Choose from a dazzling variety covering Theatre & Performance, Medieval & Renaissance, LGBTQ, African Heritage or Britain 1500- 1900. Many old churches run inexpensive, fascinating crypt-to-belfry tours. Try the one at lovely St Brides, with its many royal, literary and longstanding US connections like Benjamin Franklin and North Carolina’s first colonists.
The East End Street and Graffiti Tour is one of the most popular daily tours offered by Free Walks by Foot. Led by a local street artist, it’s packed with visits to some of the capital’s most eclectic, shocking, beautiful and imaginative street art, from massive murals that take up entire buildings to tiny hidden treasures you’d miss if you didn’t have someone to tell you where to look. The tour is bookable and free to take, with an unpressured “pay what you think it’s worth” collection at journey’s end.
Last but not least, for the mere price of a single bus ticket you can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the best of London atop an iconic red double decker bus. We recommend Heritage Route 15 for a whistlestop tour of the city’s most famous sights including Trafalgar Square, the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Royal Courts of Justice.
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Article by Judith Schrut. Email Judith at judith0777@gmail.com
Dan Vo leading the unique LGBTQ tour, Victoria & Albert Museum, photo courtesy Dan Vo and the V&A.