City of London: self-guided walking tour

This family-friendly self-guided walking tour will take you and your little ones on an exciting journey through the City of London. Although primarily a business district, there is plenty for families with children to discover in the City of London. This route encompasses London’s history through the ages, from Roman times, to the present day. We try to give you a combination of London’s most famous attractions and those that are perhaps less well-known. Get ready to explore and enjoy discovering the City of London at your own pace!

Walk summary

Starting point: The Monument

End point: Somerset House

Duration: The walk is around 4km and the walk itself should take around an hour. On top of this you should allow time to see the various sights en route. If you decide to undertake any of the side quests (i.e. something optional that you could choose to see that is on or nearby the walking route), allow additional time.

London sights you will see along the way: Monument, the Bank of England, St Paul’s Cathedral, Temple Church, Royal Courts of Justice and Somerset House.

Side quests: Climbing the Monument, the Mithraeum, the Bank of England Museum, the Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre, St Paul’s Cathedral, Hodge the cat statue and Temple Church.

The route

Part 1 – The Monument to Bank

Your starting point is the Monument.

The Monument was built to commemorate the Great Fire of London. The Great Fire of London started on 2 September 1666, in a bakery on Pudding Lane (the road you just walked down). The fire spread quickly through the city and destroyed much of medieval London.

Completed 11 years after the fire, the Monument is a reminder and memorial of the Great Fire of London.

SIDE QUEST You can climb the Monument if you wish (paid, £6 for adults, £3 for children aged 5-15). Open daily from 9:30am – 1pm and 2pm-6pm. Last entry is at 12.30pm and 5.30pm. For more information, see our post Climbing the Monument with children: everything you need to know.

With the Monument behind you, head up Monument Street onto King William Street. Turn right and head up towards the junction. Turn left and cross over onto Cannon Street.

Walk along Cannon Street, crossing over to the north side of the road when you can.

Just after the turning for St Swithins Lane on your right, look out for the London Stone which is housed in an alcove in the wall of a building. Its origins are unknown, it may be Roman. It is surrounded by myths, one of which is that if it is ever moved the future of London would be in jeopardy.

Keep walking straight ahead until you reach Walbrook on your right. Turn right and head up Walbrook.

On your left as your walk up Walbrook is an entrance to the Mithraeum, a Roman temple was dedicated to the worship of Mithras. The mysterious cult of Mithras first appeared in Rome in the 1st century AD. It spread across the Empire over the next 300 years. This Temple was constructed around AD 240-250.

The Mithraeum was one of the most important and popular archaeological discoveries of the immediate post-War era. Now, the London Mithraeum at Bloomberg SPACE provides an immersive experience with its sound and lights, recreating the atmosphere of this mysterious ancient cult temple. The site also houses a display of over 600 Roman artefacts found during excavations at this location.

SIDE QUEST The Mithraeum is free to visit and there is no need to pre-book. Check the website for opening hours.

Keep walking up Walbrook. At the end of the road, turn right and walk ahead to the Bank Junction.

Part 2 – Bank to Guildhall Art Gallery

The building diagonally in front of you to the left is the Bank of England (to the left of the building in the middle of the photo above).

SIDE QUEST The Bank of England houses a small museum where you can learn more about the Bank and money. You can even touch a real gold bar! The entrance is on Bartholomew Lane. Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm (last entry 4.30pm). If you do visit the museum, retrace your steps to this point and re-join the walk.

Head left in front of the Bank of England down Princes Street. At the next junction turn left onto Gresham Street. Walk down Gresham Street until you reach the turning Guildhall Yard on your right. Walk into the open space of Guildhall Yard.

Guildhall Yard is the location of the Guildhall Great Hall (home of the City of London Corporation, and has been the centre of City government since the Middle Ages) and Art Gallery.

In 1988, during excavations that were taking place in preparation for the Art Gallery building project, it was found that the capital’s only Roman amphitheatre was located in what is now Guildhall Yard. A black circle laid into the stone of the Yard now indicates where the amphitheatre stood.

SIDE QUEST The Guildhall Art Gallery is free to visit and you can also see the remains of the amphitheatre in the basement of the Guildhall Art Gallery, in which you can stand where gladiatorial contests and public spectacles would have taken place. Opening hours are Monday to Sunday 10am to 5pm. (Last admission 4:45pm.)

Part 3 – Guildhall Art Gallery to St Paul’s Cathedral

Leave the Guildhall Yard by the way you entered and walk down King Street opposite you.

At the bottom of King Street, turn right onto Cheapside. A short distance ahead and on your left you should see St Mary-le-Bow Church.

The bells of the church are probably more famous than you might realise. If you are familiar with the story of Dick Whittington, these were the bells that he heard calling him back to London to become Lord Mayor. It’s been said that you aren’t a true Cockney unless you were born within earshot of St Mary-le-Bow’s bells. Reference is also made to the church in the nursery rhyme ‘Oranges and Lemons’ in the lines ‘I do not know, Says the great bell at Bow’.

Just before you reach the church, turn left down Bow Lane. Walk down Bow Lane until you reach Watling Street. Turn right and walk down Watling Street towards St Paul’s Cathedral.

On your right you will pass One New Change, a small shopping centre with a large Marks & Spencer food shop on the Lower Ground Floor. This is the ideal place to pick up picnic food that you could eat in one of the nearby green spaces (perhaps either in the Reflection Garden (just at the end of Watling Street on the left) or in and around St Paul’s Cathedral’s grounds.

SIDE QUEST If you want to at this point, you could choose to visit St Paul’s Cathedral. St Paul’s Cathedral is open for sightseeing most days, although it does remain a working place of worship so is not open for sightseeing on a Sunday. You need to pay to enter as a tourist. Tickets give you access to the Cathedral Floor and Crypt, the Dome Galleries, multimedia guides and any temporary exhibitions and installations. Check the website for opening times and prices.

Whether or not you choose to visit St Paul’s take some time to explore the area around the cathedral. In particular, take a look at Paternoster Square (just off to the left of St Paul’s as you look at the front steps of the building). There are a number of public art pieces here and sometimes there are events here, like public screenings of Wimbledon in the summer.

Part 3 – St Paul’s Cathedral to Somerset House

At this point, if you have small children who are walking (rather than being pushed), this may be where you want to end the walk. The next section is probably less interesting and might be a bit of a test on small legs. From here you are just a short tube ride on the Central Line from a number of different destinations.

If you choose to continue, with the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral behind you, walk straight on down Ludgate Hill and across the junction onto Fleet Street.

Fleet Street has historically been associated with newspapers and British journalism. This is where the various newspaper companies used to be located. Although the physical printing presses and news companies have long since moved away, you can still find signs of its history today. If you’re on the right hand side of the road, look out for floor plaques at the entrance to various small side streets. These provide a little history. In particular, look out for this Space Invaders themed one and the one with the newspaper cover announcing the death of Elvis.

SIDE QUEST If you head up the side street Bolt Court, bear round right at the end and then turn left, you should find a small square and a statue dedicated to Samuel Johnson’s cat – Hodge. Retrace your steps.

Keep walking along Fleet Street until you reach the junction with Chancery Lane. Opposite the junction you should see an old Tudor-style building with a stone arched doorway underneath. Head through this doorway.

You are now entering one of the four Inns of Court – Inner Temple. Located within the heart of London, the four Inns of Court – Lincoln’s Inn, Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Grey’s Inn – are important institutions within the legal system. Every barrister (the type of lawyers that primarily conduct court advocacy) is required to join one of the Inns. Even today, the Inns remain a place where barristers dine, and attend educational and social events. Most of the buildings you see in this area are home to barristers’ chambers.

Walk straight down the path in front of you and you should see a church on your left. This is Temple Church.

Temple Church was built in the 12th century by the Knights Templar (a group of knights who took the monastic vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and also vowed to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land). The shape of this round church was modelled after the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem which is built over the site of Jesus’ grave. In more modern times, it serves the lawyers of Inner and Middle Temple and has featured as a location in the film version of the Da Vinci code.

SIDE QUEST Temple Church is open for sightseeing most days for at least a few hours, usually in the middle of the day. Admission is £5 per adult and free for children. Check the Temple Church website for details.

You are free to wander the various streets and courtyards of the Inns of Court, but be respectful of any signs telling you that areas are limited to members of the Inns and their guests. Alternatively, pass through the arches to Pump Court, walk through and turn right onto Middle Temple Lane. Head up Middle Temple Lane to re-join Fleet Street. Turn left.

In the middle of the road you will see a dragon statue. Dragon statues mark the historic entrances to London. Now, they mark the boundary of the borough of the City of London. Past this marker, you enter the borough of the City of Westminster. Behind the dragon you will see a large gothic building. This building houses the Royal Courts of Justice. The Royal Courts of Justice building is home to both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The only higher level court is the Supreme Court which is located in Westminster. As a court building, it is open for visitors during working hours and it is a beautiful building (although do note that it is a working building and photos/videos inside are prohibited for security reasons).

Carry on walking down Fleet Street, keeping to the left and heading down the Strand (St Clement Danes Church should be on your right). Keep walking down the Strand and past King’s College London. Just past King’s College London you should see some stone arched walkways, these lead through to the courtyard of Somerset House.

Somerset House has a long history (of which you can read more here). Now, it is home to the Courtauld Gallery and a number of other arts-related spaces. Its courtyard transforms throughout the seasons. In summer it has water fountains, whereas in winter it plays host to one of London’s most famous outdoor ice skating rinks.

You’ve reached the end point of this walk! From here you are just a few minutes’ walk to Covent Garden or Temple Tube Station.

Route

Have you done this walk and found somewhere cool along the way that others walking the route with kids should definitely see? Share in the comments!