Tours in London: 25 events this week (19 Aug to 24 Aug)

Few cities are as rewarding to explore by tour as London. The range of tours here is enormous, taking in the river by boat, the streets by open-top bus, the markets and breweries by foot, and the inside of theatres, stadiums, and historic buildings that you cannot otherwise see. A good tour does what a map cannot: it frames a place through a story, whether that is the Thames as the city's old highway, the history under the City's pavements, or the workings behind a famous stage.

The formats are varied. River cruises run the length of the Thames, from sightseeing trips past the landmarks to themed and evening boats. Open-top bus tours cover the central sights in a loop, useful for getting your bearings on a first visit. Beyond the classics sit food and drink tours that graze through markets and neighbourhoods, history and architecture tours, themed and film-location tours, and the behind-the-scenes building tours that get you inside theatres, sporting venues, museums, and landmarks that are usually closed to casual visitors.

What you choose depends on what you want from the city. A river or bus tour suits a first orientation or a relaxed afternoon. A specialist guided tour, on foot or inside a building, goes deeper into a single subject and is where the most memorable experiences tend to be. The city covers every angle, from the grand and royal to the offbeat and local, so the same few hours can be spent gliding past Westminster or poking around a working market depending on the tour you pick.

A few practical notes. Tours range from inexpensive bus and boat trips to ticketed specialist and small-group tours that book up ahead. Behind-the-scenes building tours in particular run on fixed schedules with limited places, so reserving ahead matters. Check the meeting point, the duration, and whether a tour runs in all weathers, since outdoor and on-foot tours go ahead rain or shine. The listings below show the tours on across the city now.