City of London Private Self-Guided Walking Tour

You want to be looking at the large stone archway separating St Paul’s Cathedral from Paternoster Square. Through the archway, you will be able to see a column with a sun motif at the top. The archway is known as Temple Bar which used to be the western entrance to the City of London. Visitors had to pass through the archway from Westminster to enter The City.

This is arguably the most famous church in the country. It is certainly one of the largest and most striking. The architect was Sir Christopher Wren, and the church was finally opened in the year 1710 after 35 years of construction.

This is a replica of a statue of Queen Anne placed in St Paul's Cathedral. She was the monarch at the time that the church was completed in 1710. Anne, like our own Queen Elizabeth II, was not in direct line to be Queen at birth. Anne was the second child of the second son of the King and born female. In England, at that time, male children took precedence over female children. Discover why this Statue is so important in our tour.

A must-visit memorial in St Paul's Cathedral Gardens. John Donne is today remembered best as a poet for the work that he did as a young man. Discover why this important character has its own Memorial in our tour.

St Augustine’s church has stood on this site since the 12th century. Like St Paul’s it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London and rebuilt by the architect, Sir Christopher Wren. It suffered from bombing in September 1940 and was not rebuilt.

At the corner of Cheapside and Wood Street, you will see some odd-looking two-storey buildings. You might even wonder why, at such high rents, the buildings are not the same height as the rest of the street. The reason is that the tree behind takes planning precedence over the buildings in front. This is the Cheapside Plane tree.

This is one of the 51 parish churches rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren during the rebuilding programme that followed the Great Fire of London. You may be surprised to hear that this church is one of the most famous in London.

This is the seat of government for the City of London. Among other things, it has the outline of the Roman Amphitheatre that stood on this site since 70AD. Hear Daniel tell the stories about the incredible history this building hides.

This is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of The City of London. It was built in 1758 by the official Clerk of the City’s Work, George Dance the Elder. The building is what we call Palladian in style.

The Duke was one of the most famous men during the 19th century. He is best known as the man who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Discover both the importance of the Duke and the battle in Daniel's incredible tale.

The Bank of England was founded in 1694 as a private bank for the government. Its purpose was to assist with raising and managing money to fight foreign wars. It was founded by a Royal Charter granted by King William III and Queen Mary II.

This very imposing classical building is the Royal Exchange. The original building was constructed and paid for by Sir Thomas Gresham and completed in 1571. Queen Elizabeth I opened the building and gave them a license to serve alcohol. Gresham was an agent of the crown and an ambassador for Antwerp.

This is the statue of the Victorian engineer Henry James Greathead. Discover why this character has an impressive statue on a large stone plinth in this historical place in Daniel's tale.

Down St Michael’s Alley off Cornhill is the Jamaica Wine House. Discover the incredible history behind this classic Londonian Coffe House and why it was so important about 300 years ago (and stands almost untouched until today).

This is 30 St Mary Axe, but it’s more commonly referred to as the Gherkin due to its pickle-like shape. At times the building is also known as the Swiss Re Building as this reinsurance firm was the main occupant at the time of construction.

When you stand in front of St Helen Bishopsgate you'll feel that it has something unusual about it. That’s probably because it has two front doors, right? No worries, Daniel will explain that and why that fact was so important in the past.

This is Lloyd’s building. It was designed by the architect Sir Richard Rogers and opened in 1986. Later it won the RIBA regional award; the London-only forerunner of the Stirling Prize.

Our walking route takes us through Leadenhall Market. The current building was designed by The City of London Architect, Horace Jones. Jones is also responsible for designing Smithfield Market just outside The City Walls in the Smithfield/Farringdon area of London as well as the iconic Tower Bridge which we’ll see at the end of our tour today. Leadenhall dates from 1880-2. Horace Jones was tasked with designing ‘a respectable arcade’ for the poultry market.

The Monument to the Great Fire of London, or, as all Londoners know it, The Monument. The Great Fire of London burned in 1666 when most of The City was destroyed. Over 13,000 homes were destroyed, 87 churches were burned to the ground, and over 70,000 people were made homeless. According to official records, just six people were killed in the fire but that is almost certainly an underestimate.

St Dunstan in the East is no longer a church but a public garden set within the stone walls and under the tower of the former church. It’s a much-loved green space enjoyed by City workers.

This is All Hallows by the Tower. All Hallows is another way to say ‘All Souls’. This church is sometimes known as All Hallows Barking. This is because the church was built by the owners of Barking Abbey in Essex who owned land on this site. The original building was constructed in 675AD and is the oldest church in London.

We’ve now arrived at our final stop on the tour, The Tower of London. It was built following the Norman conquest of England when William I defeated English King Harald at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.