London Literature and Art Student Tour

Day 1

Flight to London

Flight to London: Today you depart from home on your overnight flight to London.

Day 2

Arrival in London. Welcome lunch and tour of the city highlights

Arrival in London: You arrive in London this morning and will be met by your tour manager and private bus. You then transfer into the center of the city for an introductory bus tour including the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Trafalgar Square and Downing Street.

Welcome Lunch in Covent Garden: You have a welcome lunch in a traditional London pub, after which there will be time to explore the Covent Garden area with its vibrant market and lively street entertainment.

China Town and the West End: In the afternoon there will be time to relax at your hotel. This evening after dinner there will be a walking tour of the West End including Leicester Square, China Town, Piccadilly Circus and Carnaby Street. This is the hub of London’s entertainment and nightlife and is always buzzing.

Day 3

The National Gallery, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the London Eye

The London Tube: This morning you learn how to use the Tube – the name that Londoners give to the subway system. You will have tickets which will give you unlimited travel on the capitals Underground and all red buses for the duration of your stay in the city. You travel to Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column, the most famous square in London.

The National Gallery: You first visit the National Gallery which contains one of the greatest collections of art in the world including works by renaissance masters such as Titian, Raphael and Michelangelo, as well as Canaletto, the Dutch Masters and Turner. The National Portrait Gallery includes early British rulers such as Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell right through to contemporary works including portraits of Virginia Woolf and Winston Churchill.

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben: After time for lunch, you walk down Whitehall to see 10 Downing Street, where British Prime Ministers traditionally live. At the end of Whitehall, you see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

The London Eye: After your tour you cross Westminster Bridge to the South Bank and London Eye. This is a lively part of the city and there is often lots of street entertainment and food stalls. A trip on the London Eye is the perfect way to end the day, with a birds-eye view across the city.

Day 4

National Theater Backstage, Royal Academy of Arts, Abbey Road and Fish & Chips

National Theater Back Stage Tour: This morning you take the Tube to Waterloo and the Southbank. This area is a center for arts and music and you start the day with a backstage tour at the National Theater. The tour offers a fascinating insight into the workings of a modern theater and you will get a behind-the-scenes experience of the sets, wardrobe, lighting and special effects.

Royal Academy of Arts: After lunch you take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. This is one of London’s most famous squares and the statue of Eros stands at its heart, surrounded by the illuminated neon billboards. On Piccadilly you visit the Royal Academy of Arts. With a history going back 250 years, the RA is a privately-owned and independently run arts society. It has been located in its currently home, Burlington House, since 1868 and is famous for its seasonal cutting-edge exhibitions.

Abbey Road Crosswalk: In the afternoon you take the Tube to St. Johns Wood for a photo opportunity at the famous Abbey Road Crosswalk featured on the eponymous Beatles album. This is a site of pilgrimage for Beatles fans the world over and you can recreate the iconic album cover.

Fish and Chips Dinner: You take the Tube back to central London and dinner this evening is at a traditional Pub where you can try great Fish and Chips.

Day 5

St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the Tower of London

St. Paul’s Cathedral: This morning you take the Tube to Mansion House where you can see St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is the masterpiece designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built after the Great Fire of London of 1666. St. Pauls has dominated the skyline of London for over 300 years and even today no buildings are allowed to obscure the view of the Cathedral.

Tate Modern Gallery: From here you walk across the River Thames Millennium Footbridge to the Tate Modern Gallery. The building is a former power station which has been converted into a thriving exhibition space for modern art. The huge former turbine hall often hosts unusual installation art.

Shakespeare’s Globe Theater: Leaving the Tate you walk along the River Thames, passing Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. This is a reconstruction of the original theatre which stood on a spot close to this site. The project of actor Sam Wannamaker, the theater features regular productions of the Bard’s plays throughout the summer months.

Lunch at Borough Market: From here you walk to Borough Market for lunch. Borough Market is one of the most famous and traditional of the old covered London markets and during the day its varied food stalls provide a fantastic choice of food and drink. Right outside the market is The Shard, the highest building in London at a height of 1,020 feet.

Tower of London and the Crown Jewels: Walking a little further along the River Thames you cross Tower Bridge, the famous bridge that can open like a drawbridge to let passing ships through. On the opposite side of the River you visit the Tower of London. Over the centuries many famous people have been imprisoned and even executed here, among them Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. The British Royal Crown Jewels can be seen here.

Day 6

Bloomsbury Writers Tour, Charles Dickens House, the British Library and Westminster Abbey

Bloomsbury Writers Tour: This morning you have a literary walking tour of the Bloomsbury district. This historic part of the city was a haven for many influential writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Dickens and Thackeray, Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Circle, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath – they can all be discovered as we explore the historic garden squares, Georgian town houses and narrow lanes.

Charles Dickens House: Our walking tour includes a visit to Charles Dickens House where he wrote Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and the Pickwick Papers. The house is now a museum where you can see various manuscripts, personal items and paintings.

British Library: After time for lunch, you visit the British Library for a tour of its public areas. The tour includes the viewing gallery where you can see the famous Reading Rooms. A tour of the Treasures Gallery will introduce you to the Magna Carta and some of the world’s most significant books.

Westminster Abbey: In the afternoon you travel to Westminster where you can explore the historic Abbey, the traditional site of coronation for British monarchs since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066. Notable burials include Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking. In Poets Corner there are memorials to Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters and other literary greats.

Day 7

Houses of Parliament Tour and Free Afternoon

House of Parliament Tour: This morning you visit Parliament to see the House of Commons and House or Lords, as well at Westminster Hall where King Charles I was tried in 1649 after the English Civil War.

Free Afternoon: The rest of the day is free for sightseeing on your own. You will have unlimited public transport for the center of London so will be able to travel as much as you want on the city’s Tube and buses. Your tour manager will be on hand to help you with planning your day, if you need assistance.

Day 8

Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery and Kings Road Chelsea

Victoria and Albert Museum: This morning you go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s largest museum of decorative and applied arts. Its collection spans 5000 years of art from ancient times to modern day. The V&A, as it is known, also has a reputation for cutting edge exhibitions so the precise content today will be determined closer to the travel date.

Saatchi Gallery: You also visit the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. This is the private museum of advertising magnate Charles Saatchi, founded in 1985 to exhibit his personal collection of art to the general public.

Kings Road Chelsea: Chelsea is a fashionable shopping area and there will be time to enjoy a little retail therapy on the trendy Kings Road, before dinner this evening at a city restaurant.

Day 9

Harry Potter Studios and Cambridge University

Harry Potter Studios: This morning you travel by coach to North London to the Warner Brother Studios to see the Making of Harry Potter exhibition. This very popular tour will walk you through the sets of the film. You see authentic props and costumes and can explore Hogwarts Express, the Forbidden Forest and many other attractions.

Cambridge University: In the afternoon you travel to Cambridge where you can explore this famous University town and its historic colleges. Don’t miss going punting on the River Cam – a punt is a small boat which you manoeuvre with a pole, much like a Venetian gondola. Punting has been part of Cambridge student life since the early 1900’s and a former President of University Punting Society was the Monty Python star Graham Chapman.

Dinner in Cambridge: You have dinner in Cambridge before returning by private bus to your hotel in London in the evening.

Day 10

Flight Home

Flight Home: Depending on your flight departure time there may be an opportunity to visit Windsor to see the famous castle. You then transfer to the airport for your flight back home