On our one-day tour of London, we were given the choice of either visiting Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London. Having visited both before, I wasn’t sure which one to go to, but I ended up choosing the Tower since I had visited the Abbey much more recently. Most of our group chose Westminster, but there were 5 or 6 of us that headed into the Tube station and caught the Circle Line to Tower Hill.

Nothing in London is cheap, but a basic ticket into the Tower was only about £11 (this was 2002, meaning the prices have probably gone up). Of course, the first attraction as we walked in was the guard standing outside the Crown Jewels. Nobody else had seen these up close so we all took turns taking pictures and trying to make him laugh. Of course, no one was very successful in this, so we moved on to the Crown Jewels.

The Jewels are definitely an interesting part of the Tower. They can either leave you in awe or make you sick at how much money the British royal family has spent on massive diamonds to put in a crown that is worn once every fifty years. You can’t describe them as anything but spectacular, though, and they are worth seeing. A certain number of people are let in at intervals here, and then you pretty much spent the entire time on walkalators that scoot you past all the Jewels without you having a chance of hatching a plan on how to steal them. As I’ve said, they are spectacular, but after a while they tend to run together.

This seemed to happen much sooner for the boys in our group, who decided it was time to take pictures in a decidedly non-picture area. One of them, Shane, managed to get some decent video footage from his video camera underneath his arm before being called out by one of the many security people standing just behind the walkalators. Another one decided he wanted actual pictures, and managed to get a good half-dozen before turning his camera off. Unfortunately, he saw another crown he liked the look of and turned his camera back on and stuck it in front of his chest like he had been doing before. Unfortunately, when he pressed the button, a huge flash lit up the room (apparently, you have to turn off flash every time the camera turns on) and he was immediately singled out and yelled at.

This entry is continued in The Tower of London: The Guard Laughs.

The Tower of London is not actually a tower. It is a palace located on the banks of the Thames River in downtown London. This palace has also served as a fortress and an infamous prison where brutal executions took place - including that of the Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry VIII. Two of the more popular structures within the fortress walls of this historic site are the Crown Jewels building which houses the British Crown Jewels collection dating back to the 14th century and the White Tower that was constructed around 1078 under the reign of William the Conqueror.

We arrived at the Tower Of London two hours before closing time. We were hoping to get an overview by doing one of the organized tours but we had already missed the last one for the day. Audio tours are available but we decided to skip it and see as much as we could on our own in the limited time we had. We were able to explore the Medieval Palace, the White Tower, and The Crown Jewels building.

The Medieval Palace has been restored to look as it might have during the reign of Edward I in the late 1200's. I was most impressed by the medieval throne. Looking at it, along with the surrounding candles and arched doorways, made me feel like I had stepped back in history to a time of knights, armor, and castles.

British royalty lived securely behind the thick walls of the White Tower until the 1200s. Today this building houses an impressive collection of armor and medieval weapons. You can even see the armor worn by Henry VIII. This exhibit was quite crowded so we spent more time looking at the fascinating displays than we did reading the posted information.

Perhaps the main draw of the Tower Of London is the Crown Jewels. In the Crown Jewels building, we saw the crown and scepters of people like Queen Victoria and Queen Mary. I was impressed with the artistry of these items which were full of gold and precious gems. Photography is not allowed in this exhibit. This collection is definitely worth a visit when exploring the Tower Of London.

We liked exploring the towers alone. We felt like we were "sneaking around" where we weren't supposed to! I loved that since such creepy things happened in the rooms. The carvings on the walls were really neat. There were townhouses and apartments that were rented out. There was also a huge museum with armour and weapons that were very artistically done and very impressive.

The Tower of London is a large fortress that was once a prison. It is a large area to take in, with various buildings. The Crown Jewels are in one room that, to get to, you have to go through switchbacks for three rooms, which made me glad I went in February instead of the summer months. We just walked in.

It is absolutely stunning, with loads of history. Tickets can be bought online from several places or from tourist information sites, so check around for the best deal. Depending on how in-depth you want to explore, allow anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to the entire day for this attraction.

When you first arrive, wait for the next tour by one of the "Beefeaters" to start. If you've come in the middle of one, you will end up at the back and it can be hard to hear and follow. They usually start at least every half- hour, more often during peak season. The Beefeaters are extremely knowledgeable about the history of the tower, and they are not just tour guides, as they actually live at the tower and perform official duties as well.

A tour will take about 1 hour, and then you will be on your own to explore further. It may be a bit hard if anyone in your party has difficulty with stairs or walking long distances, so allow extra time if this is the case. You'll probably want to see the Crown Jewels right after the tour, which takes approximately 20 to 30 minutes, as you're somewhat shuffled through there by moving walkways. It’s still very impressive, though.

Once you've done the tour and seen the jewels, you can safely leave with the knowledge that you've hit the best bits. There is a café if you're feeling a bit peckish, but it is somewhat overpriced and you'd be better off eating outside.

My strong recommendation is to hit this attraction early in the morning and stay for a few hours, and then have a go on the Big Bus Tour (see my entry on that). This way, you can relax a bit on the bus after trooping around the tower all morning, and you'll see most of the major sights and decide what you want to explore further.