The Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange is one of The City's most iconic buildings, built over five centuries ago and formerly housing London's first stock exchange.

Nearby Attractions

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Boar’s Head Inn
Boar’s Head Inn comprehends a few taverns in London with reference to Shakespeare plays and characters, specially Henry IV.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London
Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and erected within a year of the fire, the monument was built to commemorate the loss while celebrating the rebuilding of the city.
Leadenhall Market
Dating back to the 14th century, it was known to be a meat, poultry and game market. Now, walk through a number of boutiques, cafes and restaurants.
The Gherkin
It was once the site of the former Baltic Exchange before being destroyed by IRA bombs. It is now the home of Swiss Re reinsurance.
East India Company
Today's current Lloyd's of London Building occupies what was once the former site of the East India Company - itself famous for the wealth and corruption it brought Englishmen returning from its service.
Diagon Alley
There's only one place to buy your school supplies for Hogwarts!

Related Tours

The Great Fire of London: Private Half-Day Walking Tour

Explore the heart of the city of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Pudding Lane where a small fire in a bakery led to what became known as "the Great Fire of London" in September 1666. It was one of the capital's most historically significant and devastating events, leaving destruction and despair in its wake. The fire led to the modernisation of housing and infrastructure in London, forcing huge attitude changes toward the safety and poverty of the people.

On your private half-day walking tour you will: 

  • Begin where it all started, at a little bakery on Pudding Lane, where a few loose embers led to the Great Fire that destroyed so much of the city;
  • Learn about a momentous event in London's history – the effects of which are visible today;
  • Trace the path of the fire, from Pudding Lane to St Paul's Cathedral;
  • Stop by the plaque of St. Mary Colechurch, and then to Guildhall;
  • Walk through the fire path toward the Royal Exchange;
  • See other key Great Fire sites like Monument and piece together pictures and archive material;
  • Get personalised suggestions for post-tour reading, documentaries to watch, and other interesting sights to visit;
  • Visit a medieval tavern, frequented by Charles Dickens, that survived the fire;
  • End with a one-hour guided tour of the 'new' St Paul's Cathedral which was completely destroyed during the Great Fire of London.


In the early hours of September 2nd, 1666, a small fire broke out at a bakery on Pudding Lane. The conditions were optimal for disaster – the timber and thatch houses were situated in extremely close proximity to one other, one witness reported that you could wake up in the morning, open the window and shake hands with your neighbour.

The city had also been plagued by drought for about 6 months, meaning that the timber was particularly dry. The fire escalated rapidly, burning down around 13,000 homes and 87 churches over four days and severely damaging St Paul’s Cathedral. What happened and how did the fire wreak so much havoc?

On this private walking tour, you will learn about how the fire began and how it spread. Debate some of the key issues surrounding the topic with your expert guide. If not for Baker Thomas Farriner’s carelessness with a few dying embers, would London have remained a medieval city? Or was this a tragedy waiting to happen?

Did the fire paradoxically cause more good than bad, or do we underestimate the scale of the fire’s damage? What about the people who lost their homes, livelihoods, and even their lives? Hear some historic eyewitness accounts.

You and your guide will trace the key sites of the Great Fire with a walk around the City of London: from Pudding Lane, Monument, and old local churches to alleyways and pre-1666 taverns. See how the area has been transformed, and what remains of it and explore some archival materials to build up an accurate picture of London at the time, and the events that would reshape the city forever.

End with a fascinating hour-long guided tour of the majestic St Paul's Cathedral - rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren and Hawksmoor after the Great Fire largely destroyed it. Inspired by Michelangelo's Dome for St Peter's Basilica in Rome, it was for many years the tallest building in London.

It has been the backdrop to numerous royal occasions including the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Admire its magnificent architecture, and hear about the process of rebuilding.

Build Your Own 10-hour Private Tour in a London

At Black Cab Heritage Tours, we have a wide range of private tours and day trips from London, but our priority is to make sure you have a memorable experience, and that every detail of your tour is taken care of.

This “Build Your Own Tour” will allow you to work with one of our staff members to create the perfect customised tour according to your requests.

These tours have been designed to be delivered within the city of London. If you want to do a day trip out of town or to a different area, please reach out directly so we can reconfirm the duration and the itinerary for the day.

We look forward to welcoming you to London soon!

Please note

  • No entrance fees are included
  • Guides are not allowed to guide inside certain venues
  • Hotel Pick-Up and drop-off are only included from Central London

Power and Scandal: City of London Private Half-Day Walking Tour
Explore the 800-year history of the City of London, the global financial heart of Britain, with its melee of medieval streets, iconic skyscrapers, and historic buildings, and hear tales of the most notorious financial fraudsters through the ages. 

On your private tour, you will:

  • See the major landmarks of the city like the Stock Exchange and the Bank of England, nicknamed the ‘old lady of Threadneedle Street’;
  • Visit the vibrant Leadenhall Market – popular with city workers for lunchtime drinks;
  • See the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral alongside skyscrapers like the Gherkin and the Cheesegrater;
  • Hear how Lloyd’s of London began as Lloyd’s coffee house and the important role of the coffee houses in the financial district;
  • Learn about historic scandals of fraudulent trades, offshore banks, shady syndicates, and hoodwinking Ponzi schemes
  • Learn about the extraordinary story of the thieves of Threadneedle Street: American forgers who nearly broke the Bank of England in 1873;
  • End back at Threadneedles Hotel, where we encourage you to try their famous Gin and Tonic at Wheeler’s Bar!

With its eccentric mix of historic buildings and iconic skyscrapers, the City of London is a unique district in the heart of London with a history dating back over 800 years. Learn about the financial institutions that drive the City and hear the dramatic stories of fortunes made and lost through fair means and foul. 

Learn of the rise and fall of the East India Company, forged banknotes by American fraudsters, the Lloyd's of London insurance scandal of the 1990s, the Poyais scam of 1825, and the South Sea Bubble implosion. Hear about charming thieves and audaciously dodgy investors through the ages. 

Discover the origins of the East India Trading Company – a mercantile powerhouse that made a fortune on the back of the slave trade. Learn about the illegal sales of opium in China and the endemic corruption that led to its demise. 

Entering Change Alley, your guide will describe the street as it stood 300 years ago - a crowded alley, filled with traders, rumour, and wild financial speculation: the collapse of the South Sea Bubble, a slave-trading business that shook Britain to its core.

Learn about the rise of Lloyd’s coffee house on Lombard Street – a popular place for sailors, merchants, and shipowners to gain their shipping news and discuss business and trade. It then became its own insurance business: Lloyd’s of London. It is now infamous for the huge scandal of the 1990s in which many lost millions. 

End back at the elegant Threadneedles Hotel, where you'll hear the story of the scandal of the thieves of Threadneedle street - an attempted heist by American robbers that would have ruined the City had it not been spectacularly foiled. Perhaps enjoy a well-earned G&T at the Wheeler's Bar afterwards! 
Build Your Own 11-hour Private Tour in a London Taxi

At Black Cab Heritage Tours, we have a wide range of private tours and day trips from London, but our priority is to make sure you have a memorable experience, and that every detail of your tour is taken care of.

This “Build Your Own Tour” will allow you to work with one of our staff members to create the perfect customised tour according to your requests.

These tours have been designed to be delivered within the city of London. If you want to do a day trip out of town or to a different area, please reach out directly so we can reconfirm the duration and the itinerary for the day.

We look forward to welcoming you to London soon!

Please note

  • No entrance fees are included
  • Guides are not allowed to guide inside certain venues
  • Hotel Pick-Up and drop-off are only included from Central London


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