Private City & Secrets: Explore London's Hidden Gems

At a glance

Private City & Secrets: Explore London's Hidden Gems is a 4h private experience in London, United Kingdom, operated by Tally Ho Experiences. Travellers rate it 5.0 out of 5 across 1 reviews on Viator and Tripadvisor. Prices start from $287.93 per person, and free cancellation is available. Included: Local guide, Rain poncho (if required), Helmet (optional).

Quick facts

Duration

4h

Group

Private tour — only your group

Languages

English

Pickup

Meet at the start point

Confirmation

Instant confirmation

Ticket

Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Travellers

1–15 per booking · adult required

Ages

Infant 0–3 · Child 4–12 · Youth 13–17 · Adult 18–99

Cancellation

Free cancellation (see policy)

Options & availability

• Private City & Secrets: Explore London's Hidden Gems on a Sunday

  from $85.55

  Days:

  Every day

  Start times:

  10:30, 14:00

  Check availability →

Times and prices come from the operator’s live schedule and are confirmed when you book.

Overview

Itinerary

1. Stop 1 · 10m

   Explore Roupell Street, a fascinating glimpse into 1820s London, with its charming Georgian houses built for the working class. John Roupel reclaimed marshy land and named the streets after his family. Postmen's confusion led to name changes. The area almost burned down in 1829, prompting fire insurance reminders. Notice plaques on houses – without one, private firefighters would let your house burn. Despite WWII bombings, these streets remain.
   
   Visit The King's Arms, a Grade II Victorian Pub, offering 10 real ales, including local brews. Once an undertaker's and magistrates' court, it now serves top-notch Thai cuisine.

2. Stop 2 · 5m

   Visit the brigde which was opened 1in 869 by Queen Victoria. It is named after the Dominican Friars who had their monastery at the north end of the bridge. The tops of the support columns are shaped like pulpits in its memory.

3. Stop 3 · 5m

   The Cockpit pub was the site of monastic houses and Dominican friars had their monastery here. Shakespeare bought the gatehouse and lived here.

4. Stop 4 · 5m

   St. Paul's Cathedral, an emblematic London landmark, held Prince Charles and Lady Diana's wedding and Winston Churchill's funeral. Wellington and Nelson also lay here. With a rich history dating back to 604 AD, old St. Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, 1666. Christopher Wren rebuilt it, symbolising resilience. Despite WWII bombings, St. Paul's stands tall as an emblem of survival.

5. Stop 5 · 5m

   Discover the church, whose bells are the most famous in London, where if you are born within the sound of Bow bells, you are true a Cockney Londoner.

6. Stop 6 · 5m

   Delve into Medieval London, and the town hall of the City of London and hear stories of the weird, archaic traditions, which have been unchanged since middle ages.

7. Stop 7 · 10m

   Uncover the history of the highest point in the City of London, which has been of importance since Roman Times. Where you will learn about Mansion House (the home of the Lord Mayor of London) and the Bank of England.

8. Stop 8 · 10m

   Visit the Victorian market, designed by Sir Horace Jones which in Roman times was the location of the Forum and Basilica. Here you'll uncover the Harry Potter Locations of Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron.

9. Stop 9 · 10m

   Discover and be immersed in the diverse architecture at the heart of the City of London. See the architectural masterpiece of Richard Roger's Lloyds of London Skyscraper, surrounded by its neighbours the Cheesegrater and the Gherkin in contrast to St Andrew Undershaft, a pre 1666 fire church, built when Henry VIII was king (1517).

10. Stop 10 · 5m

    Discover one of the oldest parts of London and see the Roman wall of London, of which part was built by Romans around 200AD.

11. Stop 11 · 10m

    Visit the mural completed in 1983 in one of London's most diverse, multicultural areas. It depicts the battle between fascists and protesters in 1936, when the area was a predominantly Jewish area.

12. Stop 12 · 5m

    Explore one of London's original docks, in an area that has been regenerated since the 1980s, and learn about the history of what was 100 years ago, the busiest docks in the world.

13. Stop 13 · 10m

    Explore the ornamental canal and old tobacco warehouses in the heart of the old London Docks, which have been redeveloped since the 1980s.

14. Stop 14 · 5m

    Explore the last of London's Docks to be built in 1825 and the first to close down in the 1960s. The area was the site of the the hospital St Katherine's by the Tower founded in 1147 by Queen Matilda.

15. Stop 15 · 5m

    Tower Bridge, an iconic symbol of London, is a combined bascule and suspension bridge that spans the River Thames. Completed in 1894, it was designed by Sir Horace Jones and engineered by Sir John Wolfe Barry. The bridge features two neo-Gothic towers connected by a central walkway and has become a major tourist attraction. The Tower Bridge Exhibition, housed within the towers, offers visitors a chance to learn about the bridge's history and enjoy panoramic views of the city from the glass-floored walkway. The bascules are raised around 800 times a year to allow tall ships to pass through, providing a spectacular sight for onlookers.

16. Stop 16 · 5m

    Discover the Tower of London, an iconic historical site built by William the Conqueror shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Once a royal palace, menagerie, observatory, and armoury, it is most famous as a state prison and execution site. Entering through Traitors Gate often meant a grim fate. Notable figures like William Wallace, Thomas More, Henry VI, and Edward V met their demise here, as did Henry VIII's wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Today, the Tower houses the magnificent Crown Jewels, a must-see for any visitor.

17. Stop 17 · 10m

    Take in the grandeur of the World War II Cruiser Class Destroyer ship, which was built in the same shipyard as the Titanic in Belfast. The ship protected convoys in WWII and the Korean War and was part of the D Day Landings on June 6th 1944. And today it is a floating museum, where you can see interiors which doubled as the Royal Yacht Britannia in Netflix's The Crown.

18. Stop 18 · 10m

    View the former City Hall of London, designed by Norman Foster.

19. Stop 19 · 5m

    Take a moment in a quiet space in the middle of the busting City of London. The original church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, but was rebuilt by Wren.

20. Stop 20 · 5m

    View the great monument to the Great Fire of London of 1666. Standing at 202 ft high, If laid on it’s side, the golden urn on top would land at Thomas Farriner’s bakery shop on Pudding Lane where fire started 2 Sep 1666.

21. Stop 21 · 5m

    Witness Shakespeare's Globe from one of London's finest bridges. Experience the magic of Shakespeare's Globe, a 1997 reconstruction of the original 1599 venue. As home to The Lord Chamberlain's Men, it saw the debut of many Shakespearean classics.

22. Stop 22 · 5m

    Tate Modern, the world's most-visited modern art gallery, opened in 2000 after transforming a 1950s Bankside Power Station. Its twisted brick pyramid, a 2016 extension, features a 10th-floor viewing gallery. The impressive turbine hall hosts changing, monumental commissions. A masterpiece itself, the building is worth visiting even for non-art lovers. Admire works by renowned 20th/21st-century artists, from Mondrian and Richter to Rothko and Picasso.

Meeting point

Traveller ratings

Good to know

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
• Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
• Minimum alcohol drinking age is 18 years
• Riders must be aged 13 years and over

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Frequently asked questions