Tower of London

For close to a thousand years, the Tower of London has stood on the north bank of the Thames as a fortress, a royal palace, a prison, a treasury, a zoo, and — for the past century and a half — one of the world's most visited historic sites. It is where William the Conqueror asserted Norman rule over a defeated city, where Anne Boleyn spent her final days, where the Crown Jewels have been guarded for centuries, and where a UNESCO World Heritage listing now protects a site that has quietly outlived every dynasty it once served. Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for the Tower, reports over three million visitors a year — making it the most-visited paid heritage attraction in England. This guide covers its history, what to see inside, current ticket prices, and everything you need to plan a visit.

Nearly a Thousand Years of History

Norman Origins

William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066, weeks after his victory at the Battle of Hastings. Wary of rebellion in a hostile, newly conquered city, he moved quickly to fortify it. An initial earth-and-timber castle went up first; then, in the 1070s, William began work on a permanent stone keep at the southeast corner of the old Roman city walls — a structure unlike anything London had seen before. Stonemasons were brought over from Normandy, along with the stone itself, quarried at Caen in France and shipped across the Channel, while the bulk of the physical labour was carried out by conscripted Englishmen. The building took around twenty years and was completed under William's son, William II. That keep is the White Tower, so named for the whitewashed limewash once applied to its stone, and it still stands at the centre of the wider fortress today. The Tower of London was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, recognised as one of the most complete surviving examples of Norman military architecture in existence.

Palace, Prison, Mint, and Menagerie

Over the following centuries the Tower accumulated roles far beyond its original military purpose. Successive medieval kings expanded the fortifications into the concentric ring of towers and walls visible today, and the site became a working royal residence as well as a garrison. In 1279, Edward I moved the Royal Mint into the Tower, where England's coinage was struck for more than 500 years. The Tower also became, improbably, a zoo: in 1204, King John — having just lost Normandy — received three crates of wild animals as a diplomatic consolation prize and had nowhere else to keep them. His son, Henry III, expanded this into a full royal menagerie, adding an exotic gift from the King of Norway in 1252 — almost certainly a polar bear, reportedly allowed to fish for its own dinner in the Thames on a long leash — and, a few years later, the first elephant seen in England since Roman times. The menagerie remained a Tower fixture for over 600 years before its surviving animals were transferred out in the 1830s to found what became London Zoo. In the 17th century, the White Tower briefly doubled as a Royal Observatory under the astronomer John Flamsteed, before he relocated to purpose-built premises in Greenwich.

Famous Prisoners and a Notorious Heist

The Tower's reputation as a prison and place of execution is its most enduring association, and the list of those held within its walls reads like a roll call of English history: Sir Thomas More, executed in 1535 for refusing to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church of England; Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife, beheaded on Tower Green in 1536; Thomas Cromwell, Henry's own chief minister, four years later; the teenage Lady Jane Grey, "Queen" for nine days in 1553; and a young Princess Elizabeth, later Elizabeth I, imprisoned here by her half-sister Mary I in March 1554 on suspicion of plotting against her. Sir Walter Raleigh spent over a decade imprisoned in the Tower under James I, writing part of his History of the World during his confinement. Guy Fawkes was interrogated and tortured here after the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. And the disappearance of the "Princes in the Tower" — the young Edward V and his brother Richard, sent to the Tower in 1483 by their uncle Richard III and never seen again — remains one of English history's most debated unsolved mysteries.

The Tower's most audacious break-in, rather than escape, came in 1671, when a disgraced Anglo-Irish adventurer named Colonel Thomas Blood disguised himself as a clergyman and, over several visits, gained the trust of the Jewel House keeper, Talbot Edwards. On 9 May, Blood and three accomplices attacked and badly wounded Edwards, flattened St Edward's Crown with a mallet to conceal it under a cloak, and made a dash for the gate with the Sovereign's Orb and part of the Sceptre stuffed into bags. They were caught before they could escape London. Remarkably, Blood was pardoned by Charles II and even granted a royal pension — historians still debate why — and the recovered regalia, dented but intact, went back on display under considerably tighter security than before.

The Tower in Two World Wars

The Tower's role as a place of state execution did not end in the Tudor period — it simply went quiet for a few centuries. During the First World War, eleven German spies convicted of espionage were executed by firing squad at the Tower's rifle range; remarkably, more executions took place at the Tower in the 20th century than during the entire Tudor and Stuart periods combined. In the Second World War the Tower briefly resumed its historic function as a state prison: German spy Josef Jakobs, captured after parachuting into Huntingdonshire with a broken ankle, forged papers, and a hidden radio, was executed by firing squad on 15 August 1941 — the last execution ever carried out at the Tower. Weeks earlier, on 17 May 1941, the Tower briefly held its most famous 20th-century prisoner: Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, who had flown solo to Scotland and parachuted into a field near Glasgow in an apparent bid to broker peace with Britain. Hess was held in isolation in the Tower's King's House for four days before being moved elsewhere for interrogation. Unlike the First World War, the Tower did not escape bombing entirely in the Second — several buildings within the fortress were damaged during the Blitz.

What to See Inside the Tower

A single ticket covers the entire public site, and Historic Royal Palaces confirms this includes the Crown Jewels exhibition, the White Tower, the Battlements walk, the Bloody Tower, the Medieval Palace, the Torture at the Tower exhibition, the Fusiliers Museum, and the Royal Mint exhibition — with no extra charge for any of them once you're inside. The Crown Jewels are the single biggest draw: the collection includes the Imperial State Crown and St Edward's Crown, both still used in coronations, along with the Cullinan I diamond mounted in the Sovereign's Sceptre — at over 530 carats, the largest clear-cut diamond in the world. Expect the longest queue of the day here, especially mid-morning. The White Tower itself houses part of the Royal Armouries collection, including Henry VIII's own suits of armour, displayed across several floors of Norman stonework. The Medieval Palace recreates the 13th-century state rooms of Henry III and Edward I, and the Bloody Tower is traditionally associated with the imprisonment (and disappearance) of the Princes in the Tower. Some rooms and routes may have reduced access during ongoing conservation work — check before visiting if a specific exhibit is essential to your visit.

The Yeoman Warders ("Beefeaters")

The Tower's ceremonial guardians — officially the Yeomen Warders of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, universally nicknamed "Beefeaters" — have guarded the site since the corps was formally established in 1485. Every Yeoman Warder is a retired Warrant Officer with a minimum of 22 years' service in the British Armed Forces and the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal; the first woman admitted to the role broke centuries of tradition when she joined the corps in the 2000s. Around 32 Warders live on-site with their families in historic Tower housing. Since the Victorian era they have also served as the Tower's tour guides, and the free Yeoman Warder Tour — included with every admission ticket, departing roughly every half hour from the main entrance until 2:00pm — is one of the best free experiences in London: equal parts dry humour and genuinely gruesome history, delivered by someone who lives on-site. Each evening, the Warders also perform the Ceremony of the Keys, the ritual locking of the Tower's main gates that has taken place, according to tradition, every night for over 700 years without interruption — tickets for the public ceremony are free but must be booked well in advance through the official site.

The Ravens of the Tower

At least six ravens live within the Tower walls at all times, tended by a dedicated Yeoman Warder who holds the title of Ravenmaster. The tradition rests on a longstanding legend — first associated with the reign of Charles II — that the Tower, and the kingdom along with it, will fall if the ravens ever leave. One version of the story holds that Charles's royal astronomer, John Flamsteed, complained that the birds were interfering with his observatory in the White Tower, and that Charles ordered the ravens removed until a courtier warned him of the prophecy — at which point he reversed course, moved the observatory to Greenwich instead, and decreed that at least six ravens be kept at the Tower permanently. The Tower has maintained the tradition ever since, with a breeding programme in place since the 1980s and a few spare birds kept beyond the minimum six as insurance. The ravens roam freely around the grounds during the day and are a highlight for most visitors, even though feeding or touching them isn't permitted.

Tickets and Prices

Prices below are the official Historic Royal Palaces gate rates, correct at the time of writing and verified directly against the official Tower of London tickets page — always confirm current prices there before booking, since they do change periodically. Beware imitation booking sites that rank highly in search results and are not affiliated with Historic Royal Palaces; the official domain is hrp.org.uk.

Prices above are the "no donation" rate; Historic Royal Palaces asks for an optional 10% donation at checkout, since it is an independent charity that receives no ongoing government funding. UK taxpayers can add Gift Aid to that donation at no extra personal cost, letting HRP reclaim an extra 25% from the government. Separately, £1 tickets are available to anyone receiving Universal Credit or several other named UK benefits (up to four people per household), and residents of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets can visit for £1 at the ticket office year-round. Full eligibility details for both schemes are on the official £1 tickets page. Online booking costs the same as buying at the gate but guarantees a timed entry slot and avoids the ticket-office queue — genuinely worth doing in advance during school holidays and summer weekends, when walk-up dates can sell out.

Opening Hours

At the time of writing, the Tower is open daily from 9:00am to 5:30pm, with last entry at 4:30pm and the last Yeoman Warder tour departing at 2:00pm. Hours shift seasonally and around specific closure dates (the Tower closes on 24–26 December, for instance, and individual towers or routes can close temporarily for conservation work or state occasions), so always check the official day-by-day calendar for your specific visit date before travelling. The site tends to be quieter in the afternoon than first thing in the morning, when the queue for the Crown Jewels is at its longest.

Getting There

Tower Hill station (District and Circle lines) is a two-minute walk from the main entrance and is by far the easiest way to arrive. Tower Gateway, the eastern terminus of the DLR, is a similarly short walk. Fenchurch Street mainline station is about ten minutes on foot. River services also stop immediately outside at Tower Millennium Pier, a pleasant way to arrive if you're coming from Westminster or Greenwich by boat. The Tower's official postal address is Tower of London, London EC3N 4AB.

Tips for Visiting

• Arrive at opening, or in the last two hours before closing, to avoid the worst of the Crown Jewels queue — the middle of the day is consistently the busiest.
• The Yeoman Warder Tour is free with your ticket, runs continuously until 2:00pm, and is worth prioritising early in your visit — it draws its own crowd around the meeting point fast.
• Allow at least three hours on-site; the fortress is considerably larger and denser than it appears from outside the walls.
• Book online in advance, especially for weekends, UK school holidays, and the entire summer — walk-up availability on the busiest dates can vanish entirely.
• The site has cobbled surfaces, uneven ground, spiral staircases, and low medieval doorways throughout — wheelchair access is limited in several historic buildings, so check the official accessibility page if this affects your visit.
• There are no left-luggage facilities and large suitcases or rolling bags are not permitted inside — plan accordingly if you're visiting en route to or from the airport.

Related London Guides

The Tower pairs naturally with several nearby sights covered elsewhere on this site:

• Tower Bridge — the Victorian bascule bridge is a five-minute walk away and visible from the Tower's own battlements.
• Borough Market — a scenic riverside walk across Tower Bridge, ideal for lunch after a Tower visit.
• Sky Garden — free panoramic City views a short walk north, best booked ahead to pair with a Tower morning.

Sources and References

This guide draws on official information published by Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity responsible for the Tower of London, including its official tickets and prices page, opening hours calendar, and official history pages, along with the UNESCO World Heritage listing for the Tower of London. Prices, hours, and opening arrangements change periodically — the official Historic Royal Palaces website linked throughout this page is always the definitive source before you book or travel.

Last updated: August 2026 · Written by the Totally London Online Team.