London's Alternative History Tour Self-guided Audio Walk | La Vacanza Travel

London's Alternative History Tour Self-guided Audio Walk

Duration: 1 hour
Destination: United Kingdom, England, London
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  • 1 hour
  • London
  • E-Voucher
  • Lowest Price
  • Not-Cancellable

Overview

If you like humorous history, quirky facts, and solving mysteries, this delightful wander in the heart of London is for you! We will walk around some of London's world famous areas and familiar landmarks as you are entertained with stories of the city—but trust me, it's not the stuff you learned at school. This tour utilises state of the art GPS technology to “autoplay” as you walk, and can be downloaded and used whenever suits you. It uses the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline. Maximise your experience of London with this walk – whether it is your first time in the city, or you’re a local who's curious about the secrets the city has to offer, this is a great intro to London's alternative history.

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Pass By: Covent Garden, 41 The Piazza, London WC2E 8RF, UK

This tour is about experiencing the hidden sides of London that were right in front of your eyes but you never noticed. Take a dive into the deep end of London’s quirky history as we move through tales of religion, drinking, and even a bit of 1800’s brothel banter. We will discover the secret behind the flowing of the River Thames, the origins of the name Covent Garden, and try to solve the mystery of the world famous Theatre Royal Drury Lane. All you have to do is open the VoiceMap app, put in your headphones and start the tour. You will be guided through the streets by the voice of acclaimed local guide Joey Leskin without even having to take your phone out of your pocket – except to take photos, of course!

Key highlights include:
- How the Americans stole coffee from the British—honest!
- The only street in London where we drive backwards
- London's most notorious brothel, and the extinct police force that shut it down
- London's last original Victorian gas lamp

The tour begins in Covent Garden and zig zags around the area, finishing not far away from the starting point. It has a total walking distance of around 2km and takes just over an hour without stopping. There are plenty of cafes, restaurants and pubs all along the route for a quick (or lengthy!) break, however, and you can pause and resume the tour as many times as you like. Once you have downloaded it, the tour is yours to keep.

Local tip: The Coal Hole pub, at the very end of the tour, is a great historical venue to enjoy a well-deserved drink!


Pass By: Lyceum Theatre, 21 Wellington Street Covent Garden, London WC2E 7RQ England

Where the Lion King is hosted, but you'll hear about the Lyceum's decidedly non-PG history.

Pass By: St Paul's Church, Coffey Street Mary Ann Gardens, Deptford, London SE8 3DS England

We'll describe the strange features of this Church and how they came to be.

Pass By: Somerset House, The Strand, London WC2R 1LA England

We'll visit the Somerset House courtyard and I'll tell you why I think this is London's finest square.

Pass By: Savoy Theatre, Savoy Court Strand The Strand, London WC2R 0ET England

Hear the story behind the world's (not just London's) first public building to use electricity throughout.

Inclusions
  • Lifetime access to 'London's Alternative History Tour'
  • VoiceMap Application
  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

Exclusions
  • Smartphone
  • Transportation
  • Food/drinks
  • Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • This tour is wheelchair accessible with one caveat: part of the final portion of the tour after Waterloo Bridge has staircases – wheelchair users can stay on bridge-level and proceed to the final two stops which are on the same level.
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Departure Point

The Piazza, 1-7 Covent Garden, London WC2E, UK


Departure Time


Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
London's Alternative History Tour Self-guided Audio Walk
1/1/2021 - 4/30/2025

Monday - Sunday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM


Return Details

The Savoy, Strand, London WC2R 0EZ, UK

Voucher info

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

Duration

1 hour


User's Reviews

Jill_C

03 Feb, 2024

What an amazing experience, thank you. Your pace was exactly right. Four of us absolutely loved the walking tour, all interesting, Covent Garden, Dickens flat, Somerset house even though we had a very interesting tour there the day before, the Savoy cabs and carts!! Also, the voice was soothing and perfectly paced. Excellent 👌. Looking forward to another.

sarah_r

08 Mar, 2023

I am such a fan of these voice map tours! They are so well executed and truly entertaining. I am ordinarily very challenged with Google walk directions but voice maps made it so easy. Would tell me where to look, which way to turn, etc. And the narrator was terrific . I can’t wait to do another today !

Tracy_N

21 May, 2022

I had a couple of hours to fill in our day and found this online. So glad I did! It was really interesting and fun to follow the route. We took longer than the hour but that’s why this is great- it’s totally up to you how long you take. We stopped and chatted here and there about what we were listening to - just paused the audio and I don’t walk particularly fast! We learnt some fab facts that I’ve been telling everyone about since arriving home! I shall do more of these in other cities.

Nigelllllll

15 Oct, 2019

Did this tour a few weeks ago and loved it - got to know so much about the city despite having lived here my whole life. Learned a bunch of things I never knew, really easy to use the interface as well.

User's Picture Gallery

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Highly recommend!

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