London Walks

Established in the 1960s, London Walks remains the most engaging, elucidating and entertaining means of demystifying the city on foot. Among the scores of two-hour-plus tours are the nightly Jack the Ripper Haunt (a great way to see atmospheric Spitalfields), Old Hampstead Village, Old Kensington, Historic Greenwich, Subterranean London, Christopher Wren's London, Shakespeare's and Dickens's London, Ghosts of the City, Behind Closed Doors and Tower of London Tour. Sadly the London of Oscar Wilde tour is not as delectable as it sounds, though it is rare that the organisation's guides put a foot wrong; to boot they are unquestionably gay-friendly and at times downright thespian. And at £9 a ticket — even less for students, the 65-plus ("Super Adults") and for those who wisely invest in the Discount Walkabout Card — this counts as one of London's great bargains. Also on offer are day trips to Stonehenge, Blenheim, the Cotswolds, Bath, Suffolk and many more destinations.