Westminster with Stephen Fry: Audio Tour by a National Treasure

5.0 (1 reviews) London, England
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Duration1h 15m - 1h 30m
Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before
Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away
TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted
LanguagesEnglish
Private tourOnly your group will participate

Overview

This self-guided audio tour through Westminster is hosted by the legendary Stephen Fry and was developed with the QI Elves, the research team behind the hit BBC show QI. This immersive walking tour uncovers the bizarre facts and hidden secrets behind London's most famous landmarks.

Over the next hour, Stephen’s narration guides you through the quirky history hiding in plain sight. Starting at Westminster Pier, your audio guide leads you toward Trafalgar Square. Pass the Houses of Parliament to hear about odd traditions like free snortable tobacco for MPs.

Along the way, you'll learn how Westminster Abbey staff jealously used a flawed waxwork of Lord Nelson to lure tourists from St. Paul's, and discover the architectural secrets of Downing Street, the Cenotaph, and the iconic K2 telephone boxes. Finish at Cleopatra’s Needle after exploring Nelson's Column.

Download to your smartphone and explore at your own pace!

What's included

  • Directions to the starting point so that when you're in the right place, the tour will start
  • Lifetime access to this tour in English before your booking date and after it
  • Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
  • App for Android and iOS
  • Flexibility to explore at your own pace with a self-guided GPS tour
  • Smartphone and headphones
  • Personal expenses for admission fees not included during the tour
  • Food and drink
  • Transportation

What to expect

  1. Houses of Parliament
    Pass by
    On this audio tour, you'll learn about how the traditional members' smoking ban still requires the doorkeeper to provide MPs with free, finely ground snortable snuff tobacco from a box made of salvaged door-frame wood.
  2. Westminster Abbey
    Pass by
    On this walking tour, you'll hear about how the Abbey's staff once jealously commissioned a waxwork of Lord Nelson to lure paying tourists back from his actual burial site at St. Paul's Cathedral—though they accidentally gave the statue an injury on the wrong eye.
  3. Pass by
    On this GPS-guided tour, you'll find out how this war memorial relies on an ancient Greek optical illusion called "entasis," where the stone blocks secretly taper toward the top to prevent the human eye from mistakenly perceiving the monument as concave.
  4. 10 Downing Street
    Pass by
    On this immersive smartphone tour, you'll discover how every single Prime Minister since 1997 has actually chosen to swap homes and live next door at number 11 because its bedrooms are much nicer.
  5. Women of World War II Memorial
    Pass by
    On this self-guided audio tour, you'll learn about a unique monument representing wartime women that was partially funded by a former Speaker of the House of Commons who won donation money on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
  6. Nelson's Column
    Pass by
    On this historical walking tour, you'll be treated to the story of how fourteen construction workers celebrated the monument's completion in 1843 by using a pulley system to eat an exclusive steak-and-champagne dinner at the very top of the statue.
  7. St Martin-In-The-Fields
    Pass by
    On this audio journey, you'll explore a historic church that was expanded by Henry VIII simply because he was irritated by the view of plague victims being carried past his palace windows.
  8. Charing Cross Underground Station
    Pass by
    On this GPS-guided walk, you'll tune into the story of the station yard's pointed monument to Eleanor of Castile, whose 13th-century organs were famously divided up and buried in three separate tombs across England to preserve her remains.
  9. Victoria Embankment Gardens
    Pass by
    On this smartphone walking tour, you'll find out how this lush park sits right over a massive Victorian sewage network and boasts a tree canopy dense enough to be officially classified as a forest by UN standards.
  10. Cleopatra's Needle
    Pass by
    On this final tour stop, you'll hear about how the flanking Victorian sphinxes by this 3,500-year-old obelisk were accidentally installed backward, facing toward the monument instead of away to protect it.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

This tour starts at Westminster Pier. Before arrival, please install the mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. Detailed starting point instructions are available after downloading.

End point

This self-guided audio ends in front of Cleopatra's Needle.

Additional information

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews

5.0 (1)
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