EAST END FOODIE WALK:
£12 per person
Immerse yourself in the edgy culture of Brick Lane, London’s eclectic East End, where the fragrance of spices wafts in the air, and everywhere is a riot of colour and energy. Brick Lane has become one of the Capital’s hippest and most exciting areas with a huge range of vibrant boutiques, bars and breweries to choose from. If London is a melting pot, see it bubbling away here. Enjoy one of the best salt beef bagels in London, or a fantastic curry, and wash it down with a cup of coffee from one of London’s leading micro-roasters. Afterwards, explore Spitalfields Market, one of London’s finest market halls, combining Victorian splendour and contemporary architecture, offering a mouth-watering selection of artisan foods & dishes from all over the world. Hungry? You will be!
FIND YOUR FEET – The Handy and Historical Tours of your local area
£12 per person
This is the ultimate welcome service! Combining the best of both worlds; the old and the new, the fascinating and the practical, our local guides will show your group around the area, near your university, or halls of residence, wherever you like. Our guides will cover all the historical highlights of the area, as well as some of the more practical information that will help your students settle in and really get to know the area: the nearest tube station, buses, parks, the best cafes and nearest shops, cinema, gyms, the best ways to get around town etc. The type of invaluable information it can take weeks, or months, to acquire. This ‘find your feet’ option helps students settle in more quickly, feel more settled and confident they have chosen the right location. And the right university. What a welcome!
GREENWICH BY BOAT:
£27 per person, including boat trip and entry to The Painted Hall.
Travel to Greenwich the way royalty have always done – by boat. It’s the only way to arrive! The tour meets at Tower Hill, site of the famous Tower of London, where we jump aboard to see London’s answer to Manhattan: Docklands & Canary Wharf. On the opposite bank Greenwich and Christopher Wren’s beautiful backdrop for many recent blockbusters. It was the scene for revolutionary Paris in Les Miserables, the star of several James Bond films, not to mention Gulliver’s Travels, Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter! Wonder at the spectacular Painted Hall and Chapel and picture- perfect Queens House, the Maritime Museum, before a brief visit to The Naval Hospital and College. Finally we climb up to the world famous Observatory where you can stand in both hemispheres at the same time. Afterwards, relax exploring a huge range of charming shops in Greenwich’s lanes, and the famous flea market. Where else can you be in two places at the same time in such spectacular surroundings?
LONDON FASHION WALK – EAST END:
£12 per person
We begin on the appropriately named Petticoat Lane and explore how immigration changed the face, and fabric (literally), of the East End. Learn how the skilled Huguenot weavers, cast out from France, made this part of London their home, and one of the centres for silk weaving in Europe. The walk chronicles their lives from rags to riches and back again. Stroll down past their shops from the 1700s and see the building where Queen Victoria’s wedding dress was made. You will then be brought bang up to date with some of London’s most edgy and exciting fashion stores mixed in with a psychedelic selection of vintage and retro shops on Brick Lane. We then end on one of the coolest and trendiest streets in all of London. This tour is fashion forward!
LONDON FASHION WALK – WEST END:
£12 per person
A stylish walk that will take you right to the heart of London’s fashion world! See where London fashion exploded onto the scene more than a century ago. Fast forward then to the Swinging 60’s Carnaby Street, and then onto uber- fashionable Bond Street where some of the top designers in the world display their very expensive wares. Look into the windows of the classiest dressmaker in town and learn about the art of tailor-making for royalty and A-list celebrities. See if The Devil Wears Prada (or Primark) as we pass by the headquarters of Vogue magazine. Gaze into the Queen’s dressmakers’ studio and then saunter down London’s busiest shopping street. Hear the history of 2 of London’s most prestigious and most loved department stores, and learn how one changed the way we shopped. This chic tour weaves in vintage history, contemporary fashion trends and fun facts about the celebrities, designers and shops that have made London one of THE fashion capitals of the world.
THE STREET ART AND GRAFFITI OF SHOREDITCH AND SPITALFIELDS:
£12 per person
“People say graffiti is ugly, irresponsible and childish… but that’s only if it’s done properly” – Banksy. Explore the world of edgy street artists such as Banksy, Ben Eine, Shepherd Fairey and Invader & Co. in one of London’s hippest and most vibrant areas; Shoreditch and Spitalfields. Understand why works of art by Banksy – once the enfant terrible of the art world – have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds, and have made him possibly the most famous living street artist in the world. Hear how Ben Eine’s “Twenty First Century City” was recently presented by Prime Minister David Cameron to Barack Obama. See work by Shepherd Fairey, famous for his iconic “Hope” portrait of President Obama, the image that came to represent the 2008 election. Yes, street art has moved on from being ‘only’ graffiti, and in this area, every wall is a public gallery. Your guide will explain how street art was involved in the dramatic transformation of Shoreditch from a once seedy and deprived area into one of the Capital’s most edgy and fashionable districts, and home to hundreds of artists and designers. If time allows we will finish with a visit to street artist’s studio and gallery, or else afterwards browse the hundreds of exciting pop up shops, galleries and cafes. It’s picture perfect!
