With so many options for visitors to London, a little local knowledge can add some interest and help people make the most of their visit.
This is where apps can help, and we’ve compiled a list of some useful tour apps which help you discover fascinating parts of London and the stories behind them.
At St Martin’s, we’ve recently launched a ‘Beating the Bounds’ walking tour app, which will guide walkers around the historic parish boundary, with stories and music along the way.
Blue Plaques of London
Blue plaques around London link the city’s buildings with the people who once lived or worked within them.
There are more than 900 blue plaques which have been put up since the scheme, now handled by English Heritage, began in 1866.
English Heritage’s Blue Plaques app contains details of all the plaques throughout London, and has a selection of guide walking tours around the city.
Singing Streets
This app is a guide to more than 2,000 locations around London where music history was made.
Singing Streets app
The app contains a directory of locations. Interactive maps which allow you to see significant places near your location, and guide tours. It’s currently £3.99 to download.
London Architecture Guide
Created by the Architecture Foundation, this free app provides a guide to more than 1,000 of the city’s most significant buildings.
London Architecture Guide app
The app maps the locations, walking tours and direction, with insight into the history and architectural significance of each.
Uncovered London
This app presents an alternative guide to hidden history and monuments around London, showing you the locations many tour guides may miss.
Uncovered London app
A Hollow Body
Created by the Museum of London as part of a Sherlock Holmes exhibition in 2019, this app is a 45 minute tour around central London.
This walk uses sound and narrative to create a mysterious walk for two people through Sherlock Holmes’ London.
Beating the Bounds
This app from St Martins’ takes you on a tour of the historic parish boundary, which covers many famous parts of central London.
The tour will take around an hour and a half, starting and finishing at St Martin’s, and leading you along the Embankment, through St James’s Park and Green Park, past Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace, and guides you through areas as contrasting as Covent Garden and St James’s.
