Cold War London Sightseeing Tour｜United Kingdom

Stories of spies, traitors, and police plots in the shadows... If you're a fan of mystery and politics, we'll meet near St. James's Park and begin a Cold War sightseeing tour of London. We guarantee that you'll discover a truly surprising side of the city.

Right at the start, we'll learn the ins and outs of the SIS, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and find out how this agency has served its country since its founding with actions that seem straight out of a movie. We'll walk to Caxton Street, where we'll stop in front of the St. Ermin's Hotel. Did you know that this hotel was used between 1930 and 1940 as a support center for the foreign intelligence agency? It was very common for informants and contacts to meet here in the middle of the Cold War.

We'll continue to explore this period of history by heading to Palmer Street, where the Government Communications Headquarters was located. At this stop, we'll delve into the life of Geoffrey Prime, an employee who worked as a spy for the Russians throughout the 1980s.

We'll continue the sightseeing tour at The Old Star Pub, another of the places frequented by British secret agents. What were the most commonly used techniques? How did they gather information? How did they contact their sources? You'll be completely amazed! Afterwards, we'll walk to St. Anne's Gate, the former residence of the ex-head of the SIS, Stewart Menzies. This figure, in addition to being key during the Cold War, played a fundamental role in deciphering the Enigma code.

Another place we'll visit will be St. James's Park, a perfect spot to discover the famous secret caches. We'll then head to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development, where we'll meet Oleg Gordievsky.

Finally, we'll walk to Parliament Square to talk about the Cambridge Five, a group of British spies recruited by the Soviet Union. The grand finale of our Cold War journey!

An hour and a half later, we'll say goodbye and end the sightseeing tour at this last stop.