OfficialLondonGuides.com

Multi-lingual Blue Badge Guides

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Private guided tours ...

Why not enhance your stay in London with a professional guide? All guides have passed the Blue Badge exams and are members of the Institute of Tourist Guiding and the Association or Guild of Tourist guides in Great Britain.

I have been working as a guide for visitors to London for many years, firstly as a Japanese speaking guide for several big Japanese travel agencies, but nowadays I guide mostly in Dutch, French, Spanish and English.

Over the many years I have worked as a guide I have met as colleagues some great Blue Badge Guides whom I know are very experienced - and some have specialised in certain subjects and languages, so I can easily recommend the right person for your needs.

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Places To See

Apart from offering a classical sightseeing tour of London (the City of London or an introductory or orientation tour for first time visitors to London we can take you around and tell you all the fascinating history of the following places: St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London or even the Houses of Parliament, the British Museum....
For art lovers, we can recommend a guided tour around some of London’s art museums including the National Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The Courtauld Institute, the highlight of the V&A museum or less known museums such as the Wallace Collection or the Geffrey Museum ...

St Paul's Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral

We can do themed tours by coach on London architecture, World War II, Belgians who lived in London, celebrity London and historic walks in certain areas of London such as Kensington, Notting Hill, Westminster, Mayfair, Soho etc...   We are also qualified to guide in Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace (a popular half day trip out of London), the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew and of course other places in England at your request.

About Patricia

I was born and bred in Belgium but ended up moving to London 17 years ago where I took the 2 years interesting Blue Badge Course to become a city guide. This was in the first place a decision I made to enable me to use my language skills, particularly the Japanese I studied at Leuven University.

My deep interest in the history of this never- sleeping city followed soon after and as the famous Samuel Johnson said: "A man who is tired of London is a man who is tired of Life"...endless inspiration and excitement can be found in London.

London is certainly a fast-moving, multi-cultural city which changes regularly. Particularly in the last 10 years…it is certainly a different London from the days I moved here. It had a much more conservative feel and was a less clean and trendy city back then.

The Great War

From 2014 the centenary of the Great War in commemorated in Great Britain, Belgium and France.

In London we saw the touching display at the Tower of London: A sea of poppies (representing the blood lost in war) where thousands of people came to pay respect in the weeks up to the 11th of November Armistice Day. Volunteers could contribute buy buying and planting a ceramic poppy, each poppy for each person who lost his life. The commemorations will continue until 2018 with many more ceremonies to come.

Over 880.000 people from Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries lost their lives in a fierce and useless battle on Flanders Fields. It is so important that younger generations keep on remembering this, not only for the respect of the people who lost their lives (some of whom as young as 17 years) for later generations, but also for the sake of world peace.

We offer a series of walking tours around the Great War in various parts of London.

Tailor Made Tours

I have over the years gathered experience in preparing programmes for both individual visitors to London and larger parties including corporate groups and educational and school groups. If you plan a trip to London I can help you finding the right restaurant according to your budget, organise your transport (a coach or double decker),  or a boat or cruise on the Thames, supply your tickets for the theatre, organise a guided bike tour, or high speed boat trip on the Thames ...  so you can make the most of your stay in London without too much hassle. London has lots of hidden gems we guides can tell you about!

Why Hire A Qualified Guide?

Several people who have been to London have told me that to see London with a guide has changed their perspective on London and they loved learning so much about how this city came to be what it is now. You get so much more out of a visit to London if you do it with someone who knows the city and its hidden places well.

Guided Tours

Guided Tours

Walking Tours

The River Thames

The River Thames

For people who prefer to visit London on foot, I have prepared some historic walking tours:

Royal and political London or Westminster area, Hidden Kensington & Notting Hill, Mayfair, Legal walking tour of the Inns of court,  the Financial district of the City of London,  Soho, “Rock music in London” walk, Jack the Ripper, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Dickens London, the Olympics 2012 walk …

Sports Lovers

For sport lovers I can recommend a  private tour of Wimbledon tennis club with views of Centre Court and the Press Interview room or an tour on the history of the Olympics around Stratford, the venue of the 2012 Olympics.

FEES/PRICES: My fees are based on the guidelines of the Association of Guides and are good value. They also depend on how many persons are in your group and whether you want a full or half day guided tour. Contact me by email patricia@officiallondonguides.com or just phone me for inquiries about fees.