Spitalfields London Walking Tour with Audioguide

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1

  Liverpool Street is one of London’s busiest transport and business hubs, forming a gateway between the City and Spitalfields. The station opened in 1874 and today links directly with the Underground and Elizabeth line. Just east lie Old Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane and the historic streets of the East End, creating a sharp contrast between Victorian architecture and modern skyscrapers.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 2

  Bishopsgate Library, part of the Bishopsgate Institute, opened in 1895 in a striking Victorian building near Liverpool Street. Free and open to everyone, it specializes in the history of London and the East End, with extensive archives on social movements, protest, labor history and everyday life. Its atmospheric reading rooms still retain original wooden bookcases and period details.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 3

  Spitalfields Charnel House preserves the remains of a medieval bone house built around 1310 for the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. It stored bones disturbed when old graves were reused. Rediscovered during excavations in 1999, its foundations were preserved beneath the modern development at Bishops Square and can still be viewed through glass.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Dennis Severs' House (Pass by)

  Dennis Severs’ House is an unusual museum in an 18th-century Spitalfields townhouse. Artist Dennis Severs bought the house in 1979 and transformed its rooms into scenes from the imagined lives of a Huguenot silk-weaving family. Candlelight, half-eaten meals, unmade beds and other details create the impression that the residents have only just left.

  Admission ticket free
• 4

  Elder Street is one of Spitalfields’ best-preserved Georgian streets, lined with early 18th-century brick townhouses built for merchants and silk weavers. In 1977, several historic houses were threatened with demolition, but conservationists occupied and saved them. Their restoration became an important victory for architectural preservation in East London.

  15 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 5
  Old Spitalfields Market

  Old Spitalfields Market Old Spitalfields Market stands on a trading site used since the 17th century, when King Charles I granted a market licence here. The present covered market buildings largely date from the late 19th century. Today the restored Victorian halls combine independent shops, food stalls, restaurants, antiques and design markets, reflecting Spitalfields’ long commercial tradition.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 6
  Christ Church Spitalfields

  Christ Church Spitalfields is a landmark Baroque church designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1729 as part of the program to build new Anglican churches in rapidly growing London. Its tall white spire dominates the surrounding streets. After decades of decline, the church underwent major restoration and today remains an active parish and concert venue.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 7
  Fournier Street

  Fournier Street is one of Spitalfields’ best-preserved Georgian streets, built mainly in the 1720s for prosperous Huguenot silk weavers. Its tall brick houses were designed with large upper windows to light weaving rooms. Over time, the street also became home to Jewish tailors and later Bengali garment workers, reflecting the changing communities of East London.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 8
  Hanbury Street

  Hanbury Street Hanbury Street runs through Spitalfields into Whitechapel and follows a route with roots stretching back centuries. Formerly known as Browne’s Lane, it developed into a mix of Georgian houses, workshops and shops, reflecting the area’s Huguenot, Jewish and later Bangladeshi communities. Today it is known for historic brick buildings, street art and its lively connection with Brick Lane.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 9
  The Old Truman Brewery

  Old Truman Brewery is a vast former brewery complex on Brick Lane, with brewing on the site dating back to the 17th century. Once home to one of London’s largest breweries, production ended in 1989. Today its historic warehouses and courtyards house independent shops, markets, galleries, studios, food stalls and event spaces, while the tall Truman chimney remains a local landmark.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 10

  19 Princelet Street is a rare surviving Huguenot merchant’s house, built in 1719. In the 19th century, Jewish immigrants converted part of it into a synagogue, which still preserves historic fittings and its holy ark. The Grade II* listed building reflects Spitalfields’ changing Huguenot and Jewish communities and is being prepared for future public access.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 11
  Brick Lane Jamme Masjid

  Brick Lane Jamme Masjid tells the story of Spitalfields’ changing communities. Built in 1743–44 as a Huguenot Protestant chapel, it became a synagogue in 1897 and a mosque in 1976. The Grade II* listed building still preserves traces of these different religious eras, while its modern minaret was added in 2009.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 12
  Spitalfields Market E1

  Moorish Market on Fashion Street was built in 1905 by brothers Abraham and Woolf Davis as an ambitious covered shopping arcade for local street traders. Designed in an unusual Moorish Revival style with horseshoe arches and decorative façades, it failed commercially and closed as a market in 1909. The Grade II-listed frontage survives today, restored and incorporated into modern offices and educational spaces.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 13

  Banglatown Arch spans Brick Lane and marks the entrance to the heart of London’s Bangladeshi community. Designed by Mina Thakur and erected in 1997, it was created after a local campaign to celebrate Bangladeshi culture in the East End. Its decorative metalwork and colors reference the flag of Bangladesh, reflecting the area’s identity as “Banglatown.”

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• Whitechapel Gallery (Pass by)

  Whitechapel Gallery Whitechapel Gallery opened in 1901 to bring major art exhibitions to East London. It became known for introducing British audiences to important modern artists, including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo. In 1939, Picasso’s Guernica was shown here during its only visit to Britain. Today the gallery remains a leading center for contemporary art.

  Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• The audio guide is available through a special mobile app for iOS and Android
• Entry tickets to the museums are not included. Please buy them separately in advance
• The tour doesn’t cover all Spitalfields sights
• This is a self-guided tour. You will need to download the audio guide mobile app, activate your purchase, and follow the route on the app's map. There is no human guide provided

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