Globe Theatre Tour

Attraction Information

Shakespeare's Globe tour is the ideal addition to any London Theatre break. Explore the history of the Globe itself, a building that has crossed the Thames and seen premieres of Shakespeare's work. Learn about how the Globe was reborn and what the original building meant to the people of Elizabethan London. Shakespeare's Globe tour gives an interesting and well balanced introduction to Shakespeare's life, the theatre for which he wrote so prolifically and the London he called home.

Opening Times:

Open all year round (except December 24 and 25).

Globe Tours run every 30 minutes.

• Theatre season tour times:
• Monday — Tours run all day
• Tuesday — Last tour departs at 12:30pm
• Wednesday — Last tour departs at 12:30pm
• Thursday — Last tour departs at 12:30pm
• Friday — Last tour departs at 12:30pm
• Saturday — Last tour departs at 12:30pm
• Sunday — Last tour departs at 11:30am

Afternoon tours go to the nearby archaeological site of the Rose, Bankside's first playhouse.

Out of theatre season (early October to April 22) the exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm and Globe Tours run all day.

Nearest Underground: Mansion House, Blackfriars, Cannon Street (District and Circle lines)
London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee Lines

Globe Theatre Tour Map

A tour around the Globe brings you closer to the world of William Shakespeare.

Interesting Facts

• In Shakespeare's day at the start of a play, after collecting money from the audience, the admission collectors put the boxes in a room backstage - the box office.
• Colour coding was used in the Elizabethan era to advertise the type of play to be performed - a black flag meant a tragedy , white a comedy and red a history.
• The original Globe theatre was destroyed by a fire caused by a stage cannon igniting the thatched roof. The theatre was rebuilt in 1614 and was eventually closed down by Puritans.