Go Up The Shard & London Landmark Walking Tour

London is spread out, but this tour links many of its best-known sights into one long, purposeful walk. You move from Green Park and Buckingham Palace through Westminster, across the Thames, and onward to Borough Market before finishing high above the city at The Shard.

I like the strong route and the guide’s practical role. You get royal ceremony, Parliament, Shakespeare’s Globe, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and London Bridge without having to plan the connections yourself. The guide also takes photos on request, a small kindness that can matter when you are traveling with family or as a couple.

The main drawback is the pace. Six hours is a lot of walking, and most stops are for views and stories rather than interior visits. The Underground ride and food are extra, and your guide does not accompany you into The Shard.

Key points to know before booking

• Buckingham Palace begins the day: Walk through Green Park to the King’s official London home, with a chance to see Changing of the Guard on selected days.
• Thirty major sights fit into one route: Westminster, Whitehall, Southbank, Borough Market, London Bridge, and more are connected in a single outing.
• The Shard finishes the experience: Your ticket covers the Viewing Gallery, including access to the high floors and the open-air level 72 platform.
• The small group is capped at 20 people: That gives the guide a better chance to answer questions and help with photos.
• You pay separately for transport and food: Bring a contactless bank card, Oyster card, or Travelcard for the Underground.
• Families get a useful price break: Children only pay for admission to The Shard, according to the tour details.

Why this route works for a first day in London

This is a sightseeing sampler with a clear beginning and end. You start in the ceremonial heart of London and finish with a bird’s-eye view that helps you make sense of the city you have just crossed.

The walking portion lasts about five hours, followed by roughly an hour at The Shard. The route does not ask you to visit every building from inside. Instead, you get the stories, viewpoints, landmarks, and street-level feel that help you decide where to return later.

That approach suits a first visit. You can see Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tate Modern, Borough Market, and the Tower Bridge area in one day. The tradeoff is that each stop is fairly short. If you want a slow visit to the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, or St. Paul’s Cathedral, plan a separate visit.

The group can include up to 20 people. That is not an intimate private walk, but it is still small enough for a guide to keep the group together and respond to questions. The guide is English-speaking, and one especially well-praised part of the experience is the personal attention: the guide explains the history, allows time to look around, and can take your picture.

Green Park and Buckingham Palace at 10 a.m.

Meet your guide outside The Ritz London at 10 a.m. From there, the tour heads through Green Park toward Buckingham Palace.

Green Park gives you a pleasant opening to the day. It also keeps the first stretch away from busy traffic, so the walk begins with room to get oriented. At Buckingham Palace, your guide explains the building’s role as the King’s official London residence and places it within British royal history.

On selected days, the tour is timed around Changing of the Guard. Your guide will look for a good viewing position, though the details of the ceremony depend on the day’s schedule and crowd conditions. Do not book this walk solely for the ceremony. Treat it as a possible extra, since the main route continues even when no guard change takes place.

After the palace, you walk along the Royal Mall. This broad ceremonial avenue connects the royal district with the central sights ahead. It is a useful early lesson in how London’s grand spaces fit together.

Buckingham Palace is an outside stop, and admission is not included. That keeps the tour moving, but you will need another visit if you want to see the palace interiors.

Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade, and Whitehall

Trafalgar Square receives about 20 minutes. You will see Nelson’s Column, fountains, major surrounding buildings, and the National Gallery. The square works well as a photo stop, but the time is not enough for the gallery itself.

Next comes Horse Guards Parade, on the edge of St. James’s Park. The arch and clock make a good picture, and the guide adds context to the ceremonial buildings around the parade ground. Again, this is an exterior visit, so the appeal is the setting and the explanation rather than a museum-style tour.

Whitehall follows for another 20 minutes. This is the government district, lined with grand buildings and memorials. You also pass Downing Street, where British prime ministers have lived and worked since 1735.

These short stops are useful because they connect familiar names to actual places. I would not expect long historical lectures at each one. The value lies in having a guide point out what you are seeing, explain why it matters, and keep you moving toward Westminster.

Big Ben, Parliament Square, and Westminster Abbey

The tour gives about 40 minutes to Parliament Square. Here you get close views of the Palace of Westminster, home of the Houses of Parliament, and the Big Ben clock. The square also provides views toward the London Eye and the Churchill Statue.

This is one of the strongest parts of the route. Big Ben is more impressive when you are standing beneath it than when you see it in a distant skyline view. Parliament Square also brings together several of London’s political and civic symbols in a compact area.

Westminster Abbey comes next, with around 20 minutes outside the building. The abbey has more than 1,000 years of history and is the setting for the coronation of British kings and queens. The guide can help you understand its place in royal and national life, but admission is not included.

That distinction matters. If Westminster Abbey is high on your list, set aside another half-day for an interior visit. On this tour, you are seeing the exterior and getting an introduction rather than touring the nave, chapels, and memorials.

Crossing to Southbank by Underground

After Westminster, the group takes a short London Underground ride to Southbank. Your transport fare is not included, so bring a contactless bank card, Oyster card, or Travelcard.

This is a practical detail, not a minor one. You need a usable way to pay for the ride, and you should be ready to board with the group rather than stop to sort out transport at the last minute. The exact Underground cost is not given, so budget for it separately.

Southbank offers a change of mood from the royal and government districts. You will see the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, two major cultural landmarks along the Thames. The stop lasts about 40 minutes, giving you time to take in the riverfront and hear how the area connects art, theater, and London’s waterfront.

The tour does not include admission to either attraction. That is reasonable for a route covering so many sights, but it also means you should not expect a museum visit or a Globe performance.

Millennium Bridge and the view of St. Paul’s

From Southbank, the walk continues across Millennium Bridge. Locals call it Wobbly Bridge, a nickname that adds a little humor to the crossing.

The bridge gives you a fine view toward St. Paul’s Cathedral and its famous dome. This is one of those London moments that works best from the street: the river, the bridge, and the cathedral line up in a single view.

You get about 20 minutes here. The stop is short, but it is well placed. It breaks up the walking and gives you a clear photo point before the route moves east toward Borough Market.

St. Paul’s Cathedral itself is not entered. If you want to climb to the dome galleries or explore the interior, you will need a separate ticket and visit.

Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral

Borough Market receives around 30 minutes. Your guide takes you inside this long-established food market, where you can look at stalls and get a feel for one of London’s best-known eating spots.

Food is not included, and the limited time means you should not count on a full meal. You can browse, but the group must continue. If you see something you want, keep the schedule in mind. A quick snack may work better than trying to sit down for lunch.

The guide also points out some Harry Potter filming locations in the area. This adds a useful bit of screen history without turning the whole walk into a movie-themed tour.

You then see Southwark Cathedral. Its setting near the market gives this stop a nice contrast: one place is filled with food stalls and movement, the other is a historic religious building. The tour stays outside, so plan a return if you want to explore the cathedral at length.

London Bridge and the city skyline

The route continues to London Bridge for about 30 minutes. From here, you can look across toward Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, HMS Belfast, The Shard, and the Square Mile.

This is an excellent orientation point. London Bridge and Tower Bridge are often confused, and the view helps you understand their different positions along the Thames. You also see how the old river districts meet the financial center and the modern skyline.

The guide’s job here is especially useful. Rather than simply naming buildings, the route gathers several major sights into one view. You can mark the places you want to revisit, including the Tower of London, HMS Belfast, or Tower Bridge.

Those attractions are not included. The tour gives you the outside view and directions, not entry.

Rising to The Shard’s 68th and 72nd floors

At the end of the walking portion, your guide gives you directions and your ticket for The Shard. The guide does not go inside with you, so expect to continue independently from the meeting point at 32 London Bridge Street.

Your admission takes you to The View from The Shard. A high-speed elevator carries you to the 68th floor, where you get 360-degree views across London. On clear days, the view can stretch up to 40 miles, though weather and visibility will affect what you see.

If you are comfortable with heights, continue to the open-air viewing platform on level 72. That outdoor section gives the experience a different feel from viewing London through glass. It is also the tour’s strongest finish because you can finally see the full shape of the route below you.

Priority admission can save up to an hour of waiting in line. The exact saving depends on conditions that day, but the practical benefit is clear: after five hours on foot, you do not want to spend the final part of the outing in a queue.

You can spend about an hour at The Shard. Since the guide is not present, this portion feels less structured. Some people will like the freedom. Others may prefer a guide to explain the skyline. The walking tour has already provided the context, so the independent finish works well enough.

What the $115.92 price includes

At $115.92 per person, the price needs to be judged against the amount of ground covered. You are paying for a small-group guide, about five hours of organized walking, an English-language explanation of around 30 London sights, and admission to The Shard.

The value is strongest if you are new to London and want an efficient first look. Planning this route yourself would require several decisions about order, Underground connections, and the best viewpoints. The tour handles that structure and gets you to The Shard with priority entry.

The value is weaker if you prefer to spend a long time inside one or two attractions. You are not getting entry to Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, or Tower Bridge.

Food, drinks, and the Underground journey cost extra. Families should pay close attention to the child pricing detail: children only pay for The Shard admission ticket. That can make the tour more appealing for parents, though you should confirm the final child price when booking.

The walking load, group size, and useful planning tips

Wear comfortable shoes. The route covers central London on foot for about five hours, with many stops but no promise of a long rest period. The Underground ride offers a break, and Borough Market may provide a chance for a snack, but food is not built into the experience.

The start is at The Ritz London, and the finish is at The Shard. There is no hotel pickup or drop-off. That point is simple, but it matters if you are staying far from central London or planning another timed activity afterward.

Most people can participate, and service animals are allowed. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The tour is offered in English and uses a mobile ticket.

Free cancellation is available if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start time. Changes or cancellations inside that window are not accepted for a refund.

The experience has a 4.7 rating from six reviews. The clearest praise focuses on the guide’s conduct: strong explanations at each stop, time to look around, and help taking photos. No guide name is provided, so you should not book expecting a particular individual.

Who should book this London walking tour

I would choose this tour for a first or short visit, especially if you want a fast introduction to central London and do not want to build the route yourself. It also suits families, since children only pay for the Shard admission ticket and the guide helps keep the day organized.

It is less suitable if you dislike long walks, want extensive time inside museums and churches, or prefer a slow food-focused outing. The schedule is ambitious, and the stops are designed to show you many places rather than let you linger.

Book it if you value orientation, a well-planned route, and a final skyline view. Skip it if your priority is depth at individual attractions. For many first-time visitors, the best use of the day is to treat this as your London introduction, then return to the places that caught your interest.

FAQ

How long does the tour last?

The experience lasts approximately six hours, including about five hours of walking and around one hour at The Shard.

Where does the tour start?

It starts at The Ritz London, 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR, United Kingdom.

Where does the tour end?

It ends at The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG, United Kingdom.

Is admission to The Shard included?

Yes. The Shard Viewing Gallery entrance ticket is included.

Does the guide enter The Shard with the group?

No. At the end of the walking tour, the guide provides your ticket and directions, then you continue to The Shard independently.

Is the Underground fare included?

No. You must bring a contactless bank card, Oyster card, or Travelcard for the Underground journey.

Is food included?

No. Food and drinks are not included in the tour price.

How many people can join the tour?

The maximum group size is 20 travelers.

Can I cancel for a full refund?

Yes, if you cancel at least 24 hours before the experience start time. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are not refunded.