Breathless: Go for a jog in running tours Michael Betts

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1 For finding the weirdest spots

Did you know there’s a street in ­London where cars drive on the right? How about Britain’s smallest police ­station, and the street lamp fuelled by ­sewage? Find out the capital’s weirdest secrets on one of these private tours hosted especially for you and your pals. There are quirky foodstops on the way and, if you don’t have fun, you can get your money back. Honest.

Quirky London, Insider London Tours, www.insider-london.co.uk, £20 per person (min. two people)

2 For die-hard Harry Potter fanatics

Jump into a chauffeur-driven cab for this three-hour tour of sites from the Harry Potter films, ­such as platform 9¾, the Leaky Cauldron and the Millennium Bridge (the site of a spectacular sequence­ in The Half-Blood Prince).

Harry Potter’s London, www.thecelebrityplanet.com, £50 per person

3 For strolling along the city’s canals

Inner London Ramblers take a guided group jaunt down London’s picturesque waterways once a fortnight during the summer. It’s free, you don’t have to be a member, there’s no need to book and it ­usually ends in a pub. The next one, tomorrow, takes two hours and goes through the National Trust’s Osterley Estate. All you have to do is hop on the Piccadilly line and meet the others at ­Osterley station at 6.45pm.

Inner London Ramblers, www.innerlondonramblers.org.uk, free

4 For budding photographers

Learn how to capture ­London at its best on a one-day photography tour run by experts who’ll coach you on exposure and composition. Choose a women-only tour (which takes in statues of Eros and Florence Nightingale) or jaunts focusing on Greenwich, the South Bank and other big landmarks.

London Photo Tours, www.londonphototours.co.uk, £85 per person

5 For ­playing at being a tourist

If it’s a sunny day and you’ve got an hour to kill, hopping on board one of the cheesy tourist buses and seeing all London’s most spectacular sights can make you remember how brilliant our city is. You can hop on and off at various points, there are live tour guides and you get to zoom past Westminster Abbey, ­Downing Street, Southwark ­Cathedral and Shakespeare’s Globe. Alternatively, you can print off a DIY bus tour from londonforfree.net and do it all on public transport.

The Original Tour, www.theoriginaltour.com, £24 (kids £12)

6 For thrills and chills

Two actors tell tales of London’s dark and gruesome past on this spooky bus tour, which takes in haunted vaults, ­demon barbers and execution sites. It takes just over an hour, and starts and ends at ­Northumberland Avenue.

Ghost Bus Tours, www.theghostbustours.com, £18 (under-16s £12)

8 For those who dig street art

Chicago expat Michael “RJ” Rushmore doesn’t have a formal art education, but he’s been hanging around the streets and ­galleries of Shoreditch long enough to have become an expert on the East End’s graffiti scene. Email him to set up a 90-minute tour, which pounds the pavements between Old Street and Liverpool Street, stopping at the latest works of street art on walls and in galleries.

Vandalog Graffiti Tour, Saturday afternoons, twice monthly, £10, private tours available – email rj@vandalog.com, more information at

www.blog.vandalog.com

7 For speed demons and adventurers

Charter your own “Jet Boat”, stuff it with 19 of your mates and speed off down the river to see London in style. There’s a skipper to steer the thing and a guide to explain the river’s history, but you can ­decide where to start, where to go and where to get dropped off.

Flying Fish Tours, www.flyingfishtours.co.uk, £584 for 20 (£29.20 each)

9 For splash-tastic sightseers

First you’ll roll past the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Trafalgar Square in the big yellow truck-cum-barge. Then you will career into the Thames with a splash so you can peruse the city from the river. Trust us, it’s fun.

London Duck Tours, www.londonducktours.co.uk, £20 (kids £14/£16)

10 For a breath-taking time

Combine a tour of London with a fitness sesh by signing up for one of five guided runs. Routes include Royals and Roundheads (all the big tourist sites), Old Meets New (Docklands and Greenwich) and the Royal Parks. They vary in length from 5km to 10km.

Urban Running Tours, www.urbanrunningtours.com, £24.95/£29.95