Choose from Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster, The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St Pauls Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Horseguards Parade and Buckingham Palace… or other attractions.

For a half day tour of London on foot/public transport, there is just time to visit the main highlights. There won’t be time to explore each attraction in detail but plenty of time to take photographs and be told a little about what you are seeing. Attractions most often visited include the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament or mistakenly called Big Ben). This is home of the United Kingdom’s Parliament and you’ll learn how the parliamentary system works. You will also see Westminster Abbey, the venue for coronations, royal weddings, royal funerals, the resting place of monarchs and other notables such as Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

Buckingham Palace is the official London home of the monarch and if occurring on the day of your tour, you might witness the Changing of the Guard.

We can ride a double-decker bus through the Strand, pass a few theatres and along Fleet Street, home of Legal London and traditional home of newspapers in the UK. Into the City of London where Londinium was founded by the Romans almost two thousand years ago. The main attraction in this area is the Tower of London, an imposing castle, the oldest part of which dates from the late 11th Century. Extended, improved and re-modelled over the centuries, it has been used as a mint, an observatory, a zoo and a place of execution. The main exhibit in the castle is the Crown Jewels which are used in the Coronation ceremony.

You will also see in this area Tower and London Bridges, the modern architecture of the financial district and the monument to the Great Fire of London of 1666 which destroyed about 80% of the City of London.

For an alternative 4 hour walking tour, how about a tour of Westminster Abbey in detail and stay in that area covering the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Horseguards Parade, Trafalgar square and Buckingham palace for the guard change (if on that day).

OR visit the Tower of London in detail and also have time for photos at St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, London Bridge the Monument to the Great Fire of London and, if time, cross the ‘wobbly bridge’ to see Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern.

As with all of my tours, the itinerary is flexible and if there is anything you had in mind or want to visit somewhere different, let me know and, if within reason, I can personalise an itinerary for you.

A detailed tour of attractions such as the Abbey (allow about 1.5 hours) and the Tower (allow at least 2 hours) can be included in your half day but that does not leave much time to see the other sights of London. At least the above itinerary gives an introduction and if you are in London for a few more days you can discover many sights in more details at your own pace.