Tower of London Tour

Curated route · First-time visitors, Limited time

First visit essentials

The Crown Jewels, the White Tower and the stories in between, in an order that beats the worst of the queues.

Time
3–4 hours
Stops
9 (6 essential)
Pace
steady
Essentials only
about 180 min
Adapt it in the planner
Schematic plan of the Tower of London (not to scale) Relative positions of the main places inside the fortress: the entrance at the west, Water Lane along the river to the south, the White Tower at the centre, the Crown Jewels to its north and the wall walk along the east side. Use the list below the map for full details. River Thames Wharf WATER LANE Queen's House 1 Middle Tower 2 Traitors' Gate 3 Bloody Tower 4 White Tower 5 Crown Jewels 6 Tower Green 7 Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula 8 The ravens 9 New Armouries Café Schematic plan · not to scale · north is up

The route, stop by stop

Minutes are typical dwell times at a steady pace, before queues. Walking between stops and a security check at the entrance are extra; the total above allows for them.

  1. 1

    Middle Tower and the entrance

    Entry, security and a first look at the moat and the wire lions.

    10 min
  2. 2

    Traitors' Gate

    Two minutes on the way in; the river gate everyone photographs.

    Story: Traitors' Gate: the name came later

    5 min
  3. 3

    Crown Jewels (Jewel House)

    Go straight here first. The queue is shortest before 11:00 and after 15:00.

    Story: The morning Colonel Blood stole the crown

    45 min
  4. 4

    White Tower

    The Norman keep, the Chapel of St John and the Line of Kings.

    Story: The White Tower and the Line of Kings

    Stairs only, no lift

    45 min
  5. 5

    New Armouries Café optional

    A sit-down halfway; the queue for lunch is shorter before noon.

    Break here

    20 min
  6. 6

    Tower Green and the scaffold site

    The scaffold site and the Queen's House, and a bench.

    Story: Anne Boleyn's last seventeen days

    10 min
  7. 7

    Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula optional

    Open to independent visitors in the last hour, or at the end of a Yeoman Warder tour.

    10 min
  8. 8

    Bloody Tower

    Raleigh's study and the Princes, if the stairs are manageable.

    Story: What happened to the Princes in the Tower?

    Stairs only, no lift

    20 min
  9. 9

    The ravens optional

    Look for them on the South Lawn on your way out.

    Story: The ravens: a legend younger than it looks

    5 min

What it includes

  • Both must-see interiors
  • The execution site and chapel
  • One story-rich tower
  • A break

What it leaves out

  • The wall walk and the Medieval Palace (add 45–60 minutes)
  • The Beauchamp Tower graffiti (15–20 minutes)
  • The Fusilier Museum

Access limitations

  • The White Tower and Bloody Tower involve spiral stairs with no lift. Skip them and this becomes a fully step-free visit of about two hours.

Queues and timing

On peak days (Easter to October, weekends, school holidays) the Crown Jewels queue alone can pass 45 minutes and the White Tower stairs bottleneck. If you arrive after 14:00 on such a day, drop the Bloody Tower rather than rush the Jewels.

Tickets for this route

Standard admission covers everything here, including a Yeoman Warder tour if you want one (add an hour). Early-access tickets only pay off if you must see the Crown Jewels at opening time on a peak day.

Compare tickets and tours

Official information: hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/visit.

Checked 10 Sept 2026

Sources: hrp-visit, hrp-access, hrp-yeoman-tours, hrp-crown-jewels