Tripology Travel Experts Blog: London

Explore London with five audio tours

Explore London with five audio tours.

The five Walk Talk Tours of London are all also available in French, German and Spanish.

The Palace Trail

Westminster Abbey is the first commentary point on this tour of royal and monumental London.  Listeners are treated to an interesting account of the building’s history, before moving on to the Houses of Parliament.  The narrator informs the listeners that the building is properly known as the new Palace of Westminster and explains about Parliament’s History.  The tour continues via Parliament Square up Whitehall to Downing Street, named after a property speculator.  The next stop is the Cenotaph, Britian’s monument to its war dead.  Then on to Horseguards where I heard about the origins of the Queen's Life Guard.  The narrator explained where the true centre of London is located, before guiding me to Trafalgar Square – London’s traditional mass gathering place.  The tour concludes with a walk along the Mall and through St James’ Park to Bukcingham Palace.

I enjoyed the flexibility that the Walk Talk Tour afforded me.  I could stop and enjoy the Mounting the Guard and then resume the tour when it was done.  (Handily the opening times of various ceremonial activities are provided on the Where & When page that accompany the tour).

Ride & Stride

I purchased my ticket and climbed aboard an old Routemaster bus (the kind you see in the Harry Potter movies).  The journey along the Strand to Fleet Street was an interesting one.  I learnt about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sweeny Todd.  As instructed, I got off the bus at St Paul’s Cathedral.  I listened to the tour’s commentary about St Paul’s before stopping my tour to go and take a look round Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest monument. 

I resume my tour once I’d stepped back outside.  I headed over the Millennium Bridge.  I paused in the middle (I found it best to stop in one place when listening to part of the tour).  The tour also included reference to the Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre.  It was interesting to learn the origins of phrases of such as ‘in the clink’.  I returned to the North Bank of the Thames via London’s most photographed bridge, Tower Bridge.  The tour concluded at the Tower of London.

I would recommend allowing at least two hours for this tour.  Note that some attractions like St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London have an admission charge.

The City and the Tower

Starting in front of the West Door of St Paul’s Cathedral, I followed the instructions through to the Cathedral’ Churchyard.  Then it was on to Cheapside.  The narrator talked about Roman London, whose influence can be seen in the name Watling Street and the remains of the Temple of Mithras.  I got the chance to admire the Bank of England from the outside, while hearing courtesy of my tour of attempts to defraud the Bank over the years.  I learnt about the Gherkin and Lloyds of London building with its iconic inside out design.  The tour concludes in front of the main pedestrian entrance to the Tower of London.  I enjoyed hearing about the legend of the ravens and the Beefeaters.  Once the commentary was complete, I choose to go and have a look round the Tower.

The City and the Tower took me a little over two hours to complete.  A listener could easily take half a day or more to enjoy the attractions along the route of the tour.

Museums, Galleries & Performing Arts

London’s famous theatreland is popular with visitors from around the globe.  This Walk Talk Tour, which begins in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square takes in Leicester Square – where there are statues to Londoner Charlie Chaplin and England’s greatest playwright, William Shakepeare  –  before heading to St Martin’s Theatre, home of the Mousetrap the longest running continuous theatrical production in the world.  

I enjoyed hearing about the history of Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House.  The tour also documents the development of policing in London.  The guide concludes at the British Museum.  A note of caution entrance to the main museum is free, but to get a ticket to the blockbuster temporary exhibitions be prepared to pay and to have to book in advance.

 City & South Bank Circular

This tour is a combination of the Ride & Stride and the City and the Tower tours.  It begins at St Paul’s Cathedral crosses the River Thames via Tower Bridge and then follows the Ride & Stride in reverse via City Hall, the Clink Bridge, the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern to the Millennium Bridge.

Allow three hours to complete this tour.  This is a good tour to take if you want to get a feel for some of London’s most famous sights but only have a day or two in the British capital.

Additional Information

Each Walk Talk Tour of London is available in French, German and Spanish.

Each London tour costs £5.95 (9.90USD).

 Customers purchasing two tours simultaneously will receive twenty percent off.  Buy three at the same time and get thirty percent off.

See: http://www.walktalktour.com

 Two people can legitimately enjoy a tour for the price of one (£5.95).

Significant discounts for groups and parties. 

For all your air, hotel and other arrangements in London or anywhere else for that matter, fill in the form to the right and get connected with an expert travel specialist via Tripology!

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