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- English
Just off Covent Garden, four pubs hide centuries of London stories most tourists walk straight past. This walking tour takes you through them — from a CAMRA-award-winning local, past a hidden-passage survivor from 1772, to a theatrical finish beside the Savoy — with drinks and a guide who knows every tale behind the taps.
Start at The Harp, a multi-time CAMRA Pub of the Year winner;
Take in The Salisbury's glittering Victorian glass-and-brass, then wander Covent Garden's street-performance heart;
Duck into the Lamb & Flag, serving drinkers since 1772, and finish at the Coal Hole beside the Savoy;
Buy your own drinks at each pub, advised by your experienced guide.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Your London Historic Pubs Tour starts at the Sir Henry Irving Statue, outside the National Portrait Gallery. If you’re running late, please join us at our first stop: The Harp, at 47 Chandos Place, Covent Garden.
The tour ends at the last pub we'll visit, The Cole Hole, 91-92 Strand, a 5-minute walk from where we start the tour.
Itinerary
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1The Harp, Covent Garden
We start where proper London drinking starts — The Harp, a narrow, mirror-lined boozer that's been voted CAMRA Pub of the Year more times than most pubs manage in a lifetime. On a good evening the crowd spills out onto Chandos Place, pint in hand, and you're straight into the real thing. This is where your guide breaks down what most visitors never learn: the difference between cask and keg, ale and lager, hand pump and cellar. You'll taste your way through a rotating line-up of guest ales and finally understand why the British get so serious about a well-kept pint. It's the perfect first stop — equal parts pub-school and warm welcome — and it sets the tone for everything that follows.
35 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
Next is The Salisbury, and the moment you step inside you'll see why it's earned its name — a glittering interior of cut glass, polished brass and stage-worthy flair, right in the beating heart of theatreland. This has long been the actors' pub, ringed by West End stages, and your guide serves up the backstage gossip and green-room legends that come with it. It's also where you'll be poured a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord that many regulars call one of the best in Britain. Settle in, look up at those ceilings, and soak up a room where generations of performers have raised a glass before curtain-up. This is picked consistently as it's guests' favorite pub on the tour!
35 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Covent Garden
Between pints, we wander through Covent Garden itself — the beating heart of London's street-performance scene and a haven for the musicians, magicians and mime artists working the crowds beneath the old market roof. Your guide walks you through centuries of theatre and street magic, from its days as the city's fruit-and-veg market to the buskers who still audition for their pitch here today. Keep your eyes open — the entertainment is free and everywhere you look. It's a breath of open air and spectacle before the final pint, and a reminder of how much history is packed into these few streets.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4The Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden
Tucked away down a narrow passage off Covent Garden, the Lamb & Flag feels like a survivor from another London. A pub was first recorded on this site in 1772, when it was known as the Coopers Arms, before taking its present name in 1833. In the early 19th century, bare-knuckle prize fights earned it the blood-curdling nickname “The Bucket of Blood,” while novelist Charles Dickens later became a regular. The surrounding alleys have an equally colourful history: in 1679, celebrated poet John Dryden was ambushed and badly beaten nearby by hired thugs. Today, this Grade II-listed pub offers a far warmer welcome—and the chance to enjoy a drink in one of Covent Garden’s most atmospheric historic corners.
35 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5The Coal Hole
The tour concludes at the Coal Hole, a richly atmospheric pub beside the Savoy on London’s famous Strand. Its name comes with two competing stories: some say the space was once a coal cellar for the Savoy Hotel, while others link it to the coal heavers who worked beside the nearby Thames. The present Grade II-listed pub forms part of the Savoy Court complex, built in 1903–04, and retains a wonderfully theatrical interior of dark wood, lofty beams, decorative friezes and an elaborate fireplace. Its character recalls the Strand’s Victorian “song and supper” clubs, where comic songs, sentimental ballads and lively performances entertained the crowds. Surrounded by some of London’s greatest theatres, it is a fitting place to finish the tour—and perhaps remain for another drink.
35 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
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Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Rating
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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