Open:
March-October Mon-Sat 9 am – 5 pm, Sun 10 am – 5 pm
November-February Mon-Sat 9 am – 4 pm, Sun 10 am – 4pm

Prices:
Adults 11.30 pounds, children under 15 7.50 pounds, family 34 pounds

http://www.armouries.org.uk/tower/

If you haven’t been to London before, the Tower of London is one of those things you just have to see. It is situated right on the bank of the Thames River and it is great for all ages. The view of the Tower Bridge from inside the Tower is the best. You can get here by underground, bus or ferry. The pier is located right next to the Tower bridge, and the underground station is across the street.

The construction of the Tower started in the 11th century and continued for 400 years and this is a very well preserved castle. The Tower really has several towers and for adults the most interesting is the collection of Crown jewels. Behind the glass (no, you can’t touch it) are the royal crowns sparkling with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds the size of a small egg each, swords and clothes covered with jewels. Pictures are not allowed. The next interesting collection is of knights’ armor and weaponry in the White Tower which is the first tower built in this complex, it is located across the yard from Crown jewels. Here you can see collections of spears and guns or a knight on the horse both wearing the full armor. You can also listen to the tour guides wearing costumes from several centuries ago and trying to recreate the atmosphere of the times when kings were the law of the land, fought wars and killed each other to get to the throne, and England was a major power.

The Tower also had a prison, and distinguished prisoners were held in Queen’s house waiting for their execution. Many of Tudors including queen Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII, were held prisoners here.

Take the Circle or District lines (yellow or green) to the Tower Hill stop. The exit from the Underground leads right to the Tower.

Admission to the Tower is £11 for adults and includes the opportunity for two free tours. The Royal Yeoman Warders (Beefeaters) give a overview of the tower tour and also a more in depth Punishment and Prisoner tour. The standard tour leaves every thirty minutes and ARE NOT TO BE MISSED!

The Beefeaters (who are retired, highly-decorated military officers) give an insightful, largely funny tour. During these tours you also gain access to the Chapel Royal of St. Peter. Other sights to be seen within the Tower include the Crown Jewels. A long queue leads you along corridors where you are shown scenes from Queen Elizabeth's cornonation and in-depth descriptions about the jewels. You can view some of the gold serveware on your own, but the actual jewels must be seen from people-movers. Because of the crowds, this is a great feature which allows you to get as close to the jewels as you are allowed without having someone standing directly in front of you. The White Tower holds an impressive collection of Royal Amouries. There are two gift shops on site and a cafeteria-style restaurant.

Do walk along the River Thames on your way out of the Tower and view the amazing landmark Tower Bridge.

Back in 1078, the White Tower - the earliest building in what is today the Tower of London - was built. In the centuries since (and tumultuous years they’ve been), many buildings have been added, many sieges broken, and many histories written. This is the ultimate in historical castles, and it’s worth a visit.

A moated fortress with 3 lines of defense, the Tower’s best seen on a guided tour led by a `beefeater’ (strictly speaking, a `yeoman warder’). We took the last tour of the day - at 3:15 pm - and found our guide immensely entertaining and informative.

The Tower of London’s been, at various times, a castle, an arsenal, a storeroom for records, and a prison. Beginning at the gate, the tour goes through much of the castle - past Traitor’s Gate, St Thomas’ Tower, Bloody Tower , and the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula (`St Peter in Chains’), where the headless bodies of 1,500 traitors (proven or otherwise) had once been interred under the flagstones to be later exhumed and given a Christian burial; at the altar, the bodies of three of Henry VIII’s wives still lie.

While at the chapel, take a look at the beautifully carved wood under the organ: it was worked by the master carver Grinling Gibbons, who always incorporated peapods in whatever he carved. He carved the pods open (if he’d been paid for the job) or closed (if he hadn’t). The ones at St Peter ad Vincula are open.

The tour proceeds to the Jewel House, which houses the Crown jewels - solid gold, heavily jeweled sceptres, crowns, diadems, swords, flagons, chalices, altar plates, and more. The most stupendous is a punch bowl the size of a small bathtub, all gold and very ornate.

Beyond the Jewel House is the White Tower (outside which is part of the Roman wall from the first fortress on the site). The White Tower has original garderobes (medieval toilets basically with a chute leading straight down into the moat), fireplaces, staircases, prisons, armouries, and guardrooms dating back through the ages. The Tower’s many prisoners left rather a lot of graffiti behind - you can actually see an inscription scratched by Thomas Culpeper onto a wall: "Be faithful unto death, etc, etc.", and signed with his name. Somewhat creepy.

Within the White Tower’s a huge collection of medieval weaponry - shields, armour (for both man and horse; the display includes Henry VIII's armour), pikes, halberds, lances, swords, helmets and what not. Also on display are an executioner’s block and the axe used to chop off Anne Boleyn’s head.

Incidentally, they say that while ravens live at the Tower, it will stand - the day they leave, the Tower will fall, and so will England. Logically (if you go by that illogical reasoning), the ravens are a pampered lot - they’re fed special rations of blood-soaked biscuit and raw meat, their wings are clipped, and so on. Idiotic but quaint.

One of the premier tourist sites in London, the Tower of London has been a palace and a prison. At other times it also housed the Royal Mint, a royal menagerie, royal armouries (since moved to Leeds) and royal observatory.

The White Tower is the focal point and was built by William I to protect London and impress his subjects. Later royals kept adding to the site until it enclosed 18 acres.

One of the more gruesome aspects of this site is that is was used for executions, some notable ones being Lady Jane Grey, Ann Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and the Earl of Essex.

The Beauchamp Tower is interesting to visit as you can see inscriptions on the walls placed there by prisoners awaiting their time with the executioner.

The Crown Jewels are an attraction which many people line up for ages to see, I've yet to do so and probably never will as I'm just not interested. The lineups can stretch for a very long way.

Be sure to see the Ravens who are a symbol of the British Empire. It's said that if they leave the Tower of London, the British Empire will crumble.

If you wish, you can view the Ceremony of the Keys, but you'll need to plan that in advance. You'll need to write for permission at least one month before you wish to do it, tickets are free.

Admission to the Tower is around £10 for an adult. You can join a free tour by the Beefeaters who will take you around the site and tell you the history of the place.

I recommend going early before the hordes of tourists show up. It is a very popular tourist attraction.

Admission is included in the London Pass.

This is a fascinating and historical landmark that is over 900 years old. The Tower of London was built as a palace, then became a prison and fortress. You can see how early kings lived. You get to see the carvings prisoners made in the walls. You get to see an exhibit of ancient armor and weapons. You can see where Henry VIII beheaded two of his wives (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard). And, most importantly, you get to see the Crown Jewels. The actual crowns (there are 2) that were used by Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation are here, as well as several other crowns, some mind-boggling silverware and other precious things. You also get to see the world's largest diamond. There is an interesting exhibit about the evolution of the crown, how it is made, and how the largest diamond came to be part of the Crown Jewels.

I would highly suggest going on a guided tour with one of the Yoeman Warders of the tower. These tours start right at the entrance. Beware, the last tour starts at 3 PM. There is also a series of several short (about 25-30 mins) illustrated (with slides) talks by a Yoeman Warder, that is held daily at the Lanthorn Tower (one of the many actual towers inside the compound, which you can easily find once you go inside and are issued a map of the place).

Don't do anything bad at the Tower, because Yoeman Warders are actually a type of military officers and do have police powers on the territory of the Tower, despite the nice costumes they wear.

This is also the site of the actual Traitors Gate (see entry on the London Dungeon) where prisoners were brought into the Tower by boat.

If you would like to see the Ceremony of the Keys, which is one of the oldest continuing ceremonies and takes place in the evening, then be sure to write ahead of time (at least a month) to: The Ceremony of the Keys, Waterloo Block, HM Tower of London, EC3N 4AB. You must enclose a stamped addressed envelope and request the date that you would like to attend.

Because of its age, the Tower is full of cramped, circular staircases. Keep this in mind when you come to visit.