CrewTips: LHR: The Tower of London

The weather coming into London was not too bad, so I decided to try the Tower of London after a short nap. If you decide to go, you'd be wise to visit this sites to get the lay of the land:
• http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerofLondon
• itInerary Planner
• PDF map of the Tower

Regarding Naps
I prefer short naps as opposed to 'hitting the ground running.' I find that I enjoy my sightseeing the best when I have about 2 to 3 hours of solid sleep. The challenge, however, is waking up and quickly departing for your tour. If you're like me, you just want to throw the alarm across the room and go back to sleep. But resisting that urge can be fruitful as the London sights are beautiful if the weather cooperates. The downside to the nap is that you will most likely be pushing daylight and museum closing times. Experiment to find out which nap schedule works best for you.

Reference Map

View Larger Map

Tube Directions
There are many Tube routes to get to the Tower of London "Tower" stop. The easiest would be the Circle line direct, but you could also take the Bakerloo and District lines, depending on which Edgeware Road tube stop was closest. Take the left exit out of the Tower station to take you to the large sundial in Trinity Place.

The sundial park is a nice overlook area to get your bearings and take a photo or two. When you're ready to continue, go through the pedestrian tunnel under Tower Hill Terrace Road, and then follow the signs for Ticketing.

Ticketing
The tickets for the Tower are £16.50, which is a bit steep, especially if you arrive late. You can buy tickets online for £16.50, but be sure the weather will be cooperating. Unfortunately, there are no discounts for late ticket purchases and the museum closes at 5:30. They stop admitting at around 5:00.

If you want to do a guided tour, the last guided tour starts at 3:30pm, so plan accordingly. I regret not getting the last guided tour, as it apparently is very lively and informative, given by one of the uniformed "Yoeman Warders." The lady at the counter said that it takes about 2-3 hours to take in all that the Tower has to offer. I arrived at 4:10, and almost didn't buy a ticket because I was only going to have an hour and a half to look around. I decided to purchase a ticket anyway, and vowed to walk briskly and not waste time with stuff I didn't find interesting.

Sights
The Crown Jewels are located inside the Tower walls in a very secure building. It's worth the look see, if the line is not too long. At first glance, the line snaked 100 feet beyond the entrancewayof the building. Later, the line shortened to inside the building and I decided to give it a go. Once inside, there was still about 10 minutes of Disney-roped line maze action before you see any goods. The jewels and Royal oppulence is quite impressive. Excellent craftmanship.

I did the Fusiliers museum for £1. It has an excellent chronology of the Fusiliers and their place in British Military History. However, there is quite a bit of reading and not as many artifacts as you might find in other similar museums. I'd skip it if you don't have the time, or have kids with you.

I did the Blood Tower self guided tour. The Blood Tower is where two princes were murdered, and it describes circumstances surrounding the incident. This was interesting and worth it, if you don't have to wait too long in line.

I did the Medieval house tour, which takes you through the Royal living quarters of the Tower. It has some neat factoids regarding Kingly accomodations and what life was like for His Highness back in the day. Upon exit from the throne room. you come out on the South terrace and have a nice view of the beautiful Tower bridge.

Exit
At around 5:40, the Yoeman Warders were politely encouraging folks to wrap it up and exit. I departed throught the gate near the Thames, and since I wanted to scope out the War Experience museum on the opposite bank of the river, I hoofed it across the Tower bridge. (The bridge has tours that explains its storied history, but they also end at 5:30.) Anyway, the walk across will give you great photo ops of the Tower and that crazy egg shaped building. Be sure to walk on the northwest side of the bridge, as you can't cross to the otherside once your on it.

Summary
I'm glad I went and the beautiful weather made it enjoyable just wandering around. However, if I had to do it over again, I'd try to arrive there no later than 3:15. This allows time to tag on with that last guided tour, and you'll have a little extra tme for yourself before they shuffle you to the exits at 5:30. Also, a little bit of web study helps to get familiar with the history and stories, which makes the visit much more enjoyable.

If the weather is cold and rainy, I'd skip the Tower and do an indoor museum. For maximum enjoyment, do a little research before you go regarding the Tower's layout and history. That way, you'll have some of the reading done and will be able to skip some of the queues near the placards without missing much.

If you go, post a comment on your experience. Thanks!

More Pictures

The Tower Green