Ultimate Guide to London Dungeon

By <a href="#author-bio">Stuart Bak</a>
By Stuart Bak
Published: July 18, 2024
Mrs Lovett's pie shop at London Dungeon. Image credit: Merlin.

Prepare to have your nerves well and truly shredded at London Dungeon, where a gruesome cast of characters from London’s dark and deadly past lie in wait for you. Not for the faint of heart, this popular South Bank attraction provides a fun and frightening grown-up alternative to its County Hall co-tenant, the SEA LIFE London Aquarium, and the nearby London Eye. Join us on a journey into London’s darkest, dankest corners as we explore what to expect, when to visit and where to get tickets in our ultimate London Dungeon guide!

London Dungeon: The Lowdown

Creepy court jester at London Dungeon
Image credit: Merlin

Formerly located at London Bridge and relocated to the South Bank in 2013, London Dungeon has been attracting and terrifying punters since way back in 1974, when it opened as a macabre exhibition of wax figures representing some of London’s most notorious former residents. It’s come a long way since then. Today’s London Dungeon is a fully immersive experience, designed to entertain, educate and frankly frighten the pants off anyone who dares to enter.

Inside, 13 interactive shows and a whole host of actors tell tales from 1,000 years of London history, complete with dazzling special effects, blood-curdling screams, plenty of laughs and, yep, the occasional jump scare. In other words, this experience is not for those of a nervous disposition. There’s even a thrill ride, enticingly named Drop Dead. You might want to leave younger kids outside for this bit…

You’ll meet grim characters galore in this dark, disgusting, noisy and noisome dungeon, among them knife-wielding villains like Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, as well as getting swept up in gunpowder plots, witch trials and plagues. Creepy doesn’t even begin to cover it. Here, then, are the bits not to miss.

London Dungeon Highlights

Curse of the Witch at London Dungeon
Image credit: Merlin
  • The Descent. The fun (and fear) begins as soon as you step into the rusting old medieval life that’s about to deliver you (hopefully unscathed) to the Thames docks. Your host? A cheerful court jester with a sideline in horrible history lessons. This impish character will keep you company and regale you with bloodthirsty tales of yore as you descend into the bowels of the building, cogs grinding and chains screaming overhead. It’s quite the intro, but do try to conceal your fear: the last thing you need is for your new ‘friends’ to mark you out as the weak one…
  • Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot. The year is 1605 and you find yourself in filthy rat-infested tunnels beneath the streets of London. What’s that over there then? That’d be a great big pile of explosives and a fuse just waiting to be lit. Discover how the Gunpowder Plot was foiled and what became of poor Guy Fawkes afterwards (spoiler: it ain’t pretty, folks).
  • Curse of the Witch. The 17th Century was brutal. If you weren’t dying from the plague you were probably being accused of witchcraft and hung/burned/drowned for your troubles. Meet Elizabeth Sawyer as she awaits her own cursed fate at the notorious Newgate Prison. But is she really as evil as they all say? You’ll find out soon enough…
Drop Dead: Drop Ride at the London Dungeon
Image credit: Merlin
  • Mrs Lovett’s Pie Shop and Sweeney Todd. These two make a lovely couple. Really they do! Though admittedly you might not wish to sample Mrs Lovett’s wares, or indeed sit for a shave in her paramour’s barber shop. You’ll kill yourself laughing at the bawdy jokes, pie-related puns, and cutting quips. But, whatever you do, don’t flirt with Mr Todd, or you might find yourself eating humble pie. Or worse.
  • The Torture Chamber. Are you brave enough to be the torturer’s next ‘volunteer’? No? Well, saddle up, because he’s going to show you how the rack, the pear of anguish, the – um – chappy chopper, and other medieval instruments of torture work whether you like it or not. Try not to gag.
  • Drop Dead: Drop Ride. No ordinary thrill ride (this is the notorious London Dungeon, after all), Drop Dead recreates the sensation of… Newgate Prison’s long drop. That’s right: the gallows. As well as (hopefully) surviving this experience, you’ll discover what happens to the human body during a hanging and find out exactly what a neck sounds like when it cracks. Nice. 

London Dungeon: When to Visit

Plague doctor at London Dungeon
Image credit: Merlin

Opening hours vary throughout the year but are generally 11AM–4PM (10AM–5PM on Saturdays). Hours vary during school holidays, on bank holidays and during the peak summer season. Check the official London Dungeon website for opening times on the date you want to visit. In any case you’ll need to pre-book a time slot. Book a slot earlier or later in the day and avoid weekends if you want to avoid the worst of the tourist hordes. After all, it’s already crowded enough down there in those stinking tunnels deep beneath the city streets…

Closest Transport Links to London Dungeon

The London Dungeon is just over the bridge from both Charing Cross and Westminster Underground station, and a short walk from Waterloo station. Disembark and stroll towards the London Eye (the big round wheely thing on the South Bank – you can’t miss it) and you’ll find the London Dungeon right behind, in County Hall.

London Dungeon: Tickets

Jack the Ripper at London Dungeon
Image credit: Merlin

You can book direct via the London Dungeon website, where options include anytime entry or a cocktail of your choice in the Tavern to conclude your experience.

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Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

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Things to do in London for adults - outings for couples or friends

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St Paul's Cathedral looking resplendent from Fleet Street
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Why you should visit London in July

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Other locations include Clapham Common, Somerset House and Trafalgar Square, with screenings varying between Hollywood classics, family favorites and the latest blockbusters. For a very different kind of performance head to the Royal Albert Hall, where eight weeks of classical music concerts, together known as the Proms, kick off in July. A firm fixture since 1895, the series culminates in the Last Night of the Proms – one of the more patriotic nights in London life. Life in all its forms can be enjoyed with adults-only Twilight Tickets to ZSL London Zoo. Besides seeing the zoo’s wild animals at one of the calmer times of day, these special nights also host a chill out zone and street food vans should you get hungry. Go sports mad in London in July The world’s oldest tennis competition, the Wimbledon Championships, take place on the verdant green lawns of southwest London in an annual parade of the very best sporting talent, some two million strawberries and 54,000 tennis balls. 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Save on July London attraction admission Keen to experience all London has to offer in July? Admission to a whole host of London’s top attractions can be had with Go City, providing flexibility and great savings. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for all the latest hints and tips.
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The Houses of Parliament sits beside Westminster Bridge
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Top places to visit in London in April

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The River Thames is blessed by footpaths extending largely uninterrupted along both banks through London’s central neighborhoods, whilst the Statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus has been a meeting point for decades. Festivities, meanwhile, have traditionally focused around Trafalgar Square, built to mark Britain’s naval victory over Napoleon’s France and also the place where crowds gathered to celebrate the end of the Second World War. In more recent years, it has come to host a variety of events, including April’s St George’s Day and Vaisakhi. It’s not a public holiday, but the nearest weekend to St George’s Day on April 23 sees the square taken over by performers, food stalls and children’s entertainment keen on celebrating the nation’s patron saint. Just a few days before, the square echoes to the drumming and traditional music of the Punjab in honor of Vaisakhi, the Sikh New Year and spring harvest festival. Around 30,000 revelers head to the square’s a range of related events, making it one of the largest festivals of its kind outside of Asia. Churches and chocolate eggs April is – usually – also the month of the movable feast that is Easter. Attending a church service at one of the capital’s historic churches – Southwark Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral among them – shows the city and its people in a new light. Many of London’s top attractions get in the spirit with special easter eggs hunts for children, including the likes of Chiswick House and Kitchen Garden and Kensington Palace. Both children and adults can also treat themselves with seasonal delights at one of London’s boutique chocolatiers. If you ‘accidentally’ overindulge, there’s always the London Marathon – the UK’s largest mass participation sporting event. Even those without their running shoes can get involved – watch from the sidelines as around 40,000 runners battle their way to the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace after over 26 miles pounding the city’s sidewalks. Scrutinize the stalls of London’s markets The combination of sunnier skies and longer hours of daylight brings our next suggestion of things to do in April in London right to the top of the bucket list for many. London’s plethora of indoor markets largely operate throughout the year, but April’s ever-improving weather makes their outdoor brethren all the more tempting. The permanent porticoed stores of Covent Garden Market together form one of the more stylish places to shop, and has plenty of places to stop for a drink or a bite to eat in pleasant surroundings too. You certainly won’t go hungry at either the Southbank Centre’s weekend market of food pop-ups, nor at the dedicated stalls open daily at Borough Market just a short walk from London Bridge. Antiques and Portobello Road have gone hand in hand since the late 1940s, with vintage and retro items joining the true antiques (items over 100 years old). Alfie’s Antiques Market in Marylebone is a good alternative if April’s showers take hold. It’s fourth floor café is one of the more unusual places to get a glimpse of the capital from on high. Marvel at the summer sky The top spot for experiencing London’s spring sunsets has to be The View from The Shard, rising above the hotch-potch of London’s old and new. If time allows, you should also consider a sundowner at a rooftop bar. Pergola Paddington Central has a fantastic ambience that only builds with the end of the working day. Exuding cool alongside its fair share of eccentricity is east London’s LGBT+ friendly Queen of Hoxton. Its roof space is open during summer and winter, changing its wild persona with the seasons. One month you’ll be in turn-of-the-century Paris and another in the lair of a Mexican wrestling team. Save on attraction admission in London in April Make the most of London’s April weather by exploring the city from high and low, near and far. But before you do, make sure you’ve downloaded the Go City app and taken advantage of the savings on attraction admission available with the Explorer Pass. See the attractions you’ve always wanted to see, do away with those dreaded foreign credit card charges and save on admission. An A-list sighting aside, nothing could be more London.
Ian Packham

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