Literary Tour to Britain – The Literature and Theatre of London and England

London is the largest city in Europe: quite a feat, considering its location on a relatively small island. London's location is perfect for an administrative, communications and trade center, as the Romans realized when they founded their city in AD 43. London is filled with countless historic and cultural treasures that meld seamlessly in this exciting, contemporary city.

Our visit will include an ascent to the Whispering Gallery, an acoustic marvel in which the faintest whisper can be heard clearly on the opposite side, plus time at the American Memorial Chapel. If we are lucky, we will be here when the massive organ fills the entire cathedral with breathtaking music.

Explore the areas of Westminster and Whitehall, including Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, Parliament Square, Downing Street, St. James's Park and Buckingham Palace.

Enjoy an evening meal with your group.

Visit Westminster Abbey, where English kings and queens have been crowned since 1066. You'll take a Blue-Badge Guided Tour that will include the Royal Chapels, containing the tombs of the English monarchs, as well as Poets’ Corner, featuring memorials to many famous British literary figures.

Enjoy a relaxing way to view many of London's most magnificent sights on a Thames River Cruise. This cruise will take you past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and under the famous Tower Bridge.

Visit one of Britain's most fascinating and important historical structures, the Tower of London. Begun as a fortress by William the Conqueror, the Tower is now primarily associated with the legendary figures imprisoned and executed here over the centuries. Your visit includes the Armories, a display of instruments of torture and execution, and the breathtaking Crown Jewels Exhibit.

Experience a delicious dinner in a local restaurant near to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, two of London's most vibrant and lively areas. Then spend some free time around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Piccadilly Circus is known for its lighted advertisements, while Leicester Square is where stage and screen combine, having provided entertainment to the city since the Victorian era.

Take a trip to the beloved town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Here you will explore Shakespeare's Birthplace, a carefully restored 16th century house. After touring the property, along with its period-correct gardens, you will visit the Shakespeare-related exhibits in the adjoining Shakespeare Center, built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of The Bard’s birth.

Stop for a brief visit to Holy Trinity Church, the parish church where both Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, are buried. It is located in an attractive setting on the banks of the River Avon.

Enjoy an evening meal with your group.

Enjoy exploring the Shakespeare Globe Theater Museum, as you observe the costumes, the special effects, the music, and the printing and publishing process during the Shakespearean era. You will even have the opportunity to participate in a workshop with a globe practitioner.

Embark on walking tour through London as a specialist guides you through the town of Shakespeare and Dickens. Then, visit the site where Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and finished The Pickwick Papers, which now houses the Dickens Museum.

Visit the Dickens Museum which contains the world's most important collection of materials relating to the author and social commentator, housing four floors of paintings, rare editions, manuscripts and original furniture.

Experience a delicious dinner in a local restaurant. Then sit back, relax, and become part of Shakespeare's world with a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Canterbury was an important Roman town because of its location on the route between London and Dover. Canterbury became a pilgrimage site in the 12th century after the murder of Thomas Becket and it became further ingrained in history and literature through Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Take an excursion to Canterbury and tour the beautiful and historic Canterbury Cathedral, a place of pilgrimage for over 800 years. Founded in the 6th century by St. Augustine, it remains one of the oldest standing Anglo-Saxon churches in the world and is one of the oldest Christian churches in England.

Travel back over 600 years to join Geoffrey Chaucer and his colorful characters on their pilgrimage from London to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, in a stunningly accurate recreation of medieval life.

Enjoy an evening meal with your group.

Surround yourself with a fascinating collection of historic and literary works as you tour the British Library. This library contains over 12 million books, manuscripts, and other works, including two of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta, a Gutenberg Bible, Nelson's last letter to Lady Hamilton, the journals of Captain Cook, a copy of The Canterbury Tales from 1410, and manuscripts of Beowulf. You can also view the Diamond Sutra, dating from 868, said to be the oldest surviving printed book.

Get a glimpse backstage of the Royal Drury Lane Theater and prepare to be moved by the history that surrounds you. The British theater was born here over 300 years ago and, since its construction in 1663, the Theater Royal has triumphed over tragedy, fire, bankruptcy, and even murder!

Experience a delicious English dinner this evening in Covent Garden, home to some of the city's liveliest restaurants, pubs and cafés. Then attend a West End Theater Performance.

Oxford has long been an important stopping point on central routes from the north of England to London, but it is more well-known as the home of England's first university. With its spectacular architecture and famous scholars, including some of the world’s most important writers, the University is a uniquely integral part of Oxford and of England as a whole.

Travel to Oxford for a Literary Walking Tour through the many colleges that make up Oxford, highlighted by St. John’s College, Trinity College, the Sheldonian Theater, Bodleian Library, and Queens College.

Visit Oxford's largest and grandest Renaissance College, Christ Church College, which was founded in 1525 by Cardinal Wolsey. Then take a step inside the college’s Christ Church Cathedral, the smallest in England.