City of London Self-Guided Audio Walk: Roman Wall, the Monument, Leadenhall Market and St Paul's
1 hour and 40 minutes
About this experience
The City of London has burned, been bombed and been rebuilt in brick, stone, steel and glass. Its plan has outlasted all of it: a Roman wall line, Roman roads, an arena and the medieval market lanes. Start at the Roman wall on Tower Hill and the church where Samuel Pepys watched the Great Fire, then walk to a Wren church that became a garden and the Monument, a column as tall as its distance from the fire. Pass through Leadenhall Market over the Roman forum, see Lloyd's and its fire-rule steel, stand at Bank among three stone faces of money, find the Roman arena in Guildhall Yard, and follow Cheapside past Bow Bells and Temple Bar to St Paul's. Twelve stops, about 2.8 km and 100 minutes, at your own pace, in English. Entry to the Monument, St Paul's and the Tower of London is not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Audio guide
- English
- Guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 12 stops, 2.8 km, 100 minutes Stops at Monument, a Wren church turned garden, Leadenhall Market GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A weekday, Monday to Friday, starting between about 9.30am and 1pm. The City is a working district: on weekdays All Hallows (from 8am), the Guildhall Art Gallery and the Bank of England Museum are open, and St Paul's opens for sightseeing Monday to Saturday from about 8.30am with last entry usually at 4pm. Leadenhall Market's lanes are crowded from about noon to 2pm. At weekends the streets are quiet and pleasant to walk, but many doors are shut. The Monument's climb closes from 1pm to 2pm for lunch. Allow extra time if you plan to climb the Monument or visit St Paul's. Getting to the start: Tower Hill Underground (Circle and District lines) is beside stop 1; Tower Gateway DLR and Fenchurch Street rail are a few minutes away. The walk ends near St Paul's (Central line), with Blackfriars and Mansion House (District and Circle) a little further. Checked 7 October 2026. The Monument (stop 4): open daily 9.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm, last entry 12.30pm and 5.30pm; tickets on the day at the door only; adult £7.00, child (5 to 15) £3.50, under 5s free, concessions £5.30, valid until 31 March 2027. 311 steps, no lift. Checked 7 October 2026. St Paul's Cathedral (stop 12): sightseeing Monday to Saturday, usually 8.30am to last entry 4pm; adult £27, senior and student £24, child £10.50, family £64.50. On Sundays until 25 October 2026 only the Dome Galleries are open for sightseeing. Services are free to attend. Checked 7 October 2026 at stpauls.co.uk. All Hallows by the Tower (stop 2): free, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm, closed on bank holidays; its undercroft museum holds a Roman pavement. Opening can vary with staff availability. Checked 7 October 2026. Guildhall Art Gallery and the Roman amphitheatre (stop 9): free, booking a general admission ticket is encouraged; free tours Tuesday to Sunday at 12.15pm and 1.15pm. Closed all day Wednesday 21 October, Monday 16 November and Monday 7 December 2026, with shorter hours on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November. Checked 7 October 2026. Bank of England Museum (stop 8, entrance on Bartholomew Lane): free, Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, last entry 4.30pm, open until 8pm on the third Thursday of the month; closed weekends and bank holidays, and from 3pm on Friday 27 November 2026. Checked 7 October 2026. The Tower of London (stop 1) is a ticketed Historic Royal Palaces site. Prices and hours change through the year: check hrp.org.uk before you go, and allow at least half a day. St Dunstan in the East's garden (stop 3) is free and is listed as open from 8am to 7pm, or dusk if earlier; closed on 1 January and 25 and 26 December. The stop works from the lane outside the railings. Checked 7 October 2026. Step-free: the route uses a short flight of steps on the forecourt in front of the Royal Exchange (stop 8); a level way round the same forecourt avoids them. The Monument's climb is not suitable for wheelchair users. Gracechurch Street (between stops 5 and 6) is crossed at Corbet Court, where there are no traffic lights; buses use the street, so wait for a clear gap, or walk up to the lights at Cornhill and back. St Dunstan's Hill (stop 3) is a cobbled lane with local traffic and no separate pavement; keep to the side. The stop is a short walk down the lane and back. St Michael's Alley (stop 7) is narrow and unlit, and quiet after dark. Do not take the courtyards beyond the pub: they are private. Leadenhall Market's covered lanes are a public way but very busy at lunchtime, and GPS can drift under the roof. If they are crowded or closed, walk round by Gracechurch Street and Leadenhall Street. The Lord Mayor's Show is held on the second Saturday in November, which in 2026 is Saturday 14 November: expect Bank, Cheapside and the streets around St Paul's to be closed to walkers that day. The City always has building sites. Hoardings and scaffolding along Gresham Street, Lothbury, Cheapside or elsewhere can narrow pavements or hide a view; follow any signed diversions. Paternoster Square (between stops 10 and 12) is privately owned public space and can be closed for events; if it is, follow St Paul's Churchyard round the cathedral to Ludgate Hill. Ludgate Hill (stop 12) has narrow pavements and crowds near the cathedral steps; stand back from the kerb. Do not go into St Paul's or the City churches to sightsee during a service. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
Tower Hill: The Roman Wall at the City's Edge
Tower Hill, outside Tower Hill station, EC3N 4DJ, London
Roman wall at the City's edge. Built from about AD 200, its lower courses are Roman and its upper ones medieval, with the Tower of London across the road.
- 2Day 0
All Hallows by the Tower: Pepys in the Steeple
All Hallows by the Tower, Byward Street, EC3R 5BJ, London
The steeple Pepys climbed in 1666. All Hallows calls itself the oldest church in the City, and its brick tower of 1658 to 1659 watched the Great Fire stop at its porch.
- 3Day 0
St Dunstan in the East: A Church Become a Garden
St Dunstan in the East church garden, St Dunstan's Hill, EC3R 5DD, London
A bombed church turned garden. Wren's Portland stone tower and spire stand over Gothic walls rebuilt from 1817 and left roofless by the Blitz in 1941.
- 4Day 0
The Monument: A Column That Measures the Fire
The Monument, top of Fish Street Hill, EC3R 8AH, London
A 202 foot column of Portland stone. Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren's Monument, finished in 1677, stands 202 feet high and, by its own measurement, 202 feet from where the Great Fire began on Pudding Lane.
- 5Day 0
Leadenhall Market: Victorian Iron on a Roman Forum
Leadenhall Market, Gracechurch Street entrance, EC3V 1LT, London
A Victorian arcade over Roman London. Horace Jones's red brick and stone front of 1881 opens onto crooked lanes that follow medieval rights of way, above the site of the Roman forum and basilica.
- 6Day 0
Lloyd's of London: Steel Chosen by the Fire Rules
Lloyd's building, Leadenhall Street, EC3M 7HA, London
A building wearing its lifts outside. Richard Rogers's 1986 building took its steel and concrete from fire rules, and the Leadenhall Building beside it leans to keep St Paul's in view.
- 7Day 0
St Michael's Alley: The Coffee House Plaque
St Michael's Alley, off Cornhill, EC3V 9DS, London
A narrow alley with a coffee plaque. The plaque dates it to 1652; the Victorian Jamaica Wine House stands at its end, linked to St Michael's church by a block dated 1868.
- 8Day 0
Bank Junction: Three Stone Faces of Money
Bank junction, by the Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LL, London
Three stone buildings of money. The Royal Exchange of 1844, the Bank of England behind its thick old screen wall and the Mansion House all face this junction in Portland stone.
- 9Day 0
Guildhall Yard: A Roman Arena in the Paving
Guildhall Yard, off Gresham Street, EC2V 5AE, London
A Roman arena traced in paving. The Guildhall, begun in 1411 and still the City's town hall, lines up with the buried arena, found only in 1988.
- 10Day 0
St Mary-le-Bow: Wren's Steeple over Cheapside
St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, EC2V 6AU, London
Wren's tall steeple over Cheapside, the medieval City's market street. St Mary-le-Bow was rebuilt from 1670 over a twelfth-century crypt, and its bells give London's Cockneys their traditional test.
- 11Day 0
Temple Bar: The Gate That Moved
Temple Bar, Paternoster Square, EC4M 7DX, London
The old west gate rebuilt in 2004, rebuilt here in 2004. Built in 1670 to 1672 at Fleet Street, it spent over a century in a Hertfordshire park before returning beside St Paul's.
- 12Day 0
St Paul's Cathedral: The Dome the City Keeps in View
St Paul's Cathedral west front, Ludgate Hill, EC4M 8AD, London
Wren's cathedral and its dome. St Paul's replaced a Gothic cathedral with a tall spire, begun in 1675 and declared complete in 1711, and its sightlines still shape the City's towers.
Meeting point
Tower Hill, London Tower Hill, outside Tower Hill station, EC3N 4DJ, London, England, GB
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · City of London Self-Guided Audio Walk: Roman Wall, the Monument, Leadenhall Market and St Paul's
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.