How free tours in London work

A free tour is a guided walking tour, in a group, that you book without paying in advance and where you contribute at the end based on what you thought of the walk. The word free means there is no fixed price at the time of booking, not that the guide works for nothing: at the end, each person hands over a voluntary contribution. It is the model that keeps a professional guide going, someone who makes a living from those contributions.

The way it works is simple. You choose the tour and the time, book online saying how many of you there are, you get a confirmation and you show up at the meeting point a few minutes early. The guide recognises you from the booking, runs the tour, around two hours or two and a half in London, and at the end you decide how much to give. There is nothing to pay on the website to book, but it is not a zero payment either: the guide has already paid a commission for your place before you even start.

This is the question everyone asks. A free tour in London is not completely free, but it is not just a case of giving whatever you feel like either: the sensible benchmark is a contribution of 13 to 18 pounds per person for a two hour or two and a half hour walk you have enjoyed. That is roughly the same 15 to 20 euros per person people leave in Madrid and other capitals, only here you pay in the local currency.

London sits at the top end of that range for two reasons: it is one of the most expensive cities in Europe and it draws plenty of English-speaking travellers used to giving more. The contribution is always per person, not per group, and small children usually do not count. And be clear that it is not a fixed price, but it is not a token gesture either: it is the guide's only pay, and on top of that they have already paid a commission for every place.

Here is one of the details specific to London. You leave the contribution when the walk finishes, and the safest bet is to carry pounds in small notes. That said, the city is well ahead on cashless payments: more and more guides accept contactless, a QR code or mobile payment as the tour wraps up.

And a handy note if you are coming from the eurozone: many guides also take euros, though it is worth asking first rather than assuming the exchange. If you are short on pounds on your first day, this gets you out of a tight spot; even so, carrying some small local currency is the easiest option so you do not have to rely on whether your guide has a card reader to hand.

London is huge, so free tours do not set off from a single spot but from several points depending on the route. The most common for general tours is Trafalgar Square, next to the National Gallery and the fountains, right in the centre and just outside Charing Cross. The ones covering historic, official London tend to start at Westminster, in Parliament Square, facing Big Ben and the Abbey. And the City tours and, above all, the Jack the Ripper night walks set off from Tower Hill, beside the Tower of London.

In every case, arrive with ten or fifteen minutes to spare, because these squares fill up, even more so if it coincides with the changing of the guard. Spot your guide by their sign or coloured umbrella, which is always noted in the confirmation. And watch out for the night tours: in winter it gets dark around four in the afternoon and they start earlier, so confirm the exact time when you book.

The default language in London is English, which is also the city's native tongue, so most departures run in English and you will have plenty to choose from every day. If you would rather join a tour in another language, high season brings several daily departures in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese or German, with far fewer in winter, so it is worth booking ahead and filtering by language when you search on the free tour platforms.

Booking takes a minute and costs nothing. You choose the tour and the time, say how many of you there are and confirm the language; you get an email with the time, the exact meeting point and how to recognise the guide. On the day of the tour you show up ten or fifteen minutes early and show your booking. And if it turns out you cannot make it, cancel from the email: it is free and it frees up your place for someone else.

In London there are free tours for almost everything. The classic one covers historic Westminster, with Big Ben, the Abbey, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. From there the choice opens up: the City and its financial and medieval history, the Jack the Ripper night walks through Whitechapel, the ghost tours of Victorian London, the Harry Potter location routes, the Beatles and rock walks, and the street art of Shoreditch.

If it is your first time, start with the classic Westminster tour: it gives you the mental map of a huge city and sorts out what to see next. Leave the themed ones, like the Ripper walk or the City tour, for a second day. We cover the detailed itinerary and the neighbourhoods separately in our London guides, so we will not repeat them here: this is about how the free tour works, not the list of monuments.

A free tour is a walk through the streets with a guide: it includes the route and the commentary, but it does not include entry to monuments. In London this matters more than in other cities, because tickets are expensive: the Tower of London is around 35 pounds, and Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral charge for entry too. That is exactly why the free tour is so useful here: it helps you decide which of those places are worth paying to go into and which you can enjoy well enough from the outside.

A few tips to finish. Arrive on time, because the guide sets off at the stated hour and cannot wait for stragglers. In London it can rain in any month, so dress in layers and bring a light rain jacket. Carry some small change for the contribution. And since transport is pricey and the city is huge, use the free tour to set your priorities and get yourself a contactless or Oyster card to move between zones.