Visit Tower of London to plan your visit.

The Tower of London encompasses over 900 years of bloody, macabre English history. As soon as you enter, you can feel the ghosts of history swirling around you, begging not to be forgotten. A visit to the Tower of London is like being transported back in time and actually bringing your history books to life.

The queue for tickets is across from the entrance to the Tower. If you are only planning on visiting the Tower, you can buy ahead online and save a little money. If you are planning on visiting Kensington Palace or Hampton Court in addition to the Tower, be sure to buy a combined ticket (only available in person) and you will save quite a lot over paying separate admission at both places.

After you purchase your ticket and enter the Tower, the best place to start is with a guided tour by one of the yeoman warders. Groups for the tours assemble just inside the entrance. The tours don’t last too long, so if you aren’t pressed for time, go on a second tour with a different “Beefeater.” Each one does the tour just a little bit differently.

The yeoman warders outline the history and major events associated with the Tower as you make your way around. Also during the tour you will go in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, which I believe you cannot go into on your own, only as part of a tour. Services are still held here every Sunday. The two wives that Henry VIII had executed, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, lie underneath the altar.

After the tour, have fun wandering around and exploring on your own. Be sure to check out the crown jewels and the armour of Henry VIII. Don’t miss the Bloody Tower, where the two young princes were murdered and Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned. Enjoy every moment of your step back in time.

We arrived a little late in the afternoon, but were still able to join another group of tourists guided by a red and blue-clad "beefeater" through the grounds. This greatly enhanced our visit, as the wry-witted Yeoman Warder explained the history attached to the centuries-old buildings. The tour ended in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, which covered the bones of hundreds of executed prisoners (including royalty) who did not visit the tower by choice.

Always a lover of Tudor history, I was especially fascinated by hearing about the "Queen's House" that was built for Anne Boleyn as a wedding present, only to hold her during the grim days that led up to her execution. The boys looked for the place in the stairs that once hid the bodies of two ill-fated princes who disappeared before their uncle took their throne. Then we took an hour or so to poke around the displays of royal armour in the White Tower, a building that was put up on orders of William the Conqueror!

While I've heard the queue to see the crown jewels can be long, we sped through near closing time. To top it all off, the kids spent a mint in the crowded gift shop when we were done with our visit. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Entrance fees: £12 for adults, £10 for kids. Admission for kids under 5 is free.

Tip: After the tower, go down to the docks by the Tower Bridge and catch a boat ride on the Thames. This is a quick way to see a lot of the city with children.