The finest street in London: A stroll around St James's

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The finest street in London: A stroll around St James's

(33 reviews)
London audio tour: The finest street in London: A stroll around St James's
This is a 1.2mi walking tour
It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.
London
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$14.99
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About the Tour

When King Henry VIII demolished a hospital for sick women to make way for his new hunting lodge, he paved the way for the development of one of London’s greatest gems, the stylish and sophisticated area of St James’s. Over the next 300 years, it became home to the “best sort of people”, where you’d find houses owned by “persons of the highest social rank”.

St James’s is still where you’ll find some of London’s grandest homes today, along with its finest hotels, bars and restaurants. It also has the oldest luxury shops in the world, and one of its streets boasts more Royal Warrants than any other street in the country. (Royal Warrants are awarded to businesses that supply the royal family.)

This tour will take you through elegant streets into leafy garden squares and narrow alleyways. Along the way, we’ll see some of London’s most iconic sights and also plenty of hidden gems. Most of all, we’ll hear the stories, scandals and gossip that have all helped to create the unique character of the area that we see today.

Among the things you’ll see are:

  • A royal palace where you could live if your pockets are deep enough
  • The oldest wine and spirit merchant in the world
  • The shop where you can spend around £17,000 for a pair of shoes
  • London’s only Nazi memorial
  • The Grand Old Duke of York
  • The most decadent nightclub in London
  • The world’s most famous corner shop

And you’ll hear stories about:

  • A customer of one of London’s most exclusive shops who met a grisly end
  • A famous pop star who arrived for an evening out as naked as the day he was born
  • Daniel Craig’s swimming trunks
  • How King Charles II may well have been an illegitimate child
  • A great military commander who was too short to get on and off his horse
  • The female Member of Parliament who was tempted to poison Winston Churchill
  • The famous Hollywood star who was thrown out into the street for inappropriate behaviour

I’m sure you’ll enjoy soaking up the unique atmosphere of St James’s with me.

Categories
Neighbourhoods Top Sights Architecture Medieval History Scenic Routes

Tour Producer

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Talk the Walk

11 tours

I’m Ian Grover and for many years it’s been my pleasure to guide visitors around London and throughout the British Isles. As well as the iconic sights, I delight in showing the hidden gems that many people miss.

My background was centred around the automotive industry when in 1980 I started work as a trainee car salesman with Renault UK Ltd. Over the coming years I progressed to sales management with Mercedes-Benz and finally ended up with the splendidly sounding title of Personal Liaison Manager, responsible for UK sales of their two flagship models. These were the ultra-luxurious Maybach, and a 300 km/h supercar called the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. When these two programmes came to an end I decided to take a different path in life and do something that I had always had a passion for and I became a tour guide.

I went to the University of Westminster in London where, after comprehensive training, I qualified with distinction as a City of Westminster Tour Guide, Since then, over the past years I have delivered both walking tours of London and driving tours throughout the British Isles and this is something that I still enjoy immensely.

In addition to my physical tours, through my Talk the Walk profile on VoiceMap, I'm now focussed on producing engaging audio tours so that travellers can explore with me in their own time and at their own pace.

Preview Location

Location 10

Lock and Co

Stop for a moment and have a look at Number 6 St James’s Street which is the home of Lock and Co, the oldest hat shop in the world. The business was established here by James Lock in 1765 to service the exclusive clients living in the area. It was carried on by his son, also c... Read More
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Major Landmarks

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.
  1. Start location
    48 Piccadilly, London W1J 9DZ, UK
  2. Total distance
    2km
  3. Final location
    181 Piccadilly, London W1A 1ER, UK
  4. Distance back to start location
    303.66m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour starts on the south side of Piccadilly, outside Green Park Tube Station. If you're coming by tube, Green Park is served by the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Victoria lines. Start the tour by standing outside the entrance to Green Park with the legendary Ritz Hotel immediately to your left.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Why not finish the tour in style and treat yourself to a traditional afternoon tea in Fortnum & Mason's Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Don't forget to book in advance.

Best time of day

You can enjoy this tour at any time of day. It can get busy around St James's Palace when the Changing of the Guard is taking place and you can check the schedule on the Household Division website.

Precautions

St James's is generally a very safe part of London but like all big cities the traffic can be very heavy at times. If you're visiting from another country remember that we drive on the left side of the road here. When crossing roads, look both ways carefully before crossing as the traffic may well be coming from the opposite direction from which you are used.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”
App Store Review
“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”
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Questions and Reviews

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33 Ratings
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