About Activity
Most visitors to London head straight for Westminster and Big Ben — and walk right past the square mile where the city actually began. This tour is different: it stays in the historic City of London, tracing two thousand years of history in a single compact walk, from a surviving stretch of Roman wall to the dome of St Paul's.
What sets it apart is the layering. On one small patch of ground you'll stand where Roman Londinium's forum once buzzed, where medieval traitors lost their heads, where the Great Fire reshaped a city, and where the modern financial world still turns. Your local guide ties it all together — the fortresses and executions, the hidden lanes and the dark secrets — in a small, friendly group that can slip into corners the crowds never reach.
What you'll see:
Roman wall, Tower Hill
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London Bridge
The Monument
Leadenhall Market
Royal Exchange
Bank of England
Mansion House & Guildhall
St Paul's Cathedral
Includes
- Professional guide
- Small-group experience
Excludes
- Hotel pickup and drop off
- Gratuities
Departure Point
- Your Old City Tour begins by the CitizenM Hotel Entrance, next to Tower Hill Station. Look for the SANDEMANs Tours team with a SANDEMANs red umbrella.
Return
- Your Old City Tour usually finishes near St. Paul's Cathedral, a 25-min walk away from the starting point of the tour. There are MANY great options for food and drinks in the area after your tour, and your guide will be happy to share their favorites.
Stop At: Meet your guide at the entrance to the CitizenM Tower of London hotel, beside Tower Hill Station, where nearly two thousand years of history rise from the ground beneath your feet. This is where London began.
Your guide sets the scene at Tower Hill, where a surviving stretch of the ancient Roman wall still marks the edge of Londinium, the settlement founded by the Romans around AD 50 on the banks of the Thames. From this river port grew the square mile that would become the City of London — a place with its own laws, customs and fierce independence.
Standing between the Roman past and the modern towers of finance, your guide introduces the walk ahead: royal fortresses and executions, fire and plague, trade and empire, and the hidden lanes where the City's oldest stories still linger.
Stop At: Tower Of London Admission Ticket:
Tickets are not included We arrive at the Tower of London, the great stone fortress on the Thames begun by William the Conqueror nearly a thousand years ago to dominate his newly conquered city.
Your guide unfolds its many lives: royal palace, armoury, treasury and, most notoriously, prison. Within these walls, queens and traitors met their end — Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard among those executed on the orders of Henry VIII — while the ravens, by legend, still guard the kingdom's fate. Here too the Crown Jewels are kept, the dazzling regalia of the British monarchy.
Your guide brings the fortress to life with tales of imprisonment, escape and execution, and the Yeoman Warders who have guarded it for centuries. Few buildings hold so much of England's history — and so many of its darkest secrets — behind a single set of walls.
Stop At: Tower Bridge A short walk brings us to the river's edge, with Tower Bridge rising ahead — its twin Gothic towers and blue suspension chains among the most recognisable sights in the world.
Your guide explains how this stretch of the Thames was the lifeblood of London: the tidal highway that carried goods, ships and people, and made the City one of the greatest trading ports on earth. Completed in 1894, Tower Bridge was an engineering marvel of its age, its bascules still lifting to let tall vessels pass beneath.
It's also simply one of the finest viewpoints in London, where the ancient Tower, the modern skyline and the working river all meet. Your guide pauses here to take in the panorama and trace how the Thames shaped the city's fortunes for two thousand years.
Stop At: London Bridge We continue to London Bridge, the oldest river crossing in the city and, for centuries, the only one — a place woven deep into London's history and its nursery rhymes alike.
Your guide tells its long and dramatic story: the Roman timber bridge, the famous medieval stone bridge crowded with houses, shops and even a chapel, and the grim custom of displaying the severed heads of traitors on its southern gate. That old bridge stood for more than six hundred years before being replaced, and its successors have carried Londoners across the water ever since.
Standing at this ancient crossing point, your guide explains how the bridge shaped the growth of the City on one bank and Southwark on the other — and why "London Bridge is falling down" carries echoes of very real history.
Stop At: The Monument To The Great Fire Of London We reach the Monument, the towering fluted column designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke to commemorate one of the most catastrophic events in the city's history.
Your guide recounts the Great Fire of September 1666, which broke out in a baker's shop on Pudding Lane and raged for four days, devouring much of the medieval City — thousands of houses and dozens of churches, including old St Paul's. The Monument stands exactly 202 feet from where the fire began, its height marking the precise distance to the spot.
From the ashes rose a new London. Your guide explains how the disaster reshaped the city forever, clearing the crowded timber streets and giving Wren the chance to rebuild in stone — a transformation whose results still surround us on this walk.
Stop At: Leadenhall Market We step into Leadenhall Market, a breathtaking Victorian arcade of wrought iron and glass, its cream and maroon paintwork and cobbled floor glowing beneath an ornate roof.
Your guide reveals the astonishing depth of history beneath it: this was the very heart of Roman Londinium, the site of the forum and basilica — the largest such structure north of the Alps — where the city's public life once unfolded. A market has stood here in some form since the fourteenth century, trading in poultry, game and cheese.
The elegant structure you see today was built in 1881, and its atmospheric lanes have since found fame on screen as a filming location. Your guide draws the threads together — Roman forum, medieval market and Victorian masterpiece, all layered on one remarkable spot.
Stop At: The Royal Exchange We arrive at the Royal Exchange, its grand portico of Corinthian columns presiding over the busy heart of the City's financial district.
Your guide tells the story of its founder, the Tudor merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, who established the Exchange in 1565 as a place for London's merchants to meet and trade — the first purpose-built centre of commerce in the city. Twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt, the present building dates from 1844 and still marks the symbolic centre of the Square Mile.
Here your guide explains how London grew into one of the world's great financial capitals, and how the fortunes made in trade, insurance and banking transformed a medieval city into a global powerhouse whose influence reached across the entire British Empire.
Stop At: Bank Of England Museum A few steps on stands the Bank of England, the imposing windowless fortress of a building known for centuries as "the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street."
Your guide explains its extraordinary role: founded in 1694 to fund government borrowing, the Bank grew into the central bank of the United Kingdom, guardian of the nation's gold reserves and a powerful hand on the global economy. Its high, blank curtain wall — designed to be impregnable — has protected the country's wealth through wars, panics and financial storms.
Your guide brings this world of money and power to life, describing how decisions made behind these walls have rippled far beyond the City to shape economies around the world — and why this quiet junction is one of the most important financial sites on the planet.
Stop At: Mansion House Of City Of London We come to Mansion House and, close by, the Guildhall — the twin seats of the City of London's remarkable and ancient self-government.
Your guide explains the unique constitution of the Square Mile: Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, an office dating back to the twelfth century, while the medieval Guildhall has been the City's town hall for more than six hundred years. Here the livery companies — the descendants of the old trade guilds — still gather, and the City governs itself in ways found nowhere else in Britain.
Your guide reveals the pageantry and mystery of this hidden world of aldermen, sheriffs and ceremonies, and how the City of London has fiercely guarded its independence from crown and parliament since the Middle Ages.
Stop At: St. Paul's Cathedral Our walk ends before St Paul's Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece crowning Ludgate Hill, its vast dome one of the defining images of London for over three hundred years.
Your guide tells its story: how the medieval cathedral was destroyed in the Great Fire, and how Wren rebuilt it in soaring English Baroque, completing it in 1710. St Paul's has been the stage for the nation's greatest moments — the funerals of Nelson, Wellington and Churchill, the wedding of Charles and Diana, and services of thanksgiving and mourning alike.
Most movingly, your guide recalls the Blitz, when the cathedral survived the bombs that fell all around it, its dome standing defiant through the smoke as a symbol of the city's endurance — a fitting place to end a journey through the story of London.
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller Public transportation options are available nearby Transportation options are wheelchair accessible All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible Suitable for all physical fitness levels Children up to 13 years old are welcome to join this tour for free. Our guides have your best interests in mind; while the tour usually includes the sites & stories mentioned and lasts about 2-2.5 hours, your tour may vary depending on what your guide thinks is best for your group. If you are delayed, please contact us as soon as possible, and we will do our best to assist you in locating the guide and joining the group. Please wear comfortable, sturdy walking shoes. Operated by Sandemans Tours For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Reviews
Outstanding tour guide and an excellent tour route.Explorer695472
I took a walking tour of London on a very rainy day so no one else showed up. Instead of cancelling me Herby took me on a solo tour. The tour route was great. It's my last day in London and I saw the last of my list. Herby is what made this tour over the top. He knows everything about the area, tells information in a story format which is incredibly pleasant and makes it all quite memorable. The tour took 2 hours but only felt like 1 because he was so engaging. I 1,000,000% recommend him.
Fantastic! EngagingUlyzuzu
Craig was fantastic! He spun a tale of old London, of the history people and events of the places in London where we stood. He didn’t just give dates and names he worked to help you see what happened. I highly recommend both Craig and this tour He was very enthusiastic and wanted us to enjoy his city as much as he does
Excellent guideDestination740935
Sep 18, 2026, 10:48:51 AM The tour with Daniel was excellent. Very informative and humorous.
Amazing tour!!285anzhelikas
Great experience with the guide Herbie!
Interesting, funny and informative! The best walking tour so far! Thank you!
Free tour of london.408afonsos
Herbie was just incredible. The places really came to life with his help and it would never have been one fifth as insightfull without his help. A funny, light hearted and extremly friendly. Also considering that you choose who mutch you pay its 11/10 Amazing.
Herbie is amazing!!Paradise36372275001
Herbie is the GOAT. 10/10 experience: great information, very funny and very welcoming. Higly recommend
We loved our tour with Herbie! He made us laugh, he made us cry, and we learned a lot too. Plus he recommended a great pub to hit after, which is where I’m writing this review from!
Amazing tour with Herbie!sarahdG2652AK
Had a wonderful tour with Herbie!! He was super engaging and knowledgeable, would highly recommend to anyone visiting London!
Wonderful tour with FinbarClaireBangorCity
Thank you for a really excellent tour Finbar, you delivered the tour with infectious enthusiasm and energy whilst imparting your extensive historical knowledge to us in an entertaining and accessible manner and as a result your tour was a highlight of our holiday in London. Myself and my husband both thoroughly enjoyed the tour of this area of London, fascinating in its history and which we had never explored before. Would highly recommend booking this tour - should you be fortunate enough to have a guide like Finbar you will be glad you did!
Finbarr makes the tour go from good to greatdrewrB2891PV
Finbarr was an absolute delight. We were with a visiting university and he handled a large group of almost 20 with ease. He was incredibly knowledgeable and personable, and he had us learning loads of information while keeping us laughing / engaged. This was such a fast 2.5 hours, I didn’t want it to end. 10/10 would recommend, he’s an expert and absolutely brilliant.
Wonderful tour experiencenaomiaD9388US
Apr 21, 2026, 11:24:28 AM The tour around London with Griag was excellent. He had a nice welcoming smile. He spoke clearly and loudly so everyone could hear. He gave us the historical facts,other stories and, jokes associated with some of historians. He even sang a song(lol)!! Not a bad voice. I am a londoner but took a foreign student with me who also enjoyed the tour. And I must say although I have been on many, I still managed to learn something NEW from Graig.
Well done, I hope to go with him again with my next lot of students.
Amazing tour with Finbarrsantiagoernes2p
Finbarr was just amazing, he was very interesting & entretaining, full of fun facts, and very open to answer our every questions. I highly recommend doing the London Free Walking Tour with Sandeman, and if you can take it with Finbarr even better!!
Bad tour guide ruined the experienceanurupag2023
We had Alexis as our tour guide for the Free tour of London and he was horrible. He barely shared any information or stories. We learned more listening to the other guides around us. It really felt like he was doing the bare minimum to get through the day. He spent 1/3 of our tour talking about how much we should pay him and how we could pay him and how we should give him high reviews. He also paid no attention to how the group was doing and would cross the street as the light was turning red so half the group would be rushing through a red light. He also almost lost a solo traveller because he didn't check that he had everyone before moving to the next location. Clearly we had the wrong guide based on the many positive reviews I read before booking. We have done Sandeman tours before and they were all fabulous. So, if you are going to book, make sure you don't get Alexis.
Great experience!Cruiser696442
Wonderful tour. It was very interesting and entertaining. The guide explained a lot and was very courteous, when asked questions.
I would recommend it :)
Amazing tour with Andrewmoniquechieu
We did a tour of mainly Westminster with Andrew and he was amazing tour guide. So incredibly funny and made the 2.5 hours fly by with both jokes and facts. He was engaging and did not have us stand in the sun for too long.
Learned so much about the area and it made us more excited to go explore more on our own. Doing a sandman’s tour is def a must in a new city.
Herbie - London Old City walking tourSue4OU
We highly recommend the London Old City walking tour with Herbie! It was a great way to start our visit to London. We learned so much and Herbie weaved his magic with history, anecdotes and humor. We thoroughly enjoyed the information and felt it was a great way to get familiar with London!
Great walking tour with Herbie!757mariannickp
Great walking tour of Westminster with Herbie, the wizard. He was very interesting and fun. We had a blast and we got to see the changing of the Gard at Buckingham palace. We recommand 100%!
Jun 23, 2024, 10:00:39 AM I took the free walking tour this morning and I am very happy with the experience.
Our guide Herbie showed us all the perfect stops for pictures and shared his knowledge with all the group.
His sense of humour and good vibe made it very enjoyable, plus he is a wizard :)
Super recommended.
Herbie the Wizard-GuideJ8271VPmathildec
I’m so glad I took this tour! I was in London for a layover of 1 day, and I don’t think I would’ve seen as much without it. Our tour guide Herbie was AMAZING, I loved him so much! He knew a lot about the cultural and street arts background of the city. Truly a 5/5.
Great tour experience with HerbiechristianhI4022IU
I’ve been to the Free Tour of London twice - and it was excellent! Best wishes to our tour guide Herbie! He’s done an amazing job! He definitely was one of the best tour guides I’ve ever met. His knowledge and entertaining skills have made the 2 h tour feeling like one hour!
Excellent tour of LondoncarlalZ7146XA
Excellent tour of London! Ricardo is a 10 at explaining everything. Super entertaining and dynamic. He provided us with tips about the city. I highly recommend it.
Very good experiencegustavoaM1872AW
Very good experience. Maria took us on a tour of City of London with great ease. I recommend it. We saw and toured historical sites
Old City Spanish Tour in Londonpaula662357
Never take such an entertaining tour, full of history, information, and management of a city full of places to see and understand years of British history but also of the world.
Maria was able to achieve it!!! I recommend it 100%is a must if you go to London
