London’s Classic Sights and Hidden Histories: A Self-guided Audio Tour

You may be familiar to the most famous sights of London, but are you familiar with the history, stories and characters behind them? This tour takes in a range of central London’s most iconic spots, ideal for plenty of photo ops whilst allowing you to learn the hidden histories behind famous buildings. 

Throughout, you’ll be rewarded with plenty of facts and trivia that are guaranteed to shed new light on parts of London you thought you knew.  This is a stair-free route through the streets of London suitable for wheelchair users.

The tour is ready whenever you are and the audio plays automatically at exactly the right time and place using your smartphone’s GPS and the VoiceMap mobile app, which also works offline.

Queen Victoria was the first ruler to call Buckingham Palace her official residence in 1837. She oversaw huge changes to the “tiny” palace, including new wings and ballrooms, as well as the installation of gas lights, and then electricity in 1887.

St James’ Palace is the most senior royal palace in the United Kingdom. Although it’s no longer the main living space of the monarch, it is the formal gathering spot of the Accession Council and the London residence of some minor members of the royal family.

St Paul’s Cathedral has been there for over 300 years. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and was just one of the 52 churches he built after the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The 18ft tall statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square has stood atop its column since 1854, looking towards the Houses of Parliament.This statue is commonly said to be the very centre of London! It took fifteen years to construct.

Westminster Abbey is where all the kings and queens of this country have been crowned, from William the Conqueror in 1066, to our current Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. A large number of monarchs are also buried here, so it’s where their reign begins and ends.

Winston Churchill worked at the famous Cabinet War Rooms throughout WW2. Winston Churchill was the figurehead for England’s steadfast role against the conflict that engulfed the world.

The build-up of the plot to blow up Parliament began with Queen Elizabeth I, who came to the throne in 1558. She ran Protestant England, and effectively made Catholicism illegal. If you didn’t go to church and take the oath of Supremacy to the Queen, you were charged with treason.

Did you know that the tower itself is not actually named Big Ben? For most of its life it had the very functional, very Victorian name of ‘Clock Tower’. And then, in commemoration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, it was renamed ‘Elizabeth Tower’. So how then did this clock tower come to be known as Big Ben? The name actually refers to the bell inside the clock tower.

At 135 metres high, the London Eye it’s the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe. Every component of the wheel had to be designed and built from scratch and floated up the Thames on barges, assembled flat on piled platforms in the river.

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• This tour is wheelchair accessible.

• Classic Sights and Hidden Histories London Self-guided Audio Tour by VoiceMap
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• Lifetime access to the ‘Classic Sights and Hidden Histories’ tour
• VoiceMap Application
• Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

• Smartphone
• Transportation
• Food/drinks
• Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route

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VOICEMAP CODE
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Please check your email at the address you provided when you made this booking. You’ve been sent an eight character code you’ll need to redeem your tour.

This code can be used by every member of your party. If you’ve booked for three people, for example, three people can download this tour using the same code.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
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Once you’ve received your code, please follow these steps:

1. Install the VoiceMap Audio Tours mobile app
2. Create an account
3. Select Tour Codes from the menu, then select Enter Codes
4. Enter your code then select Download Now

PLEASE NOTE
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• You can download the tour at any time, before or after your booking date. It’s best to download the tour before you set off for the starting point.
• This tour follows a set route and includes turn-by-turn directions. It works best if you start it in the right place and follow the directions from one location to the next.
• When the download completes, you’ll see a screen with a photo of the starting point and directions to it. The red start button will become active when you are at the starting point.
• Remember to bring your own headphones, unless you have booked a driving tour.

SUPPORT
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For technical support and other queries, please email support@voicemap.me

Please be advised..

• This Tour is Provided by VoiceMap Audio Tours.
• Tour Timezone & Starts at Europe/London.
• Mobile or paper ticket accepted.
• All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
• Minimum 1 Travelers is required to book.
• Maximum 15 Travelers is accepted for booking.