True to name, the Blackfriar was constructed on the site of a former Dominican friary. It’s not often that you find drinking establishments with museum-quality artworks inside, but this 19th-century pub is worth visiting for its decor alone. British sculptor Henry Poole and architect Herbert Fuller-Clark contributed to its lavish, art nouveau design. Look out for stained-glass windows, marble accents, and brass and mother-of-pearl reliefs.

Speaking of Dickens, the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street was once frequented by the great scribe, as well as luminaries such as Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. One of the oldest pubs in London, the pub has stood on site since the 1540s. “The pub is seven stories in total, and Dickens' favorite seat was to the right of the fire, under the portrait of the head waiter,” says Warland. During your visit, claim his seat and see if inspiration strikes.

Most Jack the Ripper walking tours stop at The Ten Bells pub in Spitalfields, and for good reason. The centuries-old pub was formerly frequented by several of the Victorian-era serial killer’s victims—it’s said to be haunted today—and it’s likely that Jack himself was a regular. That means that the Ten Bells is forever inscribed in London pub history; still, despite the macabre associations, it remains a popular watering hole today, and a great place to start a night out in Shoreditch.

It’s right there in the name: The delightful, one-of-a-kind French House, a Soho institution, has more continental character than your average London pub. Among its Gallic plaudits is the fact that General Charles de Gaulle escaped to London during World War II, and headed straight here to plan his next moves. A number of literary luminaries, from Dylan Thomas to Sylvia Plath, have also frequented this historic London drinking den. It’s a perfect stop on a Soho walking—and pub-crawling—tour.

If a pub’s name starts with “Ye Olde,” it’s fair to bet that it's probably, well, old. Ye Olde Mitre certainly counts: Sequestered down a narrow alley in Holborn, the pub was first built all the way back in 1546. Rumor has it that it was built for the Bishop of Ely’s servants—and that a young Queen Elizabeth I even danced around a cherry tree in its yard. Whether or not you buy that Lizzy liked to boogie here, it’s worth stopping by to slake your thirst with the pub’s range of real ales.

When it comes to famous former customers, it’s hard to top William Shakespeare—and The George Inn has just that bragging right. The last galleried pub of its kind in the capital, this historic marvel, later rebuilt in the 17th century after a fire, is a stone’s throw from the Globe Theatre, where the Bard’s plays were performed (though rumor has it they were even put on in The George’s courtyard). Whether that’s truth or merely apocryphal, it’s still well worth stopping by for a pint.

It’s hard to find a more notable—or cozier—London pub than the Spaniards Inn. Located on the edge of Hampstead Heath (one of London’s largest and wildest green spaces), the Spaniards was close to poet John Keats’ former residence, and he’s said to have stopped by for a drink in between writing odes (Byron and Dickens were also supposedly regulars). Although its outlying location makes it something of a hidden London bar, the Spaniards Inn is worth visiting.

It’s a quirky idea, that the famously puritanical Pilgrims who left for the New World aboard The Mayflower might have had a final round of drinks before boarding their vessel—but then again, The Mayflower is a quirky London drinking spot, so it’s entirely possible. Located in Rotherhithe, Southwark—a part of London long associated with maritime history—the pub that stands today is supposedly where that famous vessel set sail from. Today, it remains steeped in historical charm.

Before beer was the preferred drink among Londoners, gin was all the rage—so much that it inspired an 18th-century Gin Craze. A number of old pubs in London actually began as historic “gin palaces,” of which the Viaduct Tavern in Holborn is a particularly handsome example. Palace is no misnomer: Boasting patterned red ceilings, ornate carved wood, and painted glass fixtures, it’s as pretty as a picture—and a perfect stop on a historic London pub tour.