What Can I Expect

Explore the life and legacy of Charlie Chaplin’s London on this fascinating two-hour guided walking tour in the capital, hosted by a knowledgeable expert.

Charles Chaplin was born into poverty in Kennington, an area of South London in the Borough of Lambeth, in 1889. His parents were music hall entertainers, but Chaplin’s upbringing wasn’t a happy one and he grew up in and out of workhouses.

It wasn’t until he was 19 that he joined a stage company and headed to the USA, the home of the Keystone Studios where silent movies were being made. The rest, including how Chaplin’s Tramp Man character became one of the most recognisable performers of the early 20th century, is history.

This tour takes Chaplin’s life back to his south London roots, to look at where he grew up on those (still) cobbled streets. It’s a far cry from his later life as a transatlantic film superstar, with the four-times-married actor with 11 children living in an imposing villa overlooking the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

Perhaps those hard times in London were inspiration for his famous cane-swinging, baggy suit-wearing character, which is what gives those early days of silent cinema such poignancy.

From his first film ‘Making a Living’, to ‘A Dog’s Life’ and ‘Modern Times’, audiences around the world loved these comedic films and still do today. This Charlie Chaplin London Tour gives you an enchanting insight into Chaplin’s childhood and beyond.

When Is It Available

• Tours depart Saturdays at 2pm (May - Oct)