Best London walking tours for 2024: top ghost, Harry Potter and pub tours
We’ve lined-up the top walking tours in London, from Harry Potter to a tour perfect for foodies, so dust off your walking boots.
Whether you’re playing tourist in your own city or you’ve come to London for a getaway, there’s nothing like a walking tour to immerse yourself in the capital’s culture and history.
Walking tours usually last a few hours and have a guide, so you can be sure the tours will be full of interesting information as told by someone with expertise. From our experience, ghost walk guides have the craziest stories to tell; one of our writers has been on ghost walks in London, Nottingham, Chesterfield, and Lincoln, and the spooky tales are a brilliant way to get to know a new city. Just be warned, you just might not be able to sleep very well after hearing them!
We’ve put together a list of the most exciting walking tours to try in London, and there’s something for everyone. From Harry Potter tours and ghost walks for those who enjoy the supernatural, to food stop offs and pub crawls for the foodies amongst us, you could never accuse the RadioTimes.com team of not thinking of everything.
For unique things to do in the capital city, check out the best London escape rooms, best London immersive experiences and our what is Frameless? guide.
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Best walking tours in London at a glance:
- Best Doctor Who walking tour: Doctor Who Walking Tour of London, two for £29
- Best family walking tour: Paddington Bear Walking Tour, four for £59
- Best Harry Potter walking tour: Original Harry Potter Locations Tour, £15
- Best sightseeing walking tour: Ultimate London Sightseeing Walking Tour, £15
- Best child-friendly walking tour: Mary Poppins Walking Tour of London, two for £30
- Best walking tour for movie buffs: London Film Locations Walking Tour, two for £30
- Best TV walking tour: Downton Abbey London Locations Walking Tour, two for £30
- Best James Bond walking tour: James Bond Themed Walking Tour of London, two for £30
- Best ghost walking tour: Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge, £17.50
- Best music history walking tour: David Bowie London Walking Tour, two for £32
- Best Jack the Ripper tour: Jack the Ripper Tour with ‘Ripper-Vision’, £18
- Best football stadium tour: Chelsea FC Stamford Bridge Family Stadium Tour, four for £80
- Best historical walking tour: London Roots - City of London Historical Walking Tour, two for £50
- Best pub crawl: Historical Pub Walking Tour of London, £25
- Best tour for foodies: Portobello Road Gastrotour Experience, two for £180
The best walking tours in London for 2024
Paddington Bear Walking Tour for Four
Best family walking tour
The Paddington Bear films are some of our favourites of all time, and now you can walk where Paddington Bear stepped in this walking tour from Activity Superstore. As you'll know, Paddington Bear arrived in London after he left Peru. He hid away on a boat and survived only on marmalade sandwiches before being found in Paddington Station, where his story begins.
Did you know there's also a Paddington afternoon tea bus tour? We liked it so much, we featured it in our best London bus tours guide.
Buy Paddington Bear Walking Tour for Four for £59 at Activity Superstore
Doctor Who Walking Tour of London for Two
Best Doctor Who walking tour
Grab your sonic screwdriver and head on down to the Big Smoke for this Doctor Who walking tour. You'll walk in the footsteps of Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi.
This two and a half hour tour features plenty of anecdotes and interesting insider information, like how one of Doctor Who‘s most famous mistakes made it into the first season of the ‘New Who’ era...
Buy Doctor Who Walking Tour of London for Two for £29 at Activity Superstore
For more unique days out, take a look at the best UK candlelight concerts and the best pottery experiences.
Original Harry Potter Locations Tour
Best Harry Potter walking tour
Visit Harry Potter filming sites across London in this walking tour. You’ll travel through Soho to Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, and hear movie trivia as you go, before making your way to St Paul’s Cathedral and London Bridge. You’ll also take a fun quiz to test your own movie knowledge — who will be the biggest Harry Potter buff amongst you?
Buy Original Harry Potter Locations Tour from £15 at Viator
Fans of the wonderful world of wizardry will love The Cauldron: a cocktail bar in East London where you can create your own (drinkable) potions.
London Roots - City of London Historical Walking Tour
Best historical walking tour
History buffs will be fascinated by this in depth two and a half hour walking tour. You'll discover Roman sites like the forum and amphitheatre, before heading to the city's Jewish quarter and learning about a 17th century plague pit. There's some ghostly tales on the tour, too, and you'll finish it with a whole host of new knowledge.
Buy London Roots - City of London Historical Walking Tour for £50 for two at Virgin Experience Days
Fancy a tour in a different UK city? Then take a look at our best Manchester experience gifts and top things to do in Liverpool guides.
David Bowie London Walking Tour
Best music history walking tour
It's the walking tour we didn't know we needed but now can't believe we ever lived without: a David Bowie walking tour! You'll begin in Bowie’s hometown of Brixton, before heading to Soho where he recorded two of his albums, and then finish at Tottenham Court Road. Learn plenty of anecdotes about the legendary musician on the way, and visit iconic locations like Tin Pan Alley.
Buy David Bowie London Walking Tour for £32 for two at Virgin Experience Days
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Jack the Ripper Tour with ‘Ripper-Vision’
Best Jack the Ripper tour
This immersive Jack the Ripper Tour uses ‘Ripper-Vision’, which is effectively projections of images and film clips, to recreate a harrowing atmosphere. You’ll follow a guide around the backstreets of East London and hear all about the grim tales and conspiracy theories surrounding Jack the Ripper.
Buy Jack the Ripper Tour with ‘Ripper-Vision’ from £18 at Viator
If you like things that go bump in the night, take a look at the best Edinburgh ghost tours and the best ghost tours in York, and why not try your hand at the best UK zombie experiences?
Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge
Best ghost walking tour
Anything that has the word ‘ghastly’ gets a thumbs up from us; the RadioTimes.com team love a ghost walk. We’ve taken strolls in the spookiest parts of Nottingham, Lincoln and Chesterfield, and we’re excited to try this one in London. Hear spine-chilling tales as you visit London’s most famous landmarks, and end at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Buy Ghastly Ghost Tour of London Bridge from £17,50 at Fever
Small-Group Tour: Historical Pub Walking Tour of London
Best pub crawl
What’s better than an afternoon pub crawl? An educational one, obviously! Visit at least four centuries-old ale houses, including literary haunts frequented by the likes of Charles Dickens, and learn about drinking culture through the ages.
Buy Small-Group Tour: Historical Pub Walking Tour of London from £25 at Viator
Chelsea FC Stamford Bridge Family Stadium Tour
Best football stadium tour
Treat the whole family to an experience they’ll never forget with a tour of the Chelsea Football Club stadium. Get behind-the-scenes access to the press room, players’ tunnel, team dressing room, plus a lot more. If you’re a Blues fan, you’re not going to find a much more intimate and interesting tour than this one.
Buy Chelsea FC Stamford Bridge Family Stadium Tour for £80 at Buyagift
Are you a sports fan? Check out the best BT Sport offers and Sky Sports offers. Plus, here's how to watch Viaplay in the UK.
For more of the best stadium tours, check out our guide.
Ultimate London Sightseeing Walking Tour
Best sightseeing walking tour
If you’ve recently moved to London or you’re visiting the capital, this might be the walking tour for you. Held in a small, super-relaxed group, this sightseeing tour takes you past London’s most iconic monuments including Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Downing Street, and that’s just to name a selection. You’ll also get the chance to travel on the underground.
Buy Ultimate London Sightseeing Walking Tour from £15 at Viator
A walking tour would be an excellent gift for Father's Day, and for more present inspiration, take a look at the best Father's Day experiences.
London Film Locations Walking Tour
Best walking tour for movie buffs
London is home to some of the most famous moments in film history, from Bridget Jones running down the street in her knickers to Paddington Bear causing havoc across the capital city. Now, you can visit these locations in a special walking tour, which will see you standing in the same spots that your favourite actors delivered iconic lines and hearing anecdotes about filming from your in-the-know tour guide.
Buy London Film Locations Walking Tour for £30 for two at Buyagift
If you're a movie fan, then be sure to take a look at our how to get cheap cinema tickets guide. If you prefer watching films at home, here are the top Disney Plus offers for this month.
Mary Poppins Walking Tour of London for Two
Best child-friendly walking tour
For many of us, we grew up watching Disney films like Julie Andrews's Mary Poppins, and this next walking tour will be a welcome trip down memory lane. In the two-hour tour around London, your knowledgeable guide will tell you all about the Mary Poppins books and films and point out iconic locations where the two are set, as well as behind the scenes stories of Emily Blunt's Mary Poppins Returns.
The Mary Poppins Walking Tour of London is a great day out for a dose of nostalgia for you, but also a fun time for your little ones, too, as they'll get to learn all about supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and its meaning!
Buy Mary Poppins Walking Tour of London for Two for £30 at Buyagift
James Bond Themed Walking Tour of London for Two
Best James Bond walking tour
The name's Bond, James Bond Themed Walking Tour of London for Two... What's your favourite James Bond film? Whether it's the 1981 For Your Eyes Only or the latest movie No Time to Die, this walking tour across London visits iconic settings from various films.
The two of you will travel through places like Charing Cross and Westminster by foot and by bus, and you'll uncover secret bunkers, government buildings and more, as well as learn about the (real) UK Secret Intelligence Service from a knowledgeable tour guide.
Buy James Bond Themed Walking Tour of London for Two for £30 at Virgin Experience Days
For more cultured things to do in London, take a look at the best London art exhibitions.
Downton Abbey London Locations Walking Tour for Two
Best TV walking tour
Isn't it fun when you spot the locations from your favourite TV show? 'That's the spot where so-and-so confessed their undying love to so-and-so!' Or, 'That's the place so-and-so ran off with her wife's best friend!' If you haven't already guessed, our favourite TV shows are usually soap operas...
In this Downton Abbey walking tour, you'll see the exterior of Grantham House, as well as various London locations which stood in for Manchester and Liverpool settings in the show. A fun and knowledgeable tour guide will tell you all you need to know about what goes on behind-the-scenes and how the show was made in the two and a half hour tour.
Buy Downton Abbey London Locations Walking Tour for Two for £30 at Virgin Experience Days
We liked this walking tour so much we included it in our best Downton Abbey UK tours guide.
Portobello Road Gastrotour Experience
Best tour for foodies
Step out of central London and join TV chef (and Notting Hill local) Celia Brooks on a tour of Portobello Road Market. One of London's funkiest and most food-packed markets, Portobello Road is bursting with new cuisines and dishes to try. With Celia's help, you'll taste many treats, including fine hams, cheeses and olives, and samples from artisan market stalls. You'll also unearth culinary treasures like exotic herbs and spices, cookbooks and tableware, and savour a gin tasting at a modern gin palace.
Buy Portobello Road Gastrotour Experience for two for £180 at Not on the Highstreet
For even more fun things to do in London, read our best West End shows guide, and here's how to get cheap theatre tickets. If you fancy treating a loved one to a day out, check out the best London experience gifts.
