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Free booking and cancellationFree payment tour, no set price, booking and cancellation are free
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Accepts electronic paymentThis tour allows payment by electronic means or credit card
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Want something a little deeper than the London popular culture tours? I'm a former teacher, economist, analyst and a lover of history, books and ideas. If you just want to take photos to put on social media, have little interest in history and don’t really like walking, then PLEASE BOOK A DIFFERENT TOUR!!! If you are intellectually curious and like to think, then let me take you through the streets of London, from the City (the old Roman town of Londinium), to Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames and then to Covent Garden, Soho, Mayfair & St James’s (6 different walks in total). I'll explain how London came from being a European backwater in the 1500s to the largest city in the world in the 1800s. Today, London surpasses New York in diversity and has become a playground for the rich. From clean money to dirty money, I'll tell you the back story behind London's rise, not just the official version! The good, the bad and the ugly: you'll hear about it all.
Covent Garden: Theatre Land, Brothels, Bad Behaviour, the Birth of Bohemia, Plus Britain's First Police Force
Welcome, I'm Justin, a huge fan of plays and musicals (I can give you advice on the best theatre in town and where to get cheap tickets), and a lover of history.
The Covent Garden tour is one of 6 different tours that I lead in London, which together have gathered around 1,500 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk).
From the late 1600s, Covent Garden become the centre of bohemian London. A field of dreams for both the upper and lower classes. A place where social barriers fell away and artists and intellectuals mixed and played.
Shakespeare famously said that
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."
And Covent Garden was the stage that many a man and woman played upon, whether formally in the theatre, in artists' studios or informally on the street.
Let me lead you through the streets of Covent Garden, and in so doing bring the past to life.
Over the centuries, the area has had its ups and downs. originally being the home of the super-rich, who wanted to escape from the crowded and disease-ridden old town (which we call “the City of London” between the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral).
But with the arrival of an outdoor market and then a succession of theatres, Covent Garden morphed into a bohemian playground full of pubs and prostitutes, and the rich fled further west.
Today, the area has gone upmarket again, with a thriving bar and restaurant scene and hundreds of shops. Critically, the theatres are still here, with a total of 13, offering everything from rock and film musicals to opera and ballet.
As we walk around the area, I’ll lead you down secret passages few Londoners know and tell you the stories each building has to tell.
I'll also give you recommendations for plays and musicals in the area and where to eat & drink before a show.
Highlights of the tour include:
The tour will end a short walk from Covent Garden underground station on the Piccadilly Line.
The Covent Garden walking tour is one of the 6 walking tours I do around London for GuruWalk: 1) The City of London), 2) Soho, 3) Covent Garden, 4) the South Bank, 5) Mayfair & St James's and 6) ArtLand (which together have around 1,500 reviews averaging 5 stars (the highest on GuruWalk). Hope to see you soon!
I do have a card reader so can can take credit/debit cards for tips.
I will be outside of the flower stall on the Villiers Street exit of Embankment Underground Station (the exit opposite to the river) and will be carrying a yellow umbrella and wearing a hat.
Free tours do not have a set price, instead, each person gives the guru at the end of the tour the amount that he or she considers appropriate (these usually range from €10 to $50 depending on satisfaction with the tour).
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