Wren in the City walking tour - Friday 21 February 2025 11am
Regular price £19.50Join Open City for a walking tour marking over 300 years since the death of the architect, scientist and polymath Christopher Wren — a man with an extraordinary and unique architectural legacy in the urban landscape of London.
To celebrate the achievements of Christopher Wren this fun and engaging walking tour led by — led by former Royal National Theatre head of tours and Golden Key Academy graduate Alison Rae — is a fascinating and insightful wander from one corner of the Square Mile to the other, charting Wren’s role in the City’s transformation from smoldering ruin after the 1666 Great Fire to glittering, modern metropolis. We will wind our way through the City’s streets and alleyways, finishing at Wren’s masterpiece, St Paul’s Cathedral.
Passing by some of the City’s most recognisable landmarks, we will track Wren’s ideas, his inspiration and the constraints he had to deal with along the way. The tour will include amongst much else, the impressive dome of St Stephen Walbrook, the unique Gothic spire of St Margaret Pattens and a close look at the hidden meanings behind the carvings on The Monument.
Providing a fun way for enthusiastic urbanists to explore the city, this tour will cover Wren’s unrealised plans for the city, other non-religious works such as the Temple Bar Gateway: the only surviving gateway into the City of London, and the long-lasting impact Wren has had on architecture right up to the modern day.
This Architecture of Wren in the City walking tour date is led by one of our expert guides Alison Rae. Each of our tour guides will bring a unique perspective and wealth of experience to the topic.
Important information
Meet: outside Natural Kitchen entrance (Ground floor, Double Tree by Hilton London - Tower of London) 7 Pepys St, EC3N 4AF
End: at St Paul’s Cathedral
Duration: 2.5 hours approx
Alison Rae has a background in performance and venue management and was for 10 years, until 2020, Head of Tours and Visiting at the National Theatre, London.
Rae is an accredited Lambeth Guide and has devised Tours within the South London borough as well as events and tours for London Festival of Architecture. She is a Tutor at Morley College, for the Lambeth Guiding course. A former Trustee of Poet in the City Alison is Chair or Visit Theatres, the Channel Route of European Historic Theatres, and holds an MA in Cultural Leadership from City, University of London.
Rae is a graduate of the inaugural 2021 Golden Key Academy — a masterclass for urban and architectural tour guiding run by Open City. She joined the Open City tours team in summer 2021 and also guides the Open City Cultural Landmarks of Westminster tour.
Tickets are non-refundable and tours go ahead rain or shine.
* Please check for any planned transport engineering works, planned strike action or large scale events that may affect your journey before making your ticket purchase *
If you find you can no longer make the tour for any reason we are unable to transfer you to another date, but please feel free to pass your booked place onto a friend to go and enjoy the tour in your place.
In the event your tour date is cancelled you will be issued with a credit note (with no expiry date) that you can use to
- book onto a rescheduled date
- book onto any other tour from our programme
or you can request a refund.
All ticket purchases are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes. We really appreciate your support!
Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
Please select solidarity pricing to help Open City offer concessionary tickets rate.
Please get in touch at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
If you find you can no longer make the tour for Covid or any reason we are unable to transfer you to another date, but please feel free to pass your booked place onto a friend to go in your place.
In the event your tour date is cancelled due to Covid or any other reason you will be provided with the opportunity to book onto a rescheduled date, book onto another tour, provided with a credit note (with no expiry date) or you can request a refund.
All ticket purchases are in support of the work of our organisation including our pioneering education programmes. We really appreciate your support!
Get in touch with Adrianna at tours@open-city.org.uk with any queries.
