Tower of London: Tickets, Hours and Tips
Tower of London: Tickets, Hours and Tips
This is the Crown Jewels visit, not the history-lecture version, come for the diamonds, the ravens, and a Yeoman Warder who’s genuinely funnier than you’re expecting. Adult entry runs GBP 37, and that single ticket covers the Jewel House, the White Tower’s armour collection, and every Beefeater tour running that day, easily the best free-with-admission guided tour in London.
Tower of London at a glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | GBP 37 adult, GBP 18.50 child (5-15), book online for a small discount |
| Hours | Daily, typically 9am-5:30pm summer, shorter in winter, closed some bank holidays |
| Time needed | Half a day minimum, book the first slot to beat the tour-bus crush |
| Booking lead | Book online ahead for peak dates and weekends, gate tickets cost more |
| Getting there | Tower Hill station (Circle, District lines) or Tower Gateway DLR |
Is the Yeoman Warder tour actually worth planning your visit around?
Yes, and it’s included in your ticket, not an upsell. Beefeaters run free guided tours roughly every 30 minutes covering the site’s executions, prisoners and legends in a genuinely entertaining hour, and they know exactly which stories land with a crowd. Show up for the first one of the day if you want a shot at asking questions afterward.
Are the ravens actually important, or just a photo opportunity?
Both, seriously. Legend holds the kingdom falls if the ravens ever leave the Tower, and whether or not you buy the superstition, the current birds are cared for daily by a dedicated Ravenmaster and kept close to home. Look for them around the White Tower lawn, they’re bigger and considerably less shy than you’d expect.
Book ahead through the official ticket page , or browse the Tower of London overview for the full site history from Historic Royal Palaces. A skip-the-line tour with a guide is worth the extra cost in July and August, when the gate queue alone can eat 45 minutes.
Combine the visit with Tower Bridge next door, or read the separate UNESCO story behind this same site, the 900-year-old fortress angle rather than the ticket-and-Jewels one, at our Tower of London World Heritage page .
Book the first entry slot of the day if the Crown Jewels are your priority. The Jewel House gets a moving walkway queue by mid-morning, and arriving at opening means walking straight up to the glass with nobody in front of you.