Tower of London ToursTower of London Tours
His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress

Tower of London Tours

Early entry, Beefeater mornings, private guides and the day ticket

Tower of London tours put you inside a fortress William the Conqueror began in 1066, where the Crown Jewels are guarded, three queens were beheaded on the green, and a Yeoman Warder still locks the gates every night. Compare every way in, and pick the morning that suits you.

Tour prices, inclusions and cancellation terms verified by the Tower of London Tours team — last checked August 26, 2026.

See the top toursCompare every way in

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, on every tour listed. A Tower of London booking is confirmed straight away.

1066Founded
2.8MVisits in 2025
From $51With entry included
Tower of London Tours›Tours & Tickets
Updated: August 26, 2026
Most booked

Top Tower of London Tours for 2026

The three Tower of London guided tours we would book first, on rating, review volume and how long each one keeps you inside the walls.

Early Access Tower of London: Crown Jewels and Beefeater Ceremony

Early Access Tower of London: Crown Jewels and Beefeater Ceremony

★ 4.6 1,014 reviews 1 hour

Before public openingOpening CeremonySix languages

Walk in through the gates an hour before the public does, while the Warders unlock the fortress in the ceremony that opens it every morning. The Crown Jewels come first, ahead of the queue that builds by mid-morning, and your guide sets up the history outside the walls before you go through. A Tower of London audio tour app comes with the ticket, so the rest of the day runs at whatever pace suits. Guides work in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, which no other departure here offers.

  1. Meet at the Tower of London ticket office
  2. Enter the Tower before it opens to the public
  3. Watch the Opening Ceremony with a Beefeater
  4. See the Crown Jewels ahead of the queues
  5. Step inside the White Tower
  6. Carry on alone with the audio guide app
From $87 per person
View detailsCheck Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Best sellerTower of London and Crown Jewels Exhibition Day Ticket

Tower of London and Crown Jewels Exhibition Day Ticket

★ 4.4 7,421 reviews 1 day

All-day entryCrown JewelsWarder tour included

Admission for the whole day, sold by the charity that runs the fortress, covering the Crown Jewels display, the keep and every open tower on the grounds. The Yeoman Warder tour is part of it: departures leave the moat every half hour and are signposted as you come in, so the storytelling costs nothing extra. Nine centuries of building sit inside two rings of wall, and three hours is a realistic first pass at them. One thing to plan around — there is no re-entry once you walk back out through the gate.

From $51 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

VIP Tower of London and Crown Jewels Tour with Private Beefeater Meet & Greet

VIP Tower of London and Crown Jewels Tour with Private Beefeater Meet & Greet

★ 4.6 938 reviews 3 hours

Private Beefeater audienceEarly timed entryMax 6 per booking

Meet your guide at Tower Place a quarter of an hour before the doors, then go straight past the ticket office on an early-morning timed ticket. The part people remember is a private audience with a Beefeater, arranged for your group rather than shouted across forty strangers. This is the yeoman warder tour tower of london travellers ask for by name, with the time booked in advance. Three hours inside covers the Jewel House, the keep and its armouries, and Tower Green, where three queens were beheaded; bookings cap at six, and a Thames cruise can be added.

  1. Meet your guide at Tower Place, by the Tower shop
  2. Early-morning timed entry, straight past the ticket office
  3. Private audience with a Beefeater
  4. See the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House
  5. Explore the White Tower and its armouries
  6. Stand on Tower Green, where three queens died
From $137 per person
View detailsCheck Availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Why book with us

Why book with Tower of London Tours

Nine hundred years of fortress, sixteen ways in, and one place to see what each of them costs.

★

Best Guides

Blue Badge guides, small-group specialists and serving Yeoman Warders — the people who know which staircase to take first and which story is worth stopping for.

✓

Book With Confidence

Every tour here refunds in full up to 24 hours before it starts, and you pay the operator’s own price. Change your mind the night before and nothing is lost.

♔

Experience of a Lifetime

The coronation regalia, an eleventh-century keep, ravens on the lawn and a gate locked to the same words for seven hundred years. Few places give you all four in one afternoon.

Visit EnglandTripadvisor Travellers’ Choice
Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance — every tour listed here refunds in full, and you pay the operator’s own price.
Every way in

All Tower of London Tours & Tickets

Tower of London tours and tickets, ordered by rating and review volume. The last two never go inside the walls, and their cards say so.

London in a Day: Tower of London, Westminster & River Cruise

London in a Day: Tower of London, Westminster & River Cruise

★ 4.8 990 reviews 6 to 8 hours

Blue Badge guideThames cruiseWestminster Abbey

Three of London's biggest sights in one day, tied together by a Blue Badge guide and a boat: Westminster Abbey in the morning, the river down to the fortress, and the Crown Jewels in the afternoon. Skip-the-line tickets for the Abbey and the Tower are both in the fare, along with headsets so the commentary carries in the open. Roughly two and a half of the eight hours are spent inside the walls, which is a first pass rather than a full visit. The day begins in Parliament Square, three miles west, so check the meeting point before you set an alarm.

From $131 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

VIP Early Access: Opening Ceremony Tower of London & Bridge Entry

VIP Early Access: Opening Ceremony Tower of London & Bridge Entry

★ 4.8 756 reviews 3 hours 30 minutes

Chief Beefeater welcomeTower Bridge includedMax 6 per booking

Two landmarks that get confused for each other, booked as one morning: the fortress before it opens, then timed entry to the Tower Bridge Engine Rooms across the water. It opens with a welcome from the Chief Beefeater and the unlocking ceremony, then runs to the Jewel House ahead of the crowd and into the eleventh-century Chapel of St John inside the keep. This is the only london tower bridge tour on the page where both admissions are already paid for. Expect cobbles, stairs and about three and a half hours on your feet.

From $206 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Top ratedThe Tower of London - Small Group Tour with a Local Expert

The Tower of London - Small Group Tour with a Local Expert

★ 4.9 446 reviews 2 to 3 hours

Max 12 travellersThree hours insideAfternoon tea option

Twelve travellers at most, and three full hours inside the walls — longer than any other guided departure listed here. The route takes in the Crown Jewels and the Coronation exhibition, the White Tower armouries, Tower Green, the Bloody and Wakefield towers, the Medieval Palace and the chapel where Anne Boleyn is buried. A small group means the guide can answer you rather than broadcast, which is what the 4.9 rating across several hundred reviews keeps coming back to. There is an upgrade that finishes with afternoon tea if you want to make an afternoon of it.

From $212 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Likely to sell outTower of London Guided Tour with Optional Thames River Cruise

Tower of London Guided Tour with Optional Thames River Cruise

★ 4.5 481 reviews 1 hour 30 minutes

Guided storytellingCrown JewelsRiver cruise option

Pair a guided ninety minutes at the fortress with a one-way river cruise you can use whenever you decide to leave. Pre-reserved admission covers the Crown Jewels and the White Tower, and the guided section is storytelling on the grounds rather than a march through every building. Read the option you are booking before you pay: the cruise voucher comes with the combo choices and not with the basic ones, and it is valid for a single 30-minute journey. Good for an afternoon when the fortress is one of two things on your list.

From $100 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Likely to sell outVIP Beefeaters Meet & Greet with Tower of London Guided Tour

VIP Beefeaters Meet & Greet with Tower of London Guided Tour

★ 4.8 413 reviews 2 hours

15 minutes with a WarderTimed entryHeadsets for larger groups

Fifteen minutes with a serving Yeoman Warder, booked rather than hoped for, plus a photograph and the run of the grounds afterwards. The guided section covers Traitors' Gate and Tower Green before it reaches the Jewel House, and timed admission means the ticket line is already dealt with when you arrive. This is the beefeater tour tower of london searches turn up most often, and the meet-and-greet is the part the Express options leave out. Nearly two of the two hours are spent inside the walls; headsets appear once the group passes ten.

From $89 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

VIP Early Access Opening Ceremony Tower of London & River Cruise

VIP Early Access Opening Ceremony Tower of London & River Cruise

★ 4.7 396 reviews 3 hours

Jewel House firstFlexible cruise ticketBlue Badge guide

Board the river later; start at the gates. A Blue Badge guide takes the group in ahead of public opening for the unlocking ceremony, then straight to the Jewel House, which is the one room where arriving first genuinely changes the experience. Tower Green and the Bloody Tower follow, and headsets are handed out so nothing is lost in the open air. The cruise ticket is flexible and one-way, so you can spend three hours on the grounds and still take the boat when you are ready to leave.

From $148 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Full Day London Tour: Tower of London & Westminster Abbey

Full Day London Tour: Tower of London & Westminster Abbey

★ 4.9 304 reviews 7 hours

Changing of the GuardSkip-the-line AbbeyThames cruise

Seven hours that start at the Statue of Abraham Lincoln in Parliament Square and finish inside the fortress, with Westminster Abbey, the Changing of the Guard and a Thames crossing in between. Priority entry to both the Abbey and the Tower is included, and the Crown Jewels close the day. The Guard ceremony runs on alternate days and moves to Horse Guards Parade when it does, which which is stated plainly at the point of booking. Around an hour and fifty minutes of the day is spent inside the walls, so treat it as your overview of the city rather than a deep visit.

From $124 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Likely to sell outTower of London: Opening Ceremony & Early Crown Jewels Access

Tower of London: Opening Ceremony & Early Crown Jewels Access

★ 4.6 133 reviews 1 hour

Pre-opening entryWarder ceremonyAll-day ticket

Watch the gates unlocked by a Yeoman Warder from inside the walls, then reach the Crown Jewels before anyone who queued outside. The ticket is valid for the rest of the day, so this hour is the start of a visit rather than the whole of one, and a map and audio guide app come with it. The listing is straight about what it is not: there is no guided tour of the interiors, because the venue does not allow guiding inside the Jewel House or the keep. Bring your phone and headphones for the app.

From $104 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Tower of London After Hours Tour with Beefeater & Keys Ceremony

Tower of London After Hours Tour with Beefeater & Keys Ceremony

★ 4.6 98 reviews 1 hour 30 minutes

After the gates closeCeremony of the KeysYeoman Warder guide

After the public has gone, a Yeoman Warder walks a small group across the floodlit grounds, taking in Execution Square, Traitors' Gate, the Bloody Tower and the keep from the outside. The evening ends at the Ceremony of the Keys, the locking of the gates that has run nightly for some seven hundred years, and your place at it is guaranteed rather than balloted. This tower of london night tour covers the grounds only: the Crown Jewels and the building interiors are not part of the evening. Name every traveller in your party at booking, for security.

From $220 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Tower of London Private Tour for Families and Friends

Tower of London Private Tour for Families and Friends

★ 5.0 53 reviews 3 hours

Private groupBlue Badge guideWheelchair accessible

Your own Blue Badge guide for three hours, with admission for the group already paid and nobody else's questions to wait through. The route runs the keep, the Crown Jewels, the ravens and Tower Green, and a private guide can slow down for a six-year-old or speed up for a teenager without asking anyone's permission. It is the one tower of london family tour sold as exactly that, and the only guided option whose listing describes it as wheelchair accessible. Two adults is the minimum booking, and the group caps at twelve.

From $353 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Private Tour: The Iconic Tower of London

Private Tour: The Iconic Tower of London

★ 5.0 32 reviews 2 hours 30 minutes

Private groupAll tickets includedMorning or afternoon

Book a local expert for two and a half hours and spend all of it inside the walls, with every entry reservation handled before you arrive. The guide meets you at the official ticket office with an orange sign, and from there it is the Crown Jewels, the Mint, the armouries and the stories of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and William the Conqueror. A tower of london private tour puts the questions in your hands rather than a group's. Morning and afternoon departures both run, and the fare covers the whole party rather than each head separately as the group grows.

From $360 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Medieval History Walking Tour from The Tower of London

Medieval History Walking Tour from The Tower of London

★ 5.0 302 reviews 2 hours

Admission not includedWheelchair accessibleTwo hours on foot

Start outside the western exit of Tower Hill station and walk two hours of medieval London — the fortress from the moat, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hinde and Winchester Palace. This one is a walking tour of the streets, not a visit: admission is not part of the fare and the group stops outside the walls for about ten minutes. Take it as context before or after a ticket, and the fortress makes far more sense when you go in. The route is level and described as wheelchair accessible, which makes it a gentler kids tour than anything inside the walls.

From $24 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

Official Tower of London River Tour Sightseeing River Cruise

Official Tower of London River Tour Sightseeing River Cruise

★ 4.8 192 reviews 40 minutes

Admission not includedLive guideWheelchair accessible

Sail from Tower Bridge Quay, the pier beside the fortress, on a forty-minute circuit past more than twenty landmarks with a live guide rather than a recording. The commentary was written with a co-creator of the BBC series Ghosts, which is why this river tour is sharper than most. Every seat is guaranteed and the boat is the first all-electric craft on the river, with indoor and outdoor decks. Entry to the fortress is not included, so pair it with your ticket rather than book it instead of one.

From $25 per person
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts.

The fortress

About the Tower of London

His Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress has stood on the north bank of the Thames since the end of 1066, when a timber castle went up inside the Roman city wall and a Norman king made a point. Nine and a half centuries later it is still a working palace, a garrison and a treasury, and it took 2.8 million visits in 2025. We bring together every guided way in, so you can see what each costs, how long it puts you inside the walls, and what a guide may show you once you are through.

History

Founded in 1066 and built in stone from the 1070s, expanded by Richard I, Henry III and Edward I into two rings of wall around a moat. It has been a palace, a prison, an armoury, the Royal Mint, a menagerie and the public record office, and has held the Crown Jewels since the 14th century. UNESCO listed it in 1988.

Planning your visit

Open daily from 9am, with the Crown Jewels, the keep and a Yeoman Warder’s tour included in every admission ticket. Three hours is a comfortable first visit. There is no re-entry once you leave, and nowhere inside to store a suitcase, so the two decisions worth making early are when to arrive and what to carry.

The buildings

Twenty-odd named towers stand inside the curtain walls, and the oldest of them is the keep everything else grew around. The Chapel of St John inside it is the oldest church building in London still standing whole, and the Royal Armouries fill the floors above it with the arms and armour of nine centuries.

The White Tower at the Tower of LondonThe Medieval Palace rooms at the Tower of LondonOne of the Tower of London ravens
Before you buy

Do you need a guided tour at all?

The honest answer, including the part that costs us money. A Tower of London early access tour is the one thing a ticket cannot replace.

A ticket alone already buys a guide

Admission includes the Yeoman Warder tour, which leaves the moat every half hour and is signposted the moment you walk in. If a guided hour is all you wanted, you have it for the price of the ticket, and nobody selling a tour has an interest in telling you so.

What a paid departure adds

Three things, and they are worth different amounts to different people: a booked slot so the ticket queue is already handled, a guide who sets up the history before you go through, and on four departures entry an hour before the public. That last one is the only thing money cannot buy at the gate.

What no tour can add

Nobody guides inside the Jewel House or the keep — the venue does not allow it. Every guided departure hands you over at those two doors and meets you afterwards. Knowing that in advance is the difference between a good morning and a disappointed one.

See what each tour adds

What you will see

Inside the walls

Six named things a Tower of London and Crown Jewels tour actually puts in front of you.

The Crown Jewels

The working coronation regalia, in the Jewel House — the only set in Europe still used, and the reason most people come.

The White Tower

William the Conqueror’s keep, begun in the 1070s and whitewashed by Henry III in 1240, holding the Royal Armouries.

Tower Green

The lawn where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey were beheaded, marked by Victorian granite paving.

Traitors’ Gate

Edward I’s river water gate, the arch prisoners were rowed through from the Thames, and named that since before 1543.

The ravens

At least six birds, eight as of 2025, kept by a Ravenmaster against a prophecy that the Crown falls if they leave.

The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula

The parish church inside the walls, and the burial place of the queens executed a few steps outside its door.

What is in each building

Compare

Which Tower of London Tour Is Right for You?

Tower of London ticket prices side by side, with what each fare buys and who it suits.

TourPriceLengthInside the wallsRatingBest for
Early Access Tower of London: Crown Jewels and Beefeater CeremonyFrom $871 hourAbout 1 hour inside the Tower before it opens, then all-day access on the same ticket★ 4.6 (1,014)First visits in summer, when the Jewel House queue is the real problemBook
Tower of London and Crown Jewels Exhibition Day TicketFrom $511 dayAll day — the ticket is valid until closing, with no re-entry once you leave★ 4.4 (7,421)Independent visitors who want to set their own pace and stay all dayBook
VIP Tower of London and Crown Jewels Tour with Private Beefeater Meet & GreetFrom $1373 hoursAbout 3 hours inside the Tower, all of the tour★ 4.6 (938)Small parties who would rather ask questions than listen to a scriptBook
London in a Day: Tower of London, Westminster & River CruiseFrom $1316 to 8 hoursAbout 2 hours 30 minutes inside the Tower, of an 8-hour day★ 4.8 (990)One-day visitors who want the capital's headline sights in a single goBook
VIP Early Access: Opening Ceremony Tower of London & Bridge EntryFrom $2063 hours 30 minutesAbout 2 hours 45 minutes inside the Tower, plus 45 minutes at Tower Bridge★ 4.8 (756)Travellers who want both riverside landmarks handled in one morningBook
The Tower of London - Small Group Tour with a Local ExpertFrom $2122 to 3 hoursAbout 3 hours inside the Tower, all of the tour★ 4.9 (446)Anyone who wants depth and the chance to actually ask a questionBook
Tower of London Guided Tour with Optional Thames River CruiseFrom $1001 hour 30 minutesAbout 1 hour 15 minutes inside the Tower and the Jewel House★ 4.5 (481)Short visits that want a guide and a look at the city from the waterBook
VIP Beefeaters Meet & Greet with Tower of London Guided TourFrom $892 hoursAbout 1 hour 55 minutes inside the Tower, of a 2-hour tour★ 4.8 (413)Visitors whose whole reason for coming is to meet a BeefeaterBook
VIP Early Access Opening Ceremony Tower of London & River CruiseFrom $1483 hoursAbout 3 hours inside the Tower, including the Jewel House before the public★ 4.7 (396)Early risers who want the Jewel House empty and a boat afterwardsBook
Full Day London Tour: Tower of London & Westminster AbbeyFrom $1247 hoursAbout 1 hour 50 minutes inside the Tower and the Jewel House, of a 7-hour day★ 4.9 (304)First-time visitors who want a guided overview of the whole cityBook
Tower of London: Opening Ceremony & Early Crown Jewels AccessFrom $1041 hourAbout 1 hour inside the Tower before it opens, then all-day re-entry on the same ticket★ 4.6 (133)Visitors who want the ceremony and then a full day on their own termsBook
Tower of London After Hours Tour with Beefeater & Keys CeremonyFrom $2201 hour 30 minutesAbout 1 hour 30 minutes inside the Tower, after the gates have closed★ 4.6 (98)Anyone who wants the fortress in the dark and the oldest ceremony in itBook
Tower of London Private Tour for Families and FriendsFrom $3533 hoursAbout 2 hours 30 minutes inside the Tower, of a 3-hour private tour★ 5.0 (53)Families and mixed-age groups who need the pace set around themBook
Private Tour: The Iconic Tower of LondonFrom $3602 hours 30 minutesAbout 2 hours 30 minutes inside the Tower, all of the tour★ 5.0 (32)Small parties who want the whole two and a half hours to themselvesBook
Medieval History Walking Tour from The Tower of LondonFrom $242 hoursStops outside the walls for about 10 minutes; Tower admission is not included★ 5.0 (302)History readers who want medieval London and already have a ticketBook
Official Tower of London River Tour Sightseeing River CruiseFrom $2540 minutesDoes not go inside★ 4.8 (192)Anyone short of time who wants the skyline and a seat guaranteedBook

“Ben brought the Tower of London to life, and meeting Yeoman Warder Barry, forty years in service, was the high point. Our group of ten felt exactly the right size.”

Jonathan · Couple · August 2026

“Being first into the Jewel House was worth having. The rest of the Tower of London morning was less memorable: the ceremony is crowded enough that we could barely see it, and a Warder told us the evening lock-up is the older tradition.”

Scott · Family · June 2026

“He answered every question and the small group made that possible. Three hours at the Tower of London went very quickly.”

Claire · Friends · August 2026

Plan your visit

Plan Your Visit to the Tower of London

Five decisions that stall a booking here, answered one tab at a time.

Getting there

Tower Hill on the Circle and District lines is about three minutes on foot, and the walk from the station down to the moat is signposted. Tower Gateway on the DLR, Fenchurch Street for mainline trains and Tower Millennium Pier for river boats are all close. There is no visitor car park, and the fortress sits inside the City’s congestion and emissions zones.

Tickets

Every listing here except the walking tour and the river cruise includes admission, so you are not buying a ticket twice. The cheapest way through the gate is the day ticket; guided departures run higher and buy you a booked slot, a guide outside the walls and sometimes early entry. Prices are the operators’ own and every one refunds in full at 24 hours.

How long you need

Three hours is a comfortable first visit: the Crown Jewels, the keep, Tower Green and the chapel. Two hours is enough if you skip the Wall Walk and the Medieval Palace. Guided departures here run from one hour to a full day, and the time actually spent inside the walls ranges from ten minutes on the walking tour to three hours on the small-group and VIP departures.

With children

The armouries, the ravens and a Warder’s storytelling do most of the work. Two practical things: strollers are not allowed into the White Tower, so a carrier is easier, and there is no re-entry, so the picnic has to happen inside. One listing here is sold as a family private tour and is the only guided option described as wheelchair accessible.

After dark

The gates are locked every night at 9.52pm in the Ceremony of the Keys, which is free by ballot and heavily oversubscribed. One tour here carries guaranteed access alongside a Warder’s walk of the floodlit grounds. Its own listing is clear that the Crown Jewels and the building interiors are not part of the evening.

The full visiting guide

What to expect

How a Tower of London Visit Works

From booking to the moment you walk back out through the gate.

1

Book and pick a time

Choose your date and slot. Anything guided is worth booking days ahead; four of these listings flag themselves as likely to sell out.

2

Find the right meeting point

Nine different ones are used across these tours. Most are at Tower Place or the ticket office; two full-day tours start in Westminster.

3

Through the gate

Security is quick and there is nowhere to leave luggage. Timed entries skip the ticket line; early-access groups go in before the public.

4

The Jewel House first

The one room where arriving early genuinely changes things. The queue that is ten minutes at nine can be an hour by noon.

5

The rest at your own pace

The keep, Tower Green, the Wall Walk and the Medieval Palace. Your ticket lasts until closing — but there is no re-entry if you leave.

Pick your tour

Traveller reviews

Tower of London Tours Reviews

Travellers who booked these tours, in their own words — the mixed ones kept in, because those are the ones that tell you which tour is which.

★★★☆☆

Being first into the Jewel House was worth having. The rest of the Tower of London morning was less memorable: the ceremony is crowded enough that we could barely see it, and a Warder told us the evening lock-up is the older tradition.

Scott · Family · June 2026

★★★★★

Take the Beefeater tour — funny, full of detail and included. Walk the top of the walls if you can, and take the children into the room with the beasts.

Jodi · Couple · August 2026

★★★★★

Ben brought the Tower of London to life, and meeting Yeoman Warder Barry, forty years in service, was the high point. Our group of ten felt exactly the right size.

Jonathan · Couple · August 2026

★★★★★

He answered every question and the small group made that possible. Three hours at the Tower of London went very quickly.

Claire · Friends · August 2026

★★★☆☆

The listening devices were useful, but the only building we went inside was the Jewel House, for fifteen minutes. I am not sure the tour added a great deal over the ticket.

Paige · Family · July 2026

★★★★★

The best thing we did in London. Our Yeoman Warder, Barry, clearly loves the job, and the Tower of London after dark felt like a film set.

Andy · Family · August 2026

★★★★★

Ed was great and the boat was spotless. A good option if you are short of time but want the Tower of London and the major sights without walking or working out the tube.

Sarah · Solo · May 2026

★★★★★

Galina was friendly, funny and very well informed. The whole family enjoyed her Tower of London tour, and having our own guide made the three hours work for all of us.

Michael · Family · June 2025

★★★★★

Andrew was outstanding and the day covered more than I expected. A lot of walking, so wear the right shoes.

Andrea · Friends · August 2026

★★★★☆

Informative, and Don had good stories about the famous prisoners. It is expensive for what it is, the meeting point is a walk from the gate, and you would meet a Beefeater inside anyway.

Elizabeth · Solo · August 2026

Read all reviews

Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions travellers ask most often before they book a Tower of London reservation.

Do I need to book Tower of London tours in advance?

Yes for anything guided. The operators’ own figures show travellers booking these departures between 18 and 84 days ahead, and four listings carry a sell-out flag. A ticket alone is safer to leave late, though a summer weekend still sells through.

Is the Beefeater tour included with a ticket?

It is. The Yeoman Warder tour comes with admission and leaves the moat every 30 minutes, signposted as you come in. What a paid tour buys on top is a booked slot, a guide before you go through the gate, and on some departures entry before the public.

How long do you need at the Tower?

Three hours covers the Crown Jewels, the keep and Tower Green without hurrying. Two is enough if you skip the Wall Walk and the Medieval Palace. A full day is realistic only if you want the armouries properly.

What is the cheapest way in?

The day ticket, at $51 on the listing we hold, sold by the charity that runs the fortress. It covers the Crown Jewels, the keep and the free Yeoman Warder tour. Cheaper options are a walking tour and a river cruise, and neither takes you inside the walls.

What does a Tower of London early access tour actually get you?

Entry before the public, the ceremony in which the gates are unlocked, and the Crown Jewels ahead of the queue. The guided part happens outside the walls: the venue does not permit guiding inside the Jewel House or the keep, so every guided departure hands you over at those two doors.

Can I see the Crown Jewels without a tour?

Yes. The Jewel House is included with every admission ticket. All a tour changes is when you get there, which in August is the difference between ten minutes and an hour of standing.

Is the Tower of London wheelchair accessible?

Partly, and the listings are blunt about it. Most guided departures say they are not, and the reason is always the same — cobbles, uneven ground and spiral stairs. The river cruise, the medieval walking tour and one private tour say they are.

Can you take photographs inside?

In the grounds and most buildings, yes. In the Jewel House, no: photography is not permitted where the regalia are displayed. Bring a camera for the walls, the ravens and the view across to Tower Bridge.

Is there a Tower of London ghost tour?

There is no ghost tour of the fortress, and none of these departures is one. The closest thing is the after-hours tour, which walks the grounds with a Yeoman Warder after the gates close and ends at the Ceremony of the Keys — a military ritual rather than a haunting.

What is the Ceremony of the Keys?

The nightly locking of the gates, performed at 9.52pm and described as the oldest extant military ceremony in the world. The Chief Yeoman Warder locks three gates, is challenged at the Bloody Tower archway, and the Last Post sounds at ten.

Can I bring a suitcase or a large bag?

No. There are no luggage facilities and large items of luggage are not allowed in. Plan the day around your left luggage rather than the other way round.

Can I leave and come back on the same ticket?

No — there is no re-entry once you walk out. Worth knowing before you head off to find lunch, because the cafes inside are the ones that keep the ticket alive.

Is it worth visiting with children?

Yes, with one caveat: strollers are not allowed into the White Tower. The armouries, the ravens and a Warder’s storytelling carry most children easily, and one departure here is sold as a family private tour.

How much do Tower of London tours cost?

The tours listed here run from $24 for a walking tour that stays outside the walls to $360 for a private guide. Anything that includes admission starts at $51, and the guided departures cluster between $87 and $220.

Which tour suits a first visit?

An early-access departure if you are here between June and September, because the Jewel House queue is the one problem money genuinely solves. Outside the peak, the day ticket plus the free Warder tour covers the same ground for a third of the price.

See all FAQs

Photographs

Tower of London Gallery

The Tower of London and its curtain walls above the Thames at sunsetThe Tower of London seen across the dry moat from Tower HillThe visitor entrance to the Tower of London on Tower HillThe White Tower, the Norman keep at the centre of the Tower of LondonThe timber entrance stair to the White Tower at the Tower of LondonInside the White Tower, where the Royal Armouries collection is displayed

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Tower of London Guides and Advice

The long pieces that answer the decisions, and the shorter posts that answer the questions.

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Where the Tower of London Is

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Tower of London

Address

London EC3N 4AB, United Kingdom
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Hours

9:00am – 5:30pm, seven days a week. Published hours change with the season — confirm on the official site for your date.

Getting here

Tower Hill (Circle, District) is about three minutes on foot. Tower Gateway on the DLR, Fenchurch Street and Tower Millennium Pier are all close by. Full transport detail.

Book with confidence

Ready to see the Tower of London?

Every guided way through the gate, from $51 with entry included. A Tower of London reservation can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead, and you pay the operator’s own price.

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