Tower Of London
![star rating](/static/images/star.png?v=1.02)
Tuesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday: 09:00 - 17:00
Friday: 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 17:00
Sunday: 10:00 - 17:00
About Tower Of London
The 1, 000 year old fortress in the centre of London - and at the heart of British history. Famous as the home of the Crown Jewels, iconic Beefeaters, legendary ravens…and bloody tales of prisoners and executions. UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tower Of London Description
The ancient stones reverberate with dark secrets, priceless jewels glint in fortified vaults and ravens strut the grounds.
The Tower of London, founded by William the Conqueror in 1066, is one of the world’s most famous fortresses, and one of Britain’s most visited historic sites. Despite a grim reputation for a place of torture and death, there are so many more stories to be told about the Tower. This powerful and enduring symbol of the Norman Conquest has been enjoyed as a royal palace, served as an armoury and even housed a zoo! An intriguing cast of characters have played their part: including the dastardly jewel-thief Colonel Blood, tragic Lady Jane Grey and maverick zoo keeper Albert Cops.
Reviews
Let's feast like kings and queens! 🌯🍲🍩🥂 The Tower of London Food Festival is on 7-9 September, with cooking demos from the UK's top chefs, exquisite street food & live music! Come and join in: bit.ly/TowerFoodFestival #royalfoodfest
Storm the Tower all this week with East Wall - a music and dance spectacular celebrating East London. Combining krump, grime and contemporary dance with gospel, rock and the Band of the Irish Guards, East Wall is not to be missed! Book your tickets now for performances through until Sunday 22 July: bit.ly/stormthetower
Welcome to the Bloody Tower... take a look around! On 19 July 1603, Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned at the Tower of London for treason after allegedly plotting against James I. He was held in the Bloody Tower and would remain living here for 13 years, during which time his son was born in 1604.
The Bloody Tower has reopened to visitors with new interpretation in Raleigh’s study telling the story of his imprisonment. Read on: bit.ly/bloodytower
We’re heading back to the 15th century this August! Immerse yourself in the smells of our medieval kitchen, fire a cross-bow, try on the latest medieval fashion and watch knights in full sword-fighting action! ⚔️ #GoMedieval is at the Tower 4 - 6 August: bit.ly/GoMedieval2018
Thomas More was executed on 6 July 1535 on Tower Hill. More was a scholar, member of parliament and an important advisor to Henry VIII, who appointed him Lord Chancellor in 1529. However, just three years later, he resigned his post when he argued against the King’s divorce and Henry's split with the Catholic Church. More was imprisoned in Bell Tower at the Tower of London, and executed for treason the following year.
It’s 1445 and England is celebrating the arrival of a new Queen, Margaret of Anjou. The knights are sword-fighting, musicians playing and medieval cooks are preparing a feast. Step into the 15th century. #GoMedieval will be at the Tower of London 4-6 August: bit.ly/GoMedieval2018
Happy Birthday to our neighbour Tower Bridge! 🎂 Opened on 30 June 1894, the bridge took eight years to complete with the work of 432 construction workers each day. Over 50 designs were submitted to the newly-formed ‘Special Bridge Or Subway Committee’ in the late 1870s before a design by Sir Horace Jones was chosen. His Gothic design drew on the fortress elements of the adjacent Tower of London.
Storm the Tower of London along with more than 150 performers for a spectacular collision of music and dance this summer. Directed by internationally-renowned choreographer Hofesh Shechter, East Wall brings together dance styles from across London fuelled by music from a military band, gospel choir and instrumentalists.
East Wall 18-22 July, Tower of London moat. Book now: http://bit.ly/stormthetower #EastWall
Produced by Hofesh Shechter Company and East London Dance, commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces, part of LIFT Festival 2018.
Discover the Tower of London's LGBT+ stories with our Pride, Power and Politics tours! 🏳️🌈 From Edward II's "unbreakable bond of love" with his favourite Piers Gaveston, to how attitudes to sexuality within the military have changed over time, you'll discover some of the lesser known stories of this iconic fortress.
Pride, Power and Politics LGBT+ tours, 8 and 15 July. Book now: http://bit.ly/TowerPride #PalacePride
Carl Muller was executed at the Tower of London on 23 June 1915, one of 11 German spies to face a firing squad at dawn in the Tower that day. They were the first people to be executed there in over 150 years. In fact, more people were executed in the 20th century at the Tower than under the Tudors. Adrian Hill, an officer with the Honourable Artillery Company, was Muller’s guard. When Hill had to tell him this was the morning of the execution, Muller replied ‘Oh good.’
Inspired by the story of Sir Roger Casement, his activism, trial and execution, join us for a night of poetry, performance and storytelling at the Tower on the theme of Slander. With poets & writers Inua Ellms, Emma Dabiri, Salena Godden and Stephan James Smith. 28 June, book tickets here: bit.ly/confessionsatthetower
We're delighted to welcome our new Yeoman Warder Scott Kelly to the Tower! YW Kelly joins us following over 23 years service in the First Regiment Army Air Corps and becomes the first Yeoman Warder from the AAC to join the Body. Be sure to say hello to Scott on your visit! 👋
On 13 June 1381, Richard II sailed from the Tower of London down the Thames to meet with leaders of the Peasants Revolt. Seeing the crowds, Richard refused to come ashore, but the rebels refused to talk with him until he did. Days earlier the Revolt’s leader, Wat Tyler, had been murdered by the Mayor of London and tensions were at a high amongst the masses who had converged to protest against the introduction of a new poll tax. In the King’s absence, a crowd of peasants forced their way into the Tower. How they accomplished it is debated and it remains the only time in the Tower’s history that the fortress has been breached.
Rehearsals are well underway for East Wall - an extraordinary outdoor performance of music and dance inspired by the communities of East London. Take a look behind the scenes in our latest video.
East Wall 18-22 July at the Tower of London. Book tickets now: http://bit.ly/EastWall2018 #EastWall
Water City Music at the Tower starts today! Over a thousand young people will be performing for visitors this week in orchestras, bands and choirs from local London schools. Good luck everyone! 🎶 Find out more: http://bit.ly/WaterCityTower
Today at 1pm there will be a 62 round gun salute to celebrate HM The Queen's official birthday 🎂 As well as the usual 21 rounds for a royal anniversary, 20 rounds are fired as the Tower of London is a royal palace and fortress, and a further 21 for the City of London.
Pride, Power and Politics is back! 🏳️🌈👑 Join us for our after hours tour of the Tower as we explore changing attitudes to power, gender and sexuality from medieval times to the present.
Pride, Power and Politics LGBT+ Tour, 8 and 15 July. Book now: http://bit.ly/TowerPride #PalacePride
Anne Boleyn was crowned Queen of England on 1 June 1533. The event was a spectacular affair, a demonstration that Anne was the rightful queen. The proceedings began the day before with a grand procession from the Tower of London through the city to Westminster Hall. Hundreds of people crowded the streets with displays for the queen. Read on about Anne’s life: bit.ly/AnneBoleynHRP
Hew Draper of Bristol was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1561, accused of sorcery. Whilst held in the Salt Tower he carved this image into the walls of the upper chamber. On the Zodiac design, he wrote: "Hew Draper of Brystow made this spheere the 30 day of Maye anno 1561."
Wonderful, Fantastic ! So much to see and learn on such a picturesque site. You can spend 2 hours or 2 days and still feel you got your $$ worth . Our 4 children 7 to 17 had a blast . Fact I learned there it’s been a museum since the 1700 , experience is on there side , loved it , we will be back .
Very interesting, you grow up reading about the place but when you get there you get the feel of the place, the Crown Jewels are amazing well worth the stand in the que for.
Very Hot so went well prepared
very good half a day activity
tickets booked in advance
bag search inadequate
3 hours
Staff around the tower fantastic well informative we will be back
The Jewels are amazing and definitely should be added to the list of things to see in London.
Really loved it! A must see or you will be thrown into the bloody tower 😆
It's just great, been several times and each time there is something else to learn , English history and proud
Great place to immerse yourself in English/British history. Good for all ages with plenty of amenities for everyone. Well worth a visit if you are in the London/South of England area.
A “must see” if you’re doing a sightseeing visit to London. It was really interesting but go first thing in the morning to avoid long queues and give yourself plenty of time as there is a lot to see. Staff were really friendly and the “Beefeaters “ we spoke to were more than happy to have photos taken and to tell you about living there.
A must see if you’re doing a sightseeing trip/tour in London ❤️ That was my first time in London but it really impresses me. It was soooooo nice 👍🏻❤️❤️
A Lovely sunny day and down to the tower of London I went .lots to see and do , easy rooted, queues but moved fairly quickly found each place to visit fairly easy lots of spectacular history .The white tower , lots of steps to climb but managed . Visit to crown jewels but no photography in this area we managed to visit nearly everything on the map . Photos with beef eaters and managed to see special military MARCH processhion on site great stuff . Cafes on site for lunch easy to access not too bad in price . Fab day had by all well worth the visit lots of history .
We only managed to view the mint, bloody tower and white tower, partly due to the long queues and the fact that we has booked and paid for a Kensington Palace tour. So need to allow a full day for this and get in as early as possible as the queue to view the crown jewels was ridiculous. Will visit again on another trip as we definitely didnt get to fully enjoy the experience.
The building itself is very beautiful and imposing... The guided tour was excellent and full of interesting stories. Had to stand in a crazy long queue to see the crown jewels but the exhibition was worth it . The decadence unbelievable. Probably would have enjoyed more had it been a little less sunny...
I think it’s nice history for the ones who are coming for the first time. Cultural. Too big queue to see the jewels 💎. We didn’t have patience for that. By and large, we had a very good time.
Building is wonderfull as architectural and history aspect. A lot of people there. The crown jewels is a must see. The queue was next to the cafeteria. Hundreds of people in the line but it does not take more than half an hour. Be patient and you won't regret. I recomend to come back to central London vía the river cruise in the pier next to the tower. It is worth while also.
It’s a must see place if you ever visiting London , but ventilation system is poor, and it was far too hot to stay in each building and read through the history of the place.
Had a really interesting visit, although it was unbearably hot and busy which was a bit of a downer. I found the audio guide informative, but I think it could have been set out better (I found it confusing that there were locations and tours marked in the same colours/with the same symbols). Once I got my head around that though, the tour was very good, especially being able to pause until we got to the next location. I suggest putting in a lot more seats, especially in the shade (a bench seat in each room would be ideal), and having a cloak room so we don’t have to carry around our bags all day. I understand that accessibility is hard in old buildings with loss of stairs and narrow passages, but having seats in the shade and a cloak room would go a long way in making the Tower of London more accessible.
Got there early and it paid off; the beefeater that greeted us was informative and entertaining.
Pretty touristy place some great views and castle relics armor. But kinda way more to see in London if the crowd is crazy. Not gonna miss too much....
Been before about 15 years ago in January. Summer maybe not the best time to go. So hot the Yeoman Warders couldn’t do full tours because people were fainting and said there’d been 3 heart attacks so far. Kind of disappointing since this was our daughter’s first time to the Tower, but understandable.
All good apart from unhelpful guy in ticket booth who did not understand 2 for 1 pass so to avoid delays and arguments i paid for 2 of us . Spoilt the trip a bit . But hey what can you do ??
Wonderful, Fantastic ! So much to see and learn on such a picturesque site. You can spend 2 hours or 2 days and still feel you got your $$ worth . Our 4 children 7 to 17 had a blast . Fact I learned there it’s been a museum since the 1700 , experience is on there side , loved it , we will be back .
Very interesting, you grow up reading about the place but when you get there you get the feel of the place, the Crown Jewels are amazing well worth the stand in the que for.
Very Hot so went well prepared
very good half a day activity
tickets booked in advance
bag search inadequate
3 hours
Staff around the tower fantastic well informative we will be back
The Jewels are amazing and definitely should be added to the list of things to see in London.
Really loved it! A must see or you will be thrown into the bloody tower 😆
It's just great, been several times and each time there is something else to learn , English history and proud
Great place to immerse yourself in English/British history. Good for all ages with plenty of amenities for everyone. Well worth a visit if you are in the London/South of England area.
A “must see” if you’re doing a sightseeing visit to London. It was really interesting but go first thing in the morning to avoid long queues and give yourself plenty of time as there is a lot to see. Staff were really friendly and the “Beefeaters “ we spoke to were more than happy to have photos taken and to tell you about living there.
A must see if you’re doing a sightseeing trip/tour in London ❤️ That was my first time in London but it really impresses me. It was soooooo nice 👍🏻❤️❤️
A Lovely sunny day and down to the tower of London I went .lots to see and do , easy rooted, queues but moved fairly quickly found each place to visit fairly easy lots of spectacular history .The white tower , lots of steps to climb but managed . Visit to crown jewels but no photography in this area we managed to visit nearly everything on the map . Photos with beef eaters and managed to see special military MARCH processhion on site great stuff . Cafes on site for lunch easy to access not too bad in price . Fab day had by all well worth the visit lots of history .
We only managed to view the mint, bloody tower and white tower, partly due to the long queues and the fact that we has booked and paid for a Kensington Palace tour. So need to allow a full day for this and get in as early as possible as the queue to view the crown jewels was ridiculous. Will visit again on another trip as we definitely didnt get to fully enjoy the experience.
The building itself is very beautiful and imposing... The guided tour was excellent and full of interesting stories. Had to stand in a crazy long queue to see the crown jewels but the exhibition was worth it . The decadence unbelievable. Probably would have enjoyed more had it been a little less sunny...
I think it’s nice history for the ones who are coming for the first time. Cultural. Too big queue to see the jewels 💎. We didn’t have patience for that. By and large, we had a very good time.
Building is wonderfull as architectural and history aspect. A lot of people there. The crown jewels is a must see. The queue was next to the cafeteria. Hundreds of people in the line but it does not take more than half an hour. Be patient and you won't regret. I recomend to come back to central London vía the river cruise in the pier next to the tower. It is worth while also.
It’s a must see place if you ever visiting London , but ventilation system is poor, and it was far too hot to stay in each building and read through the history of the place.
Had a really interesting visit, although it was unbearably hot and busy which was a bit of a downer. I found the audio guide informative, but I think it could have been set out better (I found it confusing that there were locations and tours marked in the same colours/with the same symbols). Once I got my head around that though, the tour was very good, especially being able to pause until we got to the next location. I suggest putting in a lot more seats, especially in the shade (a bench seat in each room would be ideal), and having a cloak room so we don’t have to carry around our bags all day. I understand that accessibility is hard in old buildings with loss of stairs and narrow passages, but having seats in the shade and a cloak room would go a long way in making the Tower of London more accessible.
Got there early and it paid off; the beefeater that greeted us was informative and entertaining.
Pretty touristy place some great views and castle relics armor. But kinda way more to see in London if the crowd is crazy. Not gonna miss too much....
Been before about 15 years ago in January. Summer maybe not the best time to go. So hot the Yeoman Warders couldn’t do full tours because people were fainting and said there’d been 3 heart attacks so far. Kind of disappointing since this was our daughter’s first time to the Tower, but understandable.
All good apart from unhelpful guy in ticket booth who did not understand 2 for 1 pass so to avoid delays and arguments i paid for 2 of us . Spoilt the trip a bit . But hey what can you do ??
More about Tower Of London
Tuesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday: 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday: 09:00 - 17:00
Friday: 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday: 09:00 - 17:00
Sunday: 10:00 - 17:00