Your Cultural Connection to Britain

British Links Tours prides itself on taking the same customized approach to travel as it does with French Links Tours. Our company, a division of Events & Company SARL, specializes in providing themed tours in London and the English countryside, as far away as Scotland.

Created by Rachel Kaplan, author of Little-Known Museums In and Around London, British Links Tours offers couples, families and small groups a sight of Great Britain that is both on and off the beaten track. Our tours range from Monumental and Literary London to the gardens and stately homes that have made travel in the British countryside so unique. Best of all, when you travel with us, you can count on a turnkey operation that arranges everything from airport pickup, restaurant and theatre bookings, as well as advance bookings to such sought-after sights as the London Eye and Buckingham Palace.

Our concierge service includes hotel bookings, apartment rentals, private chefs at your disposal, private plane and helicopter hire as well as cell phone rental.

So grab your phones and give us a call so we can design your ideal British Tour (+33 1 45 77 01 63).

Read What Travel and Culture Experts

and Guests Have to Say

"Thank you for putting together what was a very special visit to England. We enjoyed it all! I hope that we will have the opportunity to plan travel again in the future."
Cheryl "London is one of the great tourist cities of the world... Kaplan shows some rather neat places to visit after or even before you've had your fill of the standard great..."
Maine Antique Digest "A tour can make or break a vacation, which explains why Rachel Kaplan is so sought-after. An inspired leader for Butterfield & Robinson, Kaplan is the author of the best-selling guide Little-Known Museums In and Around London. She now shares her expertise by offering private tours of England's capital."
Travel & Leisure "Whatever your needs, interests, or requirements, Rachel Kaplan will be up to the challenge. She never stops developing and perfecting her personalized tours, or her daytrips in the countryside, which immerse participants in the refinements of [England] while enlightening them about the culture and dispelling myths about the people."
Great Sleeps (2001), Sandra Gustafson

"Splendid... tells you everything about truly fascinating British collections you probably never heard of before."
Departures Magazine (American Express Publishing) "British Links' cultural program in London was one of the highlights of our Wimbledon corporate meeting..."
Corporate events manager, Fortune 500 Company

A Great Cathedral and Two Political Monuments

With our guides, you will discover one of the most glorious examples of medieval architecture in the world, the 13th-century Westminster Abbey, scene of pageants and royal coronations, and final resting place for British monarchs. When you visit the Houses of Parliament, you will learn why Big Ben is not the name for the four-faced clock in the 320-foot. tower, look in on the heated debates in the House of Commons, discover the meaning of the "wool sack." For some real thrills and chills, we'll whisk you inside the Cabinet War Rooms, where Winston Churchill's War Cabinet once met while German bombs were falling on London. Unchanged since the war, they have us relive the perilous hours when Great Britain was the only nation opposing the Nazi regime.

Historic London

Can you discover two-thousand-year-old London in a single day? With British Links you can! Our tour (in an air-conditioned minivan) includes a third-century Roman Wall, the Medieval Tower of London and Westminster Hall and Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and Inigo Jones' Banqueting House, the Georgian Bank of England Museum and Spencer House, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Royal Albert Hall and newly restored Albert Memorial in all its gilded glory. We'll distill it all through a visit to the Museum of London, a sight-and-sound walk through history, from Neolithic times all the way through the Blitz. Here you will caress stone tools that are 30,000 years old, listen to local gossip in Latin, and hear Samuel Pepys's stirring account of the Great Fire of 1666.

Little-Known Museums In and Around London

Although Dr. Samuel Johnson defined "museum" in his Dictionary as "a repository of learned curiosities," the types of places you'll discover with British Links demonstrate how much the institution has changed since his time. Take the Clink Prison museum documenting the history of incarceration; well-stocked with leg irons and gibbets, it's a popular spot for Xmas parties! Then there's Old St. Thomas's Operating Theatre, Museum and Herb Garret, in the garret of a former churchyou'll discover what it was like to have surgery in the era before anesthesia or antisepsis. At Duxford, the largest aviation museum in Europe, you can actually fly in splendidly restored vintage aircraft; at Dennis Severs House in Spitalfields you are invited to relive the saga of rags to riches to rags of a family of silk weavers, artfully enhanced by the sights, sounds and even smells of several bygone eras. There's a museum for every taste, whether it's the Museum of Garden History or the avant-garde Design Museum, created by Sir Terence Conran, so you'll need to book several return trips. London for Art-Lovers London boasts over 300 museums and galleries, making it the leading museum metropolis in the world. British Links has tracked down many that you likely have never heard of including Leighton House, a studio-museum built by Victorian artist Lord Frederic Leighton and Kettle's Yard, which harbors the most comprehensive collection of work by French sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, acquired for the grand total of 60 pounds! Not to be missed is Kenwood House with its splendid collection that includes Rembrandt, De Cuyp and Vermeer, and the Dulwich Picture Gallery, with its stunning Poussin, Watteau, and Hogarths, to name a few.

London's Decorative Arts

British Links will give you a private tour of the Gilbert Collection, a museum with one of world's finest collections of micromosaics, silver and vermeil plate and jewelled snuff boxes, including six once owned by Frederick the Great. You may want to visit the charming Geffrye Museum, which features an outstanding series of furnished rooms from Tudor England through the Fabulous Fifties. Also on our agenda are the newly opened galleries of British Decorative Arts at the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1500 to 1900, where you'll get to see the famous Bed of Ware that sleeps 20 and Henry VIII's writing desk.

Jewish London

Although Jews first came to England during the Norman conquest in 1066, only to be expelled en masse in 1290, since the 17th-century, Jews have been a steady presence in London. With British Links, you can discover the rich heritage of the Jewish community, starting with the Bevis Marks synagogue built in 1701. Then it's off to Old Chancery Lane to see where Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once lived, and St. Swithen's Lane, the Rothschild headquarters where the international price of gold is fixed daily. After a tour in London's East End, once home to schtetl Jews, you can explore the elegant Camden Town Jewish Museum tracing the history of Jews in England to modern times. Not to be missed are the outstanding Freud Museum with the psychoanalyst's collection of ancient artifacts and library, and Waddesdon Manor, home of Lord Frederic Rothschild, which pays tribute to the celebrated family's munificence and magnificence.

Literary London

Everyone knows that this is the city of Shakespeare, Wilde, Thackeray, Dickens and Keats... and that you can see lavish tributes to them all in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. But with British Links, you can also visit Dr. Johnson's House, and see where the first English dictionary was written; or smell the fragrant plum tree which inspired Keats to pen his immortal Ode to a Nightingale as well as admire the manuscripts and books of the doomed genius. At the Dickens House Museum, you will be able to see how the author of The Christmas Carol used to entertain at home, as well as view the prompt books that he used for his dramatic readings, and the quill pen with which he wrote some of the words that have changed the English novel forever. Not to be missed is the splendid exhibition of fine manuscripts and books at the new British Library. You'll want to spend a lifetime in this paradise of knowledge. As the English-language book-lovers capital, British Links will also lead you to the finest book shops in the city or guide you to Hay-on-Wye, the town dedicated to bookish pursuits!

Theatrical London

While everyone knows that the world's finest English drama has played in London for the last 450 years, only British Links offers visitors an overview of the city's theatrical history, in both a visit to the Theatre Museum in the heart of Covent Garden and at Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition, located a stone's throw from the newly rebuilt Globe Theatre. Want top-quality theatre and opera tickets in London? You can count on British Links for providing them and making sure they are delivered to your hotel or are waiting for you at the box-office, just when you want them.

Royal London

For history buffs and fans of the royal family, British Links not only organizes tours of Buckingham Palace in August and September, but makes certain that you get the best vantage point for seeing the Changing of the Guard. However, we also invite you to tour the Queen's Gallery, which contains one of the finest and most valuable collections of paintings in the world, including such Old Masters as Vermeer and Leonardo da Vinci. Or you may want to arrange to visit the Royal Mews, which contains the horses and coaches used by the Royal Family on state occasions. Then again, you may want to take in the spacious and elegant state-rooms at Kensington Palace, as well as a gorgeous exhibition of court dress from 1760 until the present, including dresses belonging to the Queen, Queen Mother and Queen Mary. We also offer a wonderful day out to Hampton Court Palace, home to 12 British Monarchs. As a special bonus, British Links will also divulge many of the shops which continue to be patronized by the royal family, and which to this day, get the royal seal of approval!

Young People's London

If you are considering taking your youngsters to London, and worry that you'll run out of things to do, once you've hit the Tower and Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, think again. With British Links, you and your family can visit the only museum devoted to the History of Childhood, with games and dolls dating back to the 17th-century, not to mention the world's most fascinating collection of dolls' houses, teddy bears and miniature lead soldiers and fortresses, but you can also see their faces light up in wonder at the Natural History Museum, with giant displays of dinosaur bones, and the Museum of the Moving Image, with actors and life-size models that bring the cinema to life. Other musts include the Cabaret Mechanical Theater, the London Toy and Model Museum and the London Transport Museum, which enables kids to "travel" through the oldest subway line and buses in the world.

Antiquing In and Around London

London's art and antique shops and markets are spread across the capital, which is why you may want to use British Links to assist you in both buying and bargaining for the best that is available. While the more fashionable (and expensive dealers) are in Mayfair and St. James's, others that are just as intriguing and far more reasonable are to be found along the King's Road, Islington, Nottinghill, and Pimlico Road. (See the May 2001 Art & Antiques Travelling Collector London by Rachel Kaplan). However, if you are a truly dedicated collector you'll want to rise early with British Links and head over to Bermondsey Market, the gathering point of London's antique traders. Or you may want to wade through the fabulous stalls in Portobello Road Market for antique jewelry, silverware and objets d'art. Outside of London, British Links can organize customized tours through the Cotswolds as well as around Bath which is the second largest antique venue in England. Best of all, once your purchases are complete, we'll help you ship your goods home.

Daytrips Outside of London

In the Footsteps of Churchill, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn

Visit the family home of Sir Winston Churchill in Kent of which he once said: "A day away from Chartwell is a day wasted." Here you will see a home that evokes this great English statesman's interests and passions, including his painting studio and the golden rose walk that he planted with his wife and the garden that he planted with his own hands. After lunch at a charming country pub, we will drive along picturesque country roads to Hever Castle in Edenbridge, home to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife and mother of Elizabeth I. Today, it boasts one of the finest art and antique collections, as well as one of the most beautiful gardens in England, thanks to the passion of American millionaire William Waldor Astor, who invested a sizable fortune in the castle and its grounds. Not to be missed is the Miniature Model Houses exhibition, a collection of scale model houses that are tribute to the splendors of English country houses. Or let us take you to Leeds Castle in Kent, arguably the "loveliest in the world", and boasting a splendid collection of medieval furnishing and armor.

Discover England's Prehistoric and Medieval Wonders

Our tour starts with Avebury's megalithic stone circle, built in the third millenium B.C. and covering fourteen times the ground of Stonehenge. Then we're off to the world-famous Stonehenge. Both are some of England's most significant sites of extant prehistoric culture. After a lovely pub lunch, British Links will take you to Salisbury to see one of the loveliest 13th-century cathedrals, with the tallest spire of any religious edifice in Great Britain. After a guided tour of this masterpiece, the visit will conclude with a walking tour of gracious 17th and 18th century townhouses and shopping for local antiques.

Oxford and Dorchester

With British Links, you'll tour Medieval and 18th-century Oxford, the stone city of dreaming spires, and home to authors Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. We'll then have lunch at the riverside Trout Inn, where Inspector Morse used to enjoy his "ploughman's lunch." Then we'll head upriver to the ancient Roman town of Dorchester, known as the "cathedral city." Here we'll visit the abbey church with its 14th-century stained-glass windows, as well as the cobbled high street with its period timber-framed buildings and irresistible antique shops.

Cambridge Past and Present

We will begin our tour of the most illustrious 12th-century university, by a visit of the 15th-century King's Chapel, one of the finest Gothic buildings in Europe. With any luck we'll be able to hear the finest choir in the country as you admire Rubens' Adoration of the Magi painted on the fan vaulting. We will continue past Christ's College (where the tree planted by Milton still stands), admire Trinity's university court and its founder Henry VIII, who holds a chair leg instead of a sceptre! Then we'll stop at the renowned Fitzwilliam Museum, which boasts works by Turner, Titian and Rembrandt, as well as fine illuminated manuscripts. After a charming pub lunch, we'll make certain that you get to visit Kettle's Yard, one of the most elegant 20th-century Modernist art galleries in the world, where Queen Anne antiques and Arab dhurries mix with works by Miro, Brancusi and Ben Nicholson, to name a few.

Bath: From Roman Spa to Georgian Pleasure Ground

When the Romans invaded and settled in England, they discovered the best R&R was taking the waters at Bath. Since the 18th century, thanks to the enterprising Beau Nash, Bath has been a fashionable town for bathing, gambling and marrying. With British Links, you will discover not only the ruins of the Roman baths, but taste the celebrated waters in the elegant Pump Room, and admire the splendid Georgian architecture in honey-colored Bath stone, that makes this the loveliest town outside of London. You'll also discover some of the finest antique and crafts shops (written up by Rachel Kaplan in Victoria Magazine) and the American Museum in Britain.

Harry Potter was here!

British Links will take you on a tour of the principal locations used in the Harry Potter films. From the legendary Platform 9 3/4 to the Wizards' Bank, the zoo and the historic abbeys and universities used to depict various interior and exterior scenes at Hogwarts. The magic will come alive all over again as your children recognise the famous sights and reinact dramatic scenes with their dynamic tour guide.

Stately Home and Garden Tours

Waddesdon Mannor, a French château in the English countryside

Built in the 19th-century for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, the French Renaissance-style chateau in Buckinghamshire, houses one of the finest collections of French 18th-century decorative arts in the world: Savonnerie carpets, Sèvres porcelain, Beauvais tapestries, as well as important portraits by Reynolds and Gainsborough and 17th-century Dutch and Flemish masters. We will visit this splendid estate redolent with history, enjoy its unique Victorian gardens and exotic aviary, and savor lunch in its charming restaurant. In the afternoon we will tour the nearby Stowe Gardens, created by some of the finest 18th-century landscape architects including Vanbrugh, Kent, Gibbs and 'Capability' Brown, who began his career here as head gardener. Not to be missed is the exquisite Temple of Concord and Victory.

Chatsworth, home of the Duchess of Devonshire

Come and discover the home of 'the Duchess' and see the original setting for the celebrated movie, most of which was shot on site at Chatsworth.

The b uilding of Chatsworth house was begun in 1552 by Bess of Hardwick and her second husband Sir William Cavendish. Their second son, William, was created Earl of Devonshire in 1618. The 4th Earl who was created 1st Duke of Devonshire in 1694 after assisting William of Orange to claim the British throne completely remodelled the house and added formal gardens and the famous cascade. Chatsworth park was landscaped by Capability Brown who reshaped the formal garden into the more natural one you see today. The 6th Duke engaged Joseph Paxton as the head gardener, resulting in the enrichment of the gardens and the creation of the Emperor Fountain as well as the now demolished Great Conservatory.

The magnificent house and gardens have remained little changed since the 6th Dukes time and there is a farmyard open throughout the summer for children to enjoy playing with the animals.

Blenheim Palace, a world heritage site

Blenheim Palace, home to 11th Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, offers a memorable day out.

Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the exquisite Baroque Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake.

Inside, the scale of the Palace is beautifully balanced by the intricate detail and delicacy of the carvings, the hand painted ceilings and the amazing porcelain collections, tapestries and paintings displayed in each room. On the first floor 'Blenheim Palace: The Untold Story' brings to life enticing tales from the last 300 years.

We look forward to welcoming you to Britain’s Greatest Palace very soon.

Gardens, Stately Homes and Antiquing in the Cotswolds

This four-day tour is ideal for groups of six to eight, although we can accommodate groups of up to 20 people.

Day One:

We begin with a visit to the 17th-century Rousham House in Oxfordshire, where you will discover the first stage of English landscape design, virtually unchanged since it was designed by early 18th-century gardener William Kent. After a charming pub lunch, we'll head over to the elegant 16th-century Lygon Arms Hotel, in Broadway, Worcestershire, once host to both Charles I and Oliver Cromwell! Those of you who have any energy left will climb to Broadway Tower on Broadway Hill, the second highest point in the Cotswolds.

Day Two:

We explore the village of Stanton, where nearly every cottage is built in the best period of Cotswold architecture, from the mid-16th to the mid-17th century. Here we'll have a chance to visit and browse through local antique shops. After a charming pub lunch, we'll head over to the Tudor Snowshill Manor, containing Charles Paget Wade's unique collection of musical instruments, toys, weavers and spinners tools and Japanese armor.

Day Three:

We visit Hidcote Manor Garden, one of the most delightful gardens in England created by horticulturist Major Lawrence Johnston, famous for its rare shrubs, old roses and unique plant species.

After a charming pub lunch, we will head over to Rodmarton Manor, one of the last great country houses to be built in the traditional way, with a splendid garden filled with topiary, fragrant herbaceous borders and roses.

Day Four:

On our way back to London, we will stop at Rosemary Verey's garden at Barnsley, then visit the lovely market town of Cirencester with its 15th-century church built by local wool merchants and its new museum of local Roman finds, including mosaic floors. After lunch, we will explore Lord Faringdon's Buscot Park, famed for its Italian pleasure gardens, before heading back to London via Newbury, which has some of the best antique shops in the Cotswolds.

Explore The Arts of England's Golden Age

This five-day tour is ideal for six to eight people, although we can accommodate groups of up to 20 people.

Day One:

In the morning, we will visit the recently opened British Galleries of Decorative Arts at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Here you will see the world's most comprehensive collection of the finest glassware, ceramics, silver, textiles and furniture made by English craftsmen from 1500 to 1900. After lunch in the museum we will head over to the new galleries of British Art at Tate Britain and view the sweep of paintings and sculpture from Tudor times to the present day.

Day Two:

In the morning, we will explore elegant antique shops and galleries in Mayfair and Cork Street to see some of the finest in British furnishings, Old Masters and contemporary art. Following lunch, we will head over to Kenwood House, Robert Adam's masterpiece in Hampstead, which boasts some of the finest paintings on view, including works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Vermeer.

Day Three:

In the morning, we will visit the newly refurbished Somerset House and Gilbert Collection of Decorative Arts, which boasts one of the finest collections of silver and gold plate, as well as micromosaics and jewelled snuff boxes. We will also be sure to see the splendid Courtauld Collection, which includes some of the greatest Impressionist masterpieces, such as Manet's "Bar at the Folies-Bergère." Following lunch, we will visit the Museum of London to see the new exhibition "London World City 1789-1914" an exhibition relating the growth and wealth of the city when it was the richest and most populous city in the world.

Day Four:

We're off to Claydon House, an 18th-century English Manor home with some of the finest Chinese Rococo decoration in England. Here we will learn about the exploits and history of the Verney family which distinguished itself in the English Civil War, as well as about Florence Nightingale, a relative of the Verneys and a frequent visitor to Claydon House. In the afternoon, we will visit William Kent's 18th-century Rousham House, with its splendid furnished interiors and park, which has remained virtually unchanged over the centuries. In the evening we'll stop at a charming country inn in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds.

Day Five:

In the morning, we will tour the lovely gardens of Hidcote Manor, and then conclude the day with visits to Broadway, Stanton, and other picturesque villages in the Cotswolds as we wend our way back to London.

Discover Scotland - Tartan, Nessie and Whisky and more

British Links is delighted to offer tailor made tours of Scotland to immerse you in tartan traditions and clan culture.align="left"

With sights such as Edinburgh Castle, Loch Ness, the Highlands, St Andrews and the Isle of Skye on our list, we will help you create the ideal holiday in this beautiful country. Discover the dramatic mountains and landscapes, the historic city of Edinburgh, taste world-renowned malt whiskies and much more.align="left"

Whether you want to visit ancient and royal castles, tour the distilleries of the Western Isles or visit places of renowned natural beauty, British Links will ensure the perfect itinerary for your stay in Bonnie Scotland!align="left"