Make the most of your visit to London and take this private tour to the Victoria and Albert museum (V&A) with a Blue Badge certified guide. This option guarantees you a more personal attention and service from your guide.

You will be led to the most important areas of the museum with a vast and detailed explanation of the pieces and exhibitions it has to offer.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design; housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

The V&A was originally established in 1852, following the enormous success of the Great Exhibition of the previous year. Since its foundation, the Museum and its collections have continued to grow into one of the world’s greatest resources of art and design, housed in one of the finest groups of Victorian buildings in Britain.

Your Blue Badge guide is an official, professional tourist guide of the United Kingdom, recognized by local tourist bodies throughout the UK, and by Visit Britain as one of Britain’s official tourist guides.

Your visit will start meeting the guide outside of the Museum, where you will be provided a brief explanation of the museum; next, you’ll be taken to the most important expositions. After 1.5 hours of the tour you will have free time to spend it at your own leisure!

Walking along Knightsbridge, London's famous shopping center where Harrods is located, you will reach No.1 London, the name given to Apsley house. Built by Adams in 1775 for Baron Apsley and acquired by the Duke of Wellington in 1817, he aggrandized the house with the help of architect Wyatt who gave it the Corinthian temple front and faced it in gold bath stone. It became the grand mansion of the Duke of Wellington, the victor of Napoleon. You will find the treasures regaled to the Duke by the European Monarchs returned to their thrones after the defeat of Napoleon. As you enter the house in the inner hall is the nude marble statue by Canova of Napoleon in the guise of Apollo. See silver and porcelain sets, jewels and snuff boxes surrounded by the Duke's furniture. Upstairs are the paintings which he collected and the old masters from the Royal Spanish collection found in Giuseppe Bonaparte's coach as he was abandoning Madrid. These were given to Wellington by the King of Spain. Among them are paintings by Velazquez, Rubens, Murillo, Ribera and Goya.(On Mondays and Tuesdays when Apsley House is closed more time will be spent in the V&A Museum.)

This private tour is hosted by a professional guide specializing in art history. Please list any special interests you have (art, architecture, history) at time of booking to alert our guide so that he or she can better prepare for your private tour.

Please note: Apsley House will be closed until March 31, 2015, more time will be spent at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Visit the wonderful British Museum on this 3-hour private tour with your own art historian guide. The British Museum, one of the world’s greatest historical treasure troves, is the largest ethnographic Museum in the world- culture is its theme. It represents not only British culture but it is a collection of World cultures such as the Egyptian, Assyrian, Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, Pacific Ocean and Eastern Cultures.

This British Museum tour is ideal for a personalised perspective on the collections. Among the main objects are some of the most important Egyptian statues, the Egyptian Mummies, the famous Assyrian Lion Hunt, the Standard of Ur, the Parthenon Marbles, Roman sculpture with the famous Portland Cameo Vase and many more.

Trade in paintings for mummies and historical artifacts on a tour of the British Museum. The enormous collection spans 6000 years of human history, featuring items from all over the world including Samurai armor and rare Assyrian lion hunt reliefs. Our guides will take a serious but enjoyable approach towards the museum’s galleries, discussing primitive tribes and fallen empires through a carefully chosen selection of items. You’ll learn about the Mummy of Katebet, the Lewis Chessmen, and the Rosetta Stone – the actual rock, not the language learning program. Walk away with an understanding of what we humans have achieved during our short history and hopefully you’ll be proud to call yourself a part of this incredible species.

Start off your private trip to London with an introduction to culture and civilizations at the monumental collection of the British Museum, spanning 6000 years of human history. It features items from all over the world like Samurai armor and rare Assyrian lion hunt reliefs. Our guides will take a serious but enjoyable approach towards the museum’s galleries, discussing primitive tribes and fallen empires through a carefully chosen selection of items. You’ll learn about the Mummy of Katebet, the Lewis Chessmen, and the Rosetta Stone – the actual rock, not the language learning program. Walk away with an understanding of what we humans have achieved during our short history and hopefully you’ll be proud to call yourself a part of this incredible species.

After a break for lunch, continue with your guide to understand London through its history as you walk through its urban landscape. Our expert guides will peel back the layers as you walk past some of the most iconic places in central London like Trafalgar Square and the House of Parliament. Learn about Chaucer at Westminster Abbey or maybe bump into the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street. The tour will pass through the sweeping green parks, bustling crowds, and quaint squares that define London. Learn about the monarchs and leaders, like Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill, while also taking advantage of your local guide, who will be more than willing to share a few of the city’s best kept secrets as you explore together.

See the best of London’s National Gallery, one of the world’s most visited art museums, on this private 3.5-hour tour. With a specialist art historian guide, tick off the gallery’s most impressive paintings and learn more about the artists behind them. Get up close to works by the Italian greats, including da Vinci and Michelangelo, and Flemish masterpieces from the likes of Rubens and Campin. You’ll also take in timeless paintings by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists such as Monet, Renoir, Picasso and Cezanne.
Choose from a morning or afternoon tour, and then make your own way to the National Gallery, a striking Pantheon-style art museum raised on a terrace overlooking Nelson’s Column and the iconic lion statues in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Meet your guide, an art history specialist, and then head inside to trace European art across the centuries. The National Gallery boasts one of Europe’s greatest collections of paintings by the Old Masters (European artists whose notable works were produced between the Renaissance and 18th century), and houses more than 2,300 artworks dating from the Middle Ages through the 20th century.
Stroll from room to room, taking in the mosaic floors, marble pillars and floor-to-ceiling art, and listen as your specialist guide talks you through the gallery’s key masterpieces as well as the artists behind them.
Throughout your private tour, pay special attention to the Italian greats — from the 13th-century Masters to the High Renaissance of Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo — and the Flemish school of art, including works by Rubens, van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Campin, considered by many to be the first great master of Flemish and Early Netherlandish painting.
See, too, masterpieces from Rembrandt, as well as the gallery’s French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists collection, one of the finest of its kind in the world — crammed with timeless works by Renoir, Monet, Pisarro, Cezanne, van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso.
After roughly 3.5 hours, your tour concludes inside the National Gallery, leaving you free to continue exploring independently, should you wish.

Instead of browsing  the National Gallery aimlessly, immerse yourself in the techniques and history behind some of the world’s most famous artists with a professional guide. You’ve heard of Van Gogh and da Vinci, but what do you really know about them? Learn about the painters behind the paintings. Browse your favorite works by other masters like Botticelli, Monet, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. If none of those names mean anything to you, that will change by the end of the tour.

The National Gallery houses paintings dating back to the 1300s all the way up through the 1900s, so there is no shortage of choice. Visit Jan van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” or something more familiar like Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” to understand the full scope of work on display. Learn essential information and history needed to appreciate the more than 2,300 paintings on display at one of the world’s most visited museums.

Explore a world-class art collection with our energetic guides in the National Gallery. You’ve heard of Seurat and da Vinci, but what do you really know about them? Learn about the painters behind the paintings as we browse our favorite works by other masters like Botticelli, Monet, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. If none of those names mean anything to you, we’ll make sure that changes by the end of the tour.
 
The National Gallery houses paintings dating back to the 1300s all the way up through the 1900s, so there is no shortage of choice. Visit Jan van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” or something more familiar like Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” to understand the full scope of work on display. During your private tour, we’ll arm you with the essential information and history needed to appreciate the more than 2300 paintings on display at one of the world’s most visited museums.

After a break for lunch, we will go back to the very beginning of London’s two millennia history in the City, the site of a Roman settlement that became the epicenter of one of the world’s most bustling cities and financial centers. Wander through this tangle of hidden sights to stumble upon the 12th century Temple Church, home to the Knights Templar. Fast-forward through history to discover the medieval Tower of London, home to the beefeaters. Learn about the great fire of 1666 that decimated the city at the Monument before marveling at the domed masterpiece, St. Paul’s Cathedral, rebuilt after the tragedy. You’ll score picturesque views along the Thames, the river spanned by the iconic 19th century Tower Bridge and more modern Millennium Bridge. Your energetic guide will bring London’s long history to life as you weave through the skyscrapers that hide some of its best kept stories.

Meet your private guide outside the British Museum at 10am, then step inside to begin your 5-hour tour.

At The British Museum discover valuable treasures such as the Mummy of Katebet, the Oxus Treasure, the Parthenon sculptures, and the Rosetta Stone. During your tour, explore 6,000 years of human history and learn of primitive tribes and mighty empires through the ages.

After lunch (own expense), head onward to the National Gallery Admire works such as Johannes Vermeer’s A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, or Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and hear essential details on the meanings behind the works. Explore the galleries and hallways — home to masterpieces by Botticelli, Monet, Rembrandt, and Vermeer — and gain insight into art history dating back to the 14th century.

When your guided visit comes to an end, continue exploring at your leisure or step outside to conclude your tour.

Begin our half day experience by learning about the master painters whose names fill the halls of the National Gallery. It’s a hodgepodge of eras and styles, and we’ll make sense of it for you so that you can appreciate and moreover enjoy this iconic collection. Discover the history and anecdotes behind the works of artists like Da Vinci, Velázquez, and Botticelli. The National Gallery houses paintings dating back to the 1300s all the way up through the 1900s, so there is no shortage of choice. Visit Jan van Eyck’s “The Arnolfini Portrait” or something more familiar like Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” to understand the full scope of work on display. During your private tour, your charming young guide will arm you with the essential information and history needed to appreciate the more than 2300 paintings on display at one of the world’s most visited museums.

After a break for lunch, you will then go on to explore the diverse neighborhood that is the East End. Notorious as the hunting ground of 19th century serial killer Jack the Ripper, it’s now home to London's best street art including Shepard Fairey and Banksy. The East End is a melting pot, alive with contradictions and colorful characters, and we’ll introduce you to our favorite shops and vendors at Spitalfields Market. By the end of the day you’ll understand why London attracts so many upcoming artists.