Testimonials
11/11/2020
Paul – thank you very much for your greeter service. My classmates and I had a fantastic day！We walked through those places by ourselves last week, but with you, everything was different. We were able to see the past and the future of King Cross. It was amazing!
When I told my friends that a kind Londoner took us around Kings Cross and to the Harry Potter platform, they thought it was incredible.
Paul was not like a tour guide, more like a reliable family member. He made me feel that London is not a steel metropolis but a warm community!
I hope that one day my hometown of Xiamen in southern China could also have greeters.
Lin Zoey
23/2/2020
As a group of 6, it was difficult for us to find a tour time which suited us all so London Greeters was perfect. They organised a greeter who could show us around on our chosen date within just a few days; We were very grateful. Paul was a great guide for our tour of Camden around Kings Cross. Although some of our group had visited before, we were none the wiser regarding the significance of the art, buildings and surrounds. As a local who lived in the area for decades, he told us of how Camden was and how it has transformed into the Camden it is now. This was a very insightful tour which I would recommend to any visitor.
4/1/2020
Patrick – nous voici revenus en France avec plein de souvenirs en tête de cette superbe ville qu’est Londres. Nous sommes ravis que vous ayez eu la gentillesse de partager avec nous la passion de votre ville. Des endroits improbables que nous aurions jamais trouvés sans votre aide, tel que la “rue de la musique”. Vraiment un très bon moment. Merci. Amélie, Daniel, Olivier & Matilda.
28/12/2019
Ruth – we would like to thank you again for the wonderful and most educating greet in Stoke Newington. We were fascinated with the historical review and enjoyed the architectural explanations. Liat & Tal Perlmutter
6/12/2019
Paul – thank you so very much for the wonderful tour today. We thoroughly enjoyed the mixture of history, architecture and socioeconomic development of London. The Wallace collection was exceptional as well. Our chance encounter through the London Greeter’s Tour has turned out to be one of those brilliant gifts the universe bestows on you which opens up new opportunities and thoughts and leads to new friendships and future adventures. We can’t thank you enough. Lynn and Scott Smith
24/11/2019
Laurence, thank you for the very nice tour we had yesterday. The different stages of the tour (Abbey Road, Lord’s Cricket Ground, Regent’s Canal with Little Venice Basin) and the architectural variety of the residences seen during the tour were very instructive and fascinating. We really appreciated your availability on a Sunday Morning, your passion for cricket, real tennis and your enthusiasm in showing us your London neighborhood.
15/11/2019
Ruth – I want you to know that Gus and I truly enjoyed and appreciated the “greet” that you provided for us. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet you and to spend several delightful (and informative) hours in your company.
7/11/2019
Dominic was very friendly, easy-going, a good storyteller and knowledgeable. He answered my countless questions with patience!
He knows the city well and timed it perfectly for us to see the Fortnum and Mason clock strike midday.
5/11/2019
I thoroughly enjoyed all my time with Laurence yesterday and also after I left him, the canal boat and Camden Market. His descriptions of the styles of buildings are helping me to be more discerning as I see more of London.
Being at Lords again was really special and doing the crossing at Abbey Rd a great surprise.
1/11/2019
Nous avons fait une très agréable promenade avec Michael dans le quartier de Hampstead, il nous a donné beaucoup d’informations historiques et contemporaines sur ce lieu dans un parfait français. Seul regret : que l’on n’ait pas eu le temps de boire une bière ensembles!
Merci encore à Michael.
29/10/2019
Eleanor was my Greeter in London and she was ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! And she was mine and mine alone for four and a half hours. We spent this time together exploring the area between Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. She was so generous with her vast knowledge of history, people, places, things, and lots of juicy historical gossip. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. This was my first time in London and I would come back in a minute just to have her guide me around another neighborhood. I have told countless people about your organization and my wonderful experience.
I was so inspired by Eleanor that I am thinking about volunteering myself in your NYC branch. Eleanor was also kind, thoughtful and interested in me as a person. She also provided me with helpful information that helped with the panning of my stay. I feel fortunate to have found your organization and Eleanor.
23/10/2019
Paul Olins was our London Greeter. He showed us around Marylebone, Regents Park, and neighborhoods that were off the beaten path for most tourists. He explained the history of the development of that part of London and about the different styles of architecture. We saw some beautiful houses and parks and he showed us a museum that was not on our radar at all. Paul was very easy to talk to and we felt like welcome guests of his. Thank you!
22/10/2019
My kids and I spent a really good time with Ruth. She was very kind and told and showed us a lot of interesting things about and in Newington Green. We learned a lot about the history of this place. An unforgettable tour!
21/10/2019
Our greet with Patrick was a wonderful experience! Following some nice and smooth communication via e-mail Patrick agreed to meet us at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre where we had booked a guided tour. He made two suggestions for our tour and had us choose one according to our interests. We went for a walking tour towards the Southeast, passing by some interesting local spots such as Borough Market and ending at St. Katharines Dock. We learned many interesting things about the area, London history and current developments. Our guide was very knowledgeable and kind – a very nice and interesting personality! He also made some conversation with our teenage daughter, which was nice so she could practice some English. We really enjoyed our walk, which was a truly intercultural experience because we have learned about work and life in London. Highly recommended indeed! Thank you so much from Germany! Andrea, Rainer and Helena
11/10/2019
Patrick – we fully enjoyed our tour with you and we both thank you very much for your kindness. We had a great time and were afforded insights by you that we would not have gotten on our own. Kevin and Christina.
8/10/2019
Brillant and vivid SOHO walk with Dominic, we really enjoyed our common and very personalized tour. This was our London highlight! Thanks for this great local experience!
5/10/2019
Dominic is the best. We had so much fun during our visit. He is very knowledgeable and gave us lots of ideas for other things to do in London. 5 star rating! We will be back!
5/10/2019
We greatly enjoyed our tour of Hackney with Julia. I assume Hackney isn’t really a place many first-time visitors to London, especially those from this side of the world, would choose to visit, and we really only ended up with this tour because we selected “no preference” from the area options, just to get a Greeter. But I think my visit to London was made more meaningful by this tour of a non-touristy borough. Unlike many of the tours I’ve joined, a lot of the stuff I learned from Julia’s relaxed tour has stayed with me, like the story behind the gasometers, work houses, towpaths, and some of the squares/parks. This was not an information-overload brisk walk. Julia’s tour helped me imagine how locals lived and live there, which really is the point of a good walking tour. Highly recommended tour and guide. Thanks, Julia!
1/10/2019
Paul – thank you again for taking the time to show me your part of London. I’m very glad we chose your Greeters walk, it was fascinating learning about St John Wood. I had to brag to relatives about my “private tour of Lords”, and they are suitably jealous.
25/09/2019
It has been a real pleasure meeting with Kathy. She brought us in the very nice places of Hampstead with plenty of explanations about the site, the historical context, the important persons (artists…) who lived there, etc. We also had time to discuss about life in England, and she was very open to answer to our questions. She is a very nice person. We would recommend her to any visitor.
12/09/2019
Rosalind is such an interesting and knowledgeable guide. When asked about our favorite moment in London, we all respond with the interesting visit we had with the hat designer at Lock and Company, Hatters. Thank you, Rosalind!
12/09/2019
I was impressed with the knowledge Paul was able to share with me. He was able to give me an historical and cultural perspective of Marylebone. It was a fantastic experience. It made me feel like moving to London. It is such a joy to go off the beaten part and learn from a native who clearly loves his city.
11/09/2019
Our Greeter, Laurence, was ideal for Australians as he knew much about our country and was able to relate readily our experiences to what we would have experienced had we been living in London. Laurence was bright, attentive, and with a world of experiences to draw upon. Our two hours went very quickly. A great outing finished off with a lovely trip along the canal to Camden.
02/09/2019
Dominic was extremely friendly, his walk tour and his talk fascinating. It was a lot of fun and at the same time a lecture in British history, culture, arts and society. He made a lot of good suggestions and, after we had contacted him again after the walk to express our gratitude and to ask some questions, he kept in touch with further valuable advice.
02/09/2019
Eleanor was charming, friendly and most of all welcoming! She expressed her passion for London that was palpable. As a result, our Greet felt more like taking to a lifelong friend! We will remember our time with Eleanor as a highlight of our trip to London!
15/08/2019
Patrick was a really friendly and knowledgeable greeter with a lot of experience. Seiji, Japan.
09/08/2019
We walked through Spitalfields and Brick Lane with our greeter Julia Gay. She is a very likable, easy-going and knowledgeable person and she provided a lot of historic facts and so many stories and things to know about the neighborhood. It was absolutely interesting and a worthwhile experience to learn about the history and development of this part of London from a local. Highly recommended!
05/08/2019
It was a real pleasure to stroll in central London with Dominic, who was also easy to understand for non native English speakers.
18/06/2019
Dominic was exceptional! We loved our walk around the city. We got to see places that would have been overlooked if it was not for Dominic’s informative and charming tour. Such a privilege to be able to spend a morning in London with Dominic. Thanks!
01/06/2019
Loved finding out about the Belgravia neighborhood of London, seeing the Mews houses and historic pubs.
30/05/2019
It was our 1st time and we were very pleased with our experience. Our greeter Dominic was knowledgeable, pleasant and informative, he knows his London very well and when there was a question for which he did not know the answer he let us know and later the same day he emailed us the answer. We actually did another visit with him on June 17 in Soho and again it was a real pleasure.
23/05/2019
Dominic is delightful, knowledgeable and knows London very well.
09/05/2019
I was paired with Dominic for a tour of the Soho area where I was staying. I absolutely loved the two hours we spent learning about the area, and absorbing the culture. I would highly recommend London Greeters to learn the deeper details of London when you visit!
“With Julia, we discovered the very green neighbourhood of Hackney. She was very interesting and knew a lot about it :-). It was very nice to discover a very Londonian area, that is not that touristic but which is worth a walk and a visit when you want to discover the real London. Thank you so much Julia!”
“Dorothy was extremely knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. She was very friendly and comfortable to be around. She always kept things moving so we could squeeze in a lot to our time. She showed me so many things that I would have never seen without her. I am really grateful for the time we spent and she contributed to me having an excellent stay in London.”
“Our Greeter was just wonderful. The trains were not running properly and she helped us get to Greenwich. We walked around seeing the major sites and had a bite in great pub! She was delightful.”
“It was great experience, we got to know the place not as usual tourists. Very detailed elaboration of history from Eleanor, with stories or details of architecture that I would miss easily. What was also fascinating, I found out with surprise that Cutty Sark’s first voyage was to Shanghai, my hometown.
“We talked more topics than I would have expected, including movies, books and history. It was a unique, spiritual experience for us. Our guide Eleanor simply is one of the nicest person I ever met. Much appreciate London Greeters for arranging this.”
“We were more than satisfied with the tour in Camden and our greeter. It was very interesting, full of information. He showed us Camden from different sides like the cultural, historical, busy and peaceful Camden and Camden as an important traffic juncture. This was the third time we had a tour with Greeters (after Paris and Florence) and it was definitely the best tour. I can highly recommend this service.”
“We were met at the appointed place at the appointed time and taken on an interesting and fact-filled Greet through Camden. Duration, pace and amount of information were just right. Roger is an excellent ambassador for the London Greet program.”
“Thank you to Michael Rabin for the visit to Hampstead, a very beautiful and interesting place. Michael has been a very good guide, friendly with me and my sons and he speaks very good French! Thank you for all. It was a pleasure to meet Michael.”
“A great conversation, a warm and well-informed person, I discovered plenty of new things. I enjoyed the visit so much that I decided to linger on afterwards and retrace my steps!”
“Maggie is very professional, lots of information. We had the time to go to the library, two museums, a city-market,… and we had a coffee too! Liked it!”
“We had a very interesting and pleasant greet around the former Olympic area. Without our Greeter, we’d never had the idea of visiting this unknown part of London. Really very, very interesting.”
“Dorothy, the guide in Camden was very knowledgeable in terms of history and art, enthusiastic and took the interests of the visitor into consideration. It was a pleasure to have a chat with her. Normally nobody can put up with my fast pace of walking, but Dorothy is incredibly fit and this time I had to keep up with her. So I can only recommend her in terms of sightseeing as well as interesting chats about life in London. As I travelled alone it was great to meet a real Londoner for a day.”
“Warm, friendly, knowledgeable, informed, detailed pre-Greet information on the site, travel directions, relevant links. Introductions to passers-by along the tour, took extra time to answer questions, share myriad sights, stops in the library, shops, and cafe, and helped me navigate London for my special interests. I consider my Greet a special friend with whom I will remain in e-contact and plan to visit with on my next London trip. Thank you and your organization, and blessings on your magnificent work..”
“Gave us really interesting explanations about the area we visited (St Katherine’s Docks and neighbourhood). Very active person. Spoke English that was easy for us, foreigners, to understand. Very friendly and willing to answer any of our questions.”
“Paul was very knowledgeable and friendly! He was the highlight of our trip to London!”
“Greeter very knowledgeable, proud of her neighbourhood and easy to be with. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with the Greeter. We were made to feel comfortable and we saw parts of Hampstead that we never would have found. Keep up the good work. When we return to London we definitely will contact you again. Hampstead is a jewel of London proper.”
“Fabulous, positive, informative, quirky experience. Two hours flew by and Eleanor left us with loads more suggestions to see and do in Greenwich. Thoroughly enjoyable and would recommend in a heartbeat.”
“Paul walked us through many fascinating local landmarks in Camden; I think we never would have learned as much if it weren’t from a local’s perspective. From start to finish he was courteous and enthusiastic about showing us his unique view of the community, which he’s actively involved in. We were also able to take breaks during the walk, so it was pretty relaxed. All in all, we appreciate the time and care that went into the tour! This was one of the most memorable parts of our visit to London – it’s hard to believe it was free.”
“We had a wonderful time with our Greeter Paul. He showed us the buildings in the Victorian style, the lovely parks and knew so much about the history. He let us feel London as an international city. We are so glad to have met him. Thank you for the sightseeing tour.”
Some FAQs
How do I apply for a London Greet?
Simply go to the Book A Greet page and fill out the form and then you are one step closer to meeting your knowledgeable, friendly greeter.
What happens next?
When we receive your form, we will then confirm the Greet by e-mail, and your Greeter will also contact you directly to confirm arrangements. Please allow several days for us to respond.
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