London's Covent Garden Historic Pub Tour
St Giles, London
Four Historic Pubs — This Is Covent Garden as Londoners Actually Drink It!
Highlights
- Start at The Harp, a multi-time CAMRA Pub of the Year winner
- Take in The Salisbury's glittering Victorian glass-and-brass
- Wander Covent Garden Market, home of world-famous street performers
- Duck into the Lamb & Flag (1772) and finish at the Coal Hole beside the Savoy
- Buy your own drinks at each pub, advised by your experienced guide
Description
Backstreet Boozers, Victorian Splendour and Very Good Beer, this is a tour through the cultural heart of London. Over 2 hours, a local guide leads you down alleys and theatreland corners to four unforgettable pubs, with a drink in each and a story behind every door.
Your first pint will be at The Harp, a multiple-time CAMRA Pub of the Year and a proper old-school boozer, where your guide breaks down the real difference between cask and keg, ale and lager, hand pump and cellar, the stuff most visitors never learn. A short walk brings you to The Salisbury, a glittering Victorian 'actors' pub' ringed by West End theatres, all cut glass and polished brass, pouring a pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord that many regulars call the best in Britain.
Between pints you'll wander through Covent Garden Market, home to world-famous street performers, soaking up centuries of theatre and street magic before the next round.
Next you'll duck down a hidden passage to the Lamb & Flag, serving drinkers since 1772 and once so notorious for its bare-knuckle prize fights that locals nicknamed it 'The Bucket of Blood', later a regular haunt of Charles Dickens. The tour finishes at the Coal Hole on the Strand, a theatrical Grade II-listed pub beside the Savoy, with dark wood, lofty beams and echoes of the Victorian 'song and supper' clubs that once packed the room.
Along the way you'll hear tales of ghosts, prize fights, plots and West End scandal, and learn the customs and language of the British pub itself. You won't just drink, you'll sit at the bars where famous writers wrote and step into the living history behind every pint. This isn't just a pub tour; it's the real London you've been looking for.
Includes
Veteran local guide, native-English speaker
Entry into 4 historic London pubs
Guided walk through Covent Garden Market
Stories and history of each pub, Covent Garden, and British pub culture
Excludes
Drinks
Food - our last stop has great British pub food, and plenty of space to eat
Tips for the guide (optional)
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Important Information
- You must be 18+ to enjoy the beer tasting, so please bring valid photo ID. SANDEMANs Tours supports the responsible enjoyment of alcoholic beverages. The tour lasts approximately 2–2.5 hours. The order of stops, route and stories may vary slightly depending on group pace, local conditions and your guide, but the core itinerary and advertised experience remain unchanged. Fully refundable up to 24 hours before the tour departure. Fully refundable if a cancellation is due to force majeure.
Easy cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
