See Two Different Sides of London in One Weekend with Empire Tours’ Most Popular Walking Tours
In partnership with HK Foundation
By Grace Butler
London is one of the world’s most historically rich cities. If you are someone who wants to explore all of it, Empire Tours is ready to guide you. Two of the company’s most popular summer offerings, the Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience and the Jack the Ripper Tours, illustrate polar opposite sides of the British capital through guided London walking tours.
From Royal Traditions to the Heart of Westminster
The Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience lets you immerse yourself in Westminster’s multilayered past and present. Over the course of the two-hour historic London sightseeing tour, visitors get an up-close look at royal residences including Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and St. James’s Palace.
One of the highlights of the experience is the iconic, centuries-old Changing of the Guard ceremony. As Buckingham Palace’s Old Guard hands off responsibility to the New Guard, visitors witness precise military drills and traditional music played by a marching band.
At the tour’s end, visitors see Westminster Abbey, the Gothic church where kings and queens have been crowned since 1066. Although the tour does not include access inside Buckingham Palace or other royal residences, guests can still capture beautiful exterior photos as they take in centuries of the city’s history.
The excursion is not just focused on royal heritage, however. Visitors are treated to a piece of cinematic history when they see Lancaster House, a mansion that has featured prominently in British films and television shows. They can also walk through Whitehall, the famed location of Winston Churchill’s secret World War II bunkers.
A Walk Through London’s Most Infamous Mystery
The Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience shows guests some of the most opulent parts of London, but the Jack the Ripper Tour takes them to a darker side of the city’s history.
Accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide, guests visit the sites of Jack the Ripper’s gruesome East London homicides and learn about the intense police investigations that followed. Ranked among the best Jack the Ripper walking tours in London, the experience also brings visitors to the Ten Bells Pub, which many victims were known to frequent.
The tour is in many ways a time capsule, allowing guests to explore authentic Victorian-era architecture in the Spitalfields district. A walk down Brick Lane, an epicenter of the London street art scene, brings them right back to the present day.
Like many Empire Tours offerings, the Jack the Ripper Tour provides guests with an opportunity to explore further if they choose. With the Jack the Ripper Small Group Guided Tour + Ripper Museum Entry, guests can utilize curated combo tickets to go straight from the tour to London’s Jack the Ripper Museum.
The museum includes six floors of artifacts, recreated crime scenes, and exhibits detailing the lives of suspects, victims, and investigators. A mock police station and a replica of a morgue make the experience even more comprehensive and realistic.
Making London Easier to Explore
For anyone with an interest in the history of British government, Whitechapel’s most infamous unsolved crimes, or both, the Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience and Jack the Ripper Tour are itinerary additions, and all the tours are researched and led by experienced guides, so even if you are well acquainted with London’s history, you will learn something new.
Empire Tours works with tour groups of all sizes, and its public walking tours are priced at under £20, making them an affordable way to explore London’s history with a guide. This summer, the company is also making its private tours more accessible than before.
“We recently restructured the tiered pricing for our private group tours to provide a good value for smaller parties,” says CEO Steven Garcia. “By moving away from industry-standard flat rates and implementing batch pricing, we ensure couples and small groups can enjoy a memorable experience without having to compromise quality.”
If you are like most people visiting London, your guided excursion is just one part of the adventure. Empire Tours aims to take logistical challenges out of the equation so you can stay entirely focused on your vacation.
“To eliminate the friction of sightseeing logistics, we introduced curated combo tickets that guarantee fast-track entry to high-demand sites like the Jack the Ripper Museum and the Churchill War Rooms,” Garcia notes. “This allows our guests to bypass the queues and maximize their time in the city.”
“For clients seeking a true personalized approach, our concierge team designs fully customized itineraries,” he continues. “We handle every logistical detail, from securing private ground transportation to coordinating luxury hotel reservations, ensuring an elevated travel experience.”
Whether you are hoping for a fully planned trip or want to explore London on your own terms, taking a comprehensive historical tour with Empire Tours can enrich the experience. Present-day London is fascinating on its own, but when you understand the complex history beneath the surface, a trip to the city becomes a memorable experience.
Prices and availability are accurate as of the time of publication and are subject to change without notice. Please check the retailer’s website for the most up-to-date pricing information.