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City of London Tour | The Square Mile

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City of London

This tour will take you through the oldest streets in London – from the Roman settlement 2,000 years ago - to the newest (and tallest!) buildings in all of Europe. Follow us as we lead you to the most historic pub in all of London, through the financial heart of the United Kingdom, and along the glorious and picturesque River Thames.
Schedule: Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays
Start Time: 10:30am on Tuesdays / 2:00pm (14:00) on Fridays and Saturdays
Tour Language: English
Duration: 2 hours
View Highlights

City of London Highlights

    • The Bank of England

    • Royal Courts of Justice

    • Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

    • London Bridge

    • Tower Bridge

    • Millennium Bridge

    • The Monument

    • River Thames

    • HMS Belfast

    • and much more

Welcome to the “Square Mile!”

This tour will take you through the oldest streets in London – from the Roman settlement 2,000 years ago - to the newest (and tallest!) buildings in all of Europe.

Follow us as we lead you to the most historic pub in all of London, through the financial heart of the United Kingdom, and along the glorious and picturesque River Thames.

Free Tours by FootExcellentFree Tours by Foot4.9 Based on 727 reviews fromSee all reviews review us onKristin H.Kristin H. ★★★★★ Loved Sinead! She kept us moving without feeling rushed. We saw it all, but more importantly we laughed and enjoyed the stories behind the stories.Gizzy05Gizzy05 ★★★★★ I booked the City of London Tour and it was exceptional! It turned out that I was the only one. My „personal guide“, Matt, was very knowledgeable and the tour was both entertaining and fun. Highly recommended!Kimberley P.Kimberley P. ★★★★★ A great way to explore London and see some areas that you wouldn't see otherwise, and you pay what you can afford. The guides are very knowledgeable and happy to answer questions.Tessa B.Tessa B. ★★★★★ We hebben de bermondsey beer mile expierence gedaan met Dan. Dan was super enthousiast en wist veel over bier, de omgeving en de stad te vertellen. We waren met een klein groepje, 5 in totaal. 2 gezelschappen en de gids. Het was een super leuke ervaring waarbij we ook tijd hadden om elkaar te leren kennen en over culturen te praten, omdat de groep zo klein was. Heerlijke biertjes geproefd en toffe plekken gezien. Echt een aanrader!Carine C.Carine C. ★★★★★ Great tour full of great information. Margaret was brilliant and very friendly. We really enjoyed it.jefferson lord (.jefferson lord (. ★★★★★ (Jack The Ripper)Absolutely fantastic tour, Sinead (our guide ) really seduces you into a brutally descriptive immersion of 1888 white chapel and each of the canonical 5 murders. Would certainly book more tours with her.Brenda C.Brenda C. ★★★★★ Candice was out your guide and he was fabulous! Loved this tour and we learned so much about the city!Jill K.Jill K. ★★★★★ It was perfect in every way! Sinead is a treasure and such a welcoming ambassador for London. We will be talking about the tour for years to come. We are already thinking about our next trip and booking another walking tour!PM J.PM J. ★★★★★ Jack-the-Ripper-Tour mit Sinead war großartig. Sie hat ein großes, dramatisches Talent und schafft es, die Athmospäre des alten Eastend heraufzubeschwören… gleichzeitig ist sie unheimlich freundlich und hat sich um alle Teilnehmer sehr gut gekümmert 🙂 Wir waren begeistert!Damien C.Damien C. ★★★★★ Tanja H.Tanja H. ★★★★★ Eine hervorragende Stadtführung mit erfahrenen Guides die einen auch an verborgene Ecken führen, die man selber nie gefunden hätte. Ich habe zwei Führungen in London mitgemacht, eine Geisterführung und eine Führung in der City of London, also dem alten Teil der Stadt. Es werden aber noch andere Führungen angeboten. Das schöne ist, dass man zwar einen Platz reservieren muss (geht manchmal noch sm selben Morgen) aber bezahlt wird erst nach der Führung und nur das, was es einem Wert war. Es gibt auch etliche Videos auf Youtube, die man sich als Vorgeschmack anschauen kann. Die meisten Führungen werden zwar ausschließlich in Englisch angeboten aber es gibt wohl auch manchmal Führungen auf Deutsch. Ich kann diese Firma wärmstens empfehlen.Christie Sears T.Christie Sears T. ★★★★★ I took two different tours with this company and both were fantastic! Both Sinead and Alan are great guides!Alba B.Alba B. ★★★★★ We booked two different tours in London and had a great experience. The Ghost tour and the Street art tour were very interesting and the guides were great. I will definitely book tours with them next time I am around.Christopher O.Christopher O. ★★★★★ Brilliant tour. Really interesting and informative. Our guide Nelly was so knowledgeable, clear and friendly. Highly recommended.AmélieAmélie ★★★★★ The tour was amazing! Our guide was Margaret, a really nice woman who knew the answer to every possible question we had - even regarding sights we didn't tour but were curious about. We booked the "London in one day" tour and visited the popular sights as well as little streets we would have never seen if it wasn't for the tour. We learned a lot of stuff, mostly really fun facts, anecdotes and the history behind the places. Margaret made the tour so much fun with her way of explaining things so it really didn't feel like six hours. She gave us many recommendations for other places to visit or to get some food. I'd recommend this tour to everyone!janet A.janet A. ★★★★★ Margaret Stockton-Davies was very personable, knowledgeable, good at keeping tour group together, answered all questions, easy to hear, nice sense of humor. Fun tour.S KS K ★★★★★ Margaret led our tour and did a great job. Please be aware of pick pockets targeting these tours.Wanda B.Wanda B. ★★★★★ Most enjoyable walking tour with Margaret, she was very knowledgeable about the history of London, royalty and landmarks. Margaret told stories in a delightful manner, including silly trivia.I would recommend her tour without any hesitation.LindsayLindsay ★★★★★ I did the World War II walking tour with Canice. I really enjoyed it and I was happy that a lot of details and images were shown throughout the tour in addition to physical sites. All of the information was comprehensible even if you, like me, know about WWII but are not an expert. I really enjoyed seeing the sites of the London Blitz and learning a lot about its history. I highly recommend!tali B.tali B. ★★★★★ המדריך ששמו canice היה מצוין! נתן הרבה מידע מתובל בהומור, בעל ידע רב. נהננו ולמדו רבות!SRIDHAR R.SRIDHAR R. ★★★★★ Execellent and cheapest way to explore if you are first time visitingJennifer I.Jennifer I. ★★★★★ The Grand Central Terminal tour with John on 05/28/32 was brilliant. Highly recommended.Lauren U.Lauren U. ★★★★★ We did Shakespeare’s London with Canice, and had a blast. He made southwark history extremely accessible and had an abundance of fabulous quips and anecdotes. The time flew by, I’d highly recommend!!Sandra R.Sandra R. ★★★★★ Gregory did a fantastic job guiding us in Birmingham. We had no idea of what we could expect from this city, and we were strongly surprised. Thank you Greg!R S.R S. ★★★★★ We have been to many walking tours, but Margaret's tour was a cut above the rest. She was funny, knowledgeable and kept the momentum going. There was not one boring or tiring moment in the trip.Reader of M.Reader of M. ★★★★★ Elizabeth H.Elizabeth H. ★★★★★ Thanks for the lovely tour - really appreciated the stories and details you layered into our conversation!Jandy H.Jandy H. ★★★★★ My walking tour with Margaret was amazing. She’s not only knowledgeable but her energy made the tour so much fun and enjoyable.perry W.perry W. ★★★★★ Like watching 👀Daria P.Daria P. ★★★★★ The tour London all in one with Margaret was really well prepared, organised and full of information. I enjoyed it even though weather wasn;t the best! It seems quite long, but thank to to Margaret's charisma and coffee break surely doable! Margarte was also caring about your safety, needs and more than happy to chat between stops and give useful recommendations!Jude M.Jude M. ★★★★★ While researching an upcoming trip to the UK from Australia I stumbled across the Free Tours by Foot YouTube channel and have been captivated ever since. Sinead is a brilliant guide who, with just a camera and herself, has given me an amazing insight into London even before I’ve actually arrived! Thank you Sinead. I will thank you in person in September 😊Anke van den B.Anke van den B. ★★★★★ Greg was the best tourguide you could wish! Thank you for aswering all our questions!Ines KInes K ★★★★★ I really enjoyed their tours.James D.James D. ★★★★★ Great tour of Westminster, Sinead was most definitely entertaining your guide and most importantly knowledgeable about Westminster!mark O.mark O. ★★★★★ Gregory opened our eyes to the fascinating history of Birmingham. It was a total pleasure throughout the tour. We would strongly recommend to everyone who comes to this city, to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about BirminghamKalina A.Kalina A. ★★★★★ ExcellentGreat tour with Margaret in London. She is very knowledgeable. The tour was so interesting. I highly recommend to everyone.Sankalp K.Sankalp K. ★★★★★ Margaret makes the mood all jolly while she gives us tour of London. Loved the experience.Gaveriela T.Gaveriela T. ★★★★★ Outstanding tour by Maciek (Polish origin) of Soho and Piccadilly on Thursday Feb 23, 2023.Outstanding tour by (do not remember) of Notting Hill on Saturday Feb 25, 2023.Both were professional, gentle, eloquent – real joy. Highly recommendedיואב בן א.יואב בן א. ★★★★★ shruti M.shruti M. ★★★★★ Eric B.Eric B. ★★★★★ Alexandra WAlexandra W ★★★★★ Great tour with Margrit! Highly recommend it!!!!Alice A.Alice A. ★★★★★ Really great walking tour from Amanda! Lots of knowledge and kept it very enticing with lots of history as well as life in Prague. Would definitely recommend!AniAni ★★★★★ לקחנו שלושה סיורים, היה מעניין מאוד, הרגשנו כמו סיור פרטי, תודה רבה, בעיקר למדריך מאט, שהדריך אותנו בשניים מהסיורים, היה מרתק, הוסיף תכנים נוספים שהעשירו את המידע ובכלל, היה נחמד ביותר!Layne P.Layne P. ★★★★★ We did the Westminster tour with in September Margaret and would highly recommend it! Margaret was funny and personable often chatting with the others in the group as we walked from place to place. All the history she shared was fascinating and interesting. Always willing to answer questions from the group and individually. She wore a headset and was easy to hear and had a flag for us to see when we followed her. Our group was larger than usual as one of the tour guides was sick that day and we had to combine tours, but it was still a comfortable size and didn't feel cramped. I also love that this is a pay-what-you-like tour. The tour guides keep all of what they receive and of course that's an incentive for them to engage with the group. I saw several other tour groups walking around London and all I could think was how miserable the guides looked. At the end, I was MORE than happy to give Margaret a large tip which was still much less than two of use would have spent on a traditional tour. Next time I'm there I will definitely be doing another tour with this company and will go out of my way to ask for Margaret.ally D.ally D. ★★★★★ Shuly A.Shuly A. ★★★★★ Christmas lights tour with Canis was great.Will absolutely look for his other toursJuan R.Juan R. ★★★★★ Muy buen tourjs_loader

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Starting with a stroll along the ancient underground river Fleet, with a mid-point stop at Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, and a grand finale at Her Majesty’s Fortress, The Tower of London, this tour manages to squeeze two millennia worth of time into one easy-to-handle 2 and a half hour jam-packed excursion!

City of London Tour

Join Free Tours by Foot as we travel down medieval alleyways and discover hidden gems.

A great adventure through London, encompassing world-famous sites as well as areas off the tourist-beaten track, our City of London Tour will take you from the origins of our capital straight through to the modern-day – without missing anything in between!


Sites we cover on the tour:

Find out more about these sites by reading our Self-guided City of London Tour or take our more extensive anytime audio tour.

London walking Tours

Tour Information

When: Tuesdays at 10:30. Fridays and Saturdays at 14:00 (2 pm). You can also take this tour anytime with our GPS-led audio tour.

Reservations are required. click here to reserve. If your group is 10 or more, please check our private tours page or contact us.

Where: The tour departs from just outside the Temple Tube Station. The station is between Temple Place and Victoria Embankment at Arundel Street. There is only one exit for the station.

Please use our Google map for directions to the start of the tour. The tour ends near the Tower of London (map).  

For additional tips on traveling through the city, check out our blog posts on getting around London.

City of London Meeting Spot at Temple Station

GPS-ENABLED AUDIO TOUR VERSION

If you can't take our guided walk when it's offered, or you prefer to go it alone, then consider our GPS-led audio tour of the Old City of London.

You can take this tour any time, day or night, though we think daytime on a workday gives you the best feel for the area. 

Here is a sample of the tour.

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Here is how it works:

  1. Purchase an Audio Tour
  2. Receive a confirmation email with all the details. 
  3. Enjoy the tour(s).

In addition to the audio version of the Old City of London Tour, we also have the following audio tours.

  • Royal London (Westminster)
  • Harry Potter Locations
  • Jack the Ripper
  • Greenwich
  • Rock N Roll London
  • Oxford
  • Public Bus #11 (temporarily rerouted - unavailable)

You could also visit our main London audio tours page for more samples and information. 


Related Posts:

And much, much more

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