Independent visitor guide

Tower of London tickets and visitor guide

Explore centuries of royal history, uncover fascinating stories and prepare your visit with our independent guide.

Plan your visit View tickets and prices →

Tickets and prices

Tower of London tickets

Official standard admission gives you all-day access to the Tower of London. You can move freely around the fortress and explore its different sites in any order. It also includes a Yeoman Warder guided tour, subject to availability on the day, as well as access to the Tower of London visitor app with a PDF map and an audio guide.

€45.53

Check availability and book

Important conditions Free cancellation up to 24 h before

What can you see at the Tower of London with standard admission?

Tower of London and River Thames — © Historic Royal Palaces

Visitor	Price	Comparison
Adult Ages 18 to 64	€45.53	Reference fare
Student Age 18 and over	€36.30	20% less than the adult fare
Senior Age 65 and over	€36.30	20% less than the adult fare
Youth Ages 16 to 17	€22.77	50% less than the adult fare
Child Ages 5 to 15	€22.77	50% less than the adult fare
£1 tickets for people receiving eligible UK benefits Historic Royal Palaces offers up to four tickets per household to people receiving certain UK-issued benefits. Online booking and supporting documents are required.	£1	Check eligibility and book Official website, non-affiliate link

A Yeoman Warder presenting the Tower of London in front of the White Tower — © Historic Royal Palaces

The guided tour with a Yeoman Warder, also known as a Beefeater, takes around one hour. It brings 1,000 years of history to life through the royal intrigues and plots that shaped the legend of this London landmark. The route is designed to help you understand the historical context, the role of each building and the events that unfolded there. The tour is included with standard admission, but you will need a good understanding of English.

Frequency: Every 45 minutes
First tours: 10:00 Tuesday to Saturday · 10:45 Sunday and Monday
Final tour: 15:15
Meeting point: Near the main entrance, by the Bell Tower
Booking: No advance booking · places depend on crowds
Language: English only

Official audio guide

The free audio guide on your phone

Historic Royal Palaces offers a roughly 90-minute Highlights tour through its web app. Nothing needs to be downloaded: open the guide on your phone and play each track as you explore the Tower of London.

App access: Free
Audio tour: About 90 minutes
Available languages: 18 languages

A tour available in 18 languages

Choose your language directly in the app.

English
British Sign Language
Deutsch
Español
Français
العربية
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
한국어
Nederlands
Português
Русский
Українська
اردو
简体中文（普通话）
বাংলা
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ)

The tour explores the Tower’s three defining roles: Fortress · Palace · Prison

An admission ticket is still required to visit the Tower. Only the hire of an audio-guide handset on site is charged: £5 per adult and £4 per child or concession.

Tip: bring headphones and a portable charger.

Open the free audio guide Compare with on-site device hire ↗

Discover

What to see at the Tower of London

Fortress, palace and prison: meet the places and people that shaped its history.

The Crown Jewels

A collection still used for major royal ceremonies.

The White Tower

The Norman keep at the heart of the fortress and its history.

The Ravens

The famous residents linked to one of the Tower’s most enduring legends.

The Yeoman Warders

The historic guardians in their distinctive red and black uniforms.

Towers and walls

A medieval complex shaped by centuries of royal power.

Historical timeline

Explore nearly a thousand years of events, from 1066 to the present day.

Explore history and legends

Loading the map…

The london-tower.com interactive map focuses on attractions to discover. The official PDF map details entrances and exits, accessible routes, restaurants and visitor services.

View the official PDF map ↗

The 14 places on the mapBrowse the complete list of places shown.

Monument

01The Crown Jewels
02The White Tower
03The Battlements
06Medieval Palace
09Bloody Tower
11Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula
14Traitors’ Gate

Tour

04Yeoman Warder tours

History

05The Ravens
07Royal Beasts
13The Tower’s Mint

Exhibition

08Torture at the Tower
10Imprisonment at the Tower

Museum

12The Fusilier Museum

Plan

Getting there, opening times and useful resources

Getting there

London EC3N 4AB

Tower Hill is the nearest Underground station; several rail stations are within walking distance.

Tower of London, London EC3N 4AB, United Kingdom

Open in Google Maps ↗

How long

Allow around three hours, or half a day for a slower visit.

Accessibility

Cobbles, steps and historic buildings restrict access to some areas.

Wed 4 Nov 09:00 - 16:30

Thu 5 Nov 09:00 - 16:30

Fri 6 Nov 09:00 - 16:30

Sat 7 Nov 09:00 - 16:30

Sun 8 Nov 10:00 - 16:30

Mon 9 Nov 10:00 - 16:30

Tue 10 Nov 09:00 - 16:30

90 min

See the essentials

A focused route through the fortress’s three best-known highlights.

Suggested route

Crown Jewels
White Tower
Ravens

2 hrs

Add the Beefeaters’ stories

A good choice for connecting the places with the Tower’s major stories.

Suggested route

Yeoman Warder tour
Crown Jewels
Medieval Palace
Tower Green

3 hrs

The most balanced visit

Enough time for the highlights and a closer look at the historic spaces.

Suggested route

Crown Jewels
Yeoman Warder tour
White Tower
Bloody Tower
Battlements

4 hrs +

Explore at an easy pace

Add the quieter exhibitions after covering the main sights.

Suggested route

Main route
The Mint
Fusiliers Museum
Royal Beasts

Our take

The must-sees and our visitor advice

The must-sees to discover

The Crown Jewels are the obvious must-see: visiting the Tower without seeing them would be a little like going to Paris and skipping the Eiffel Tower.
A Yeoman Warder tour genuinely changes the experience: their stories bring the site to life and make its different eras, and what unfolded here, much easier to understand. You will need a good level of English, though.
The White Tower, its darker stories, the legends surrounding it, the battlements overlooking the Thames and the tales of plots and prisoners are unlikely to leave you unmoved.

Our advice before you go

Arrive early and, if possible, head to the Crown Jewels first. Tour groups can quickly create queues and crowd the major sights.
Wear proper shoes: this is a medieval fortress. Cobbles, narrow staircases and steep steps are part of the experience; high heels are best avoided.
The audio guide is not essential, but it is a useful alternative to the information panels if you prefer listening to reading. It is not perfect, but it adds worthwhile context.

For visitor experiences to complement our selection: Read customer reviews on Tiqets (affiliate link) ↗

Inside the Tower

New Armouries Café

The most complete meal option, with hot dishes, soup, sandwiches, salads, cakes and children’s choices.

Hot meals
Step-free access

Inside the Tower, outdoors

Ravens Café

A quick stop near the ravens for coffee, cakes and casual food. Opening can depend on the weather.

Quick stop
Outdoor seating

Near the Jewel House

Jewel Kiosk

A convenient stop after the Crown Jewels for a hot drink or snack.

Drinks
Snacks

Outside the Tower, beside the Thames

Tower of London Café

Tower Wharf is the riverside promenade running below the fortress walls. Its café serves drinks and snacks, with step-free access; it may close early in poor weather.

River view
Step-free access

Dietary needs and allergens

Vegetarian, vegan and no-gluten-containing-ingredient options are available. Kitchens cannot guarantee against cross-contamination, so ask the on-site team for allergen information.

Inside the buildings

Food and drink are not allowed inside the historic buildings except in designated areas.

Did you know?

The first prisoner… also pulled off the first escape

Rainulf Flambard was the first known prisoner at the Tower. He was held in relative comfort, with servants, but that didn't stop him from fleeing in 1101 using a rope hidden in a barrel of wine. Before leaving, he reportedly hosted a banquet to get his guards drunk.

An escape so outrageous people cried witchcraft

When Rainulf Flambard managed to escape the Tower, the whole affair seemed so improbable that one chronicler of the time flatly accused him of sorcery. The wine barrel, the drunk guards and the rope from nowhere made the story bound to raise eyebrows.

The Tower had no permanent torture chamber

Despite its dark reputation, the Tower of London never had a proper permanent torture chamber. This image comes mainly from 16th-century religious accounts and 19th-century writers who enthusiastically kept the place's gloomy side alive.

Fewer executions than you might think

The Tower of London is often seen as a place of mass executions. Yet before the 20th century, only seven people were actually executed inside the fortress itself. Most condemned prisoners were executed just outside, on Tower Hill.

Prisoners who weren't always poorly treated

Being locked up in the Tower didn't necessarily mean a damp dungeon and stale bread. Some high-ranking prisoners could buy better meals, receive visitors, and even live in fairly comfortable conditions for the time.

Walter Raleigh lived there with his family

The famous Walter Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower, but in very unusual circumstances: his cell was fitted out to house his family. His son was reportedly even born there in 1605. It was a prison, but clearly not the same treatment for everyone.

A polar bear went fishing in the Thames

In the 13th century, the royal menagerie at the Tower housed a polar bear, a gift from the King of Norway. The most astonishing part? It was let out to go fishing in the Thames. Hard to imagine a more unusual medieval London scene.

An elephant lived at the Tower of London

The Tower also housed an elephant gifted by the King of France. Henry III had a special enclosure built just for it. Sadly, the animal survived only two years in England.

You could get in with a cat to feed the lions

In the 18th century, the Tower's menagerie was open to the public. Admission cost three pennies, or a cat or dog to be fed to the lions. Not quite the family-friendly Sunday zoo experience.

The Lion Tower survived… thanks to its keeper

Even after the animals were moved to Regent's Park, the Lion Tower wasn't demolished straight away. Its last keeper had the right to live there until he died. As a result, the tower stood as long as he was still around.

A man once tried to steal the Crown Jewels

In 1671, Thomas Blood attempted a completely audacious theft: stealing the Crown Jewels. With his accomplices, he overpowered the keeper and managed to grab several pieces, including the crown itself, before being spotted by the keeper's son.

The Crown Jewels have already been destroyed

During the English Revolution, most of the royal regalia were melted down or destroyed. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, almost nothing remained of the original pieces: most of what we now associate with the Crown had to be recreated from scratch.

Traitors' Gate lived up to its name

The Traitors' Gate allowed prisoners to enter the Tower directly from the Thames. Many high-profile captives passed through it, usually in an atmosphere very different from today's tourist visits.

The Tower also served as a royal mint

For centuries, the Tower of London didn't just hold prisoners and jewels: it also housed the Royal Mint, where the kingdom's coins were struck. A fortress, a prison, a palace… and a coin factory.

A moat that became a health hazard

The Tower's great moat was meant to protect the fortress. Over time, it silted up and eventually caused serious health problems for the garrison. In the 19th century, it was finally filled in with earth.

Londoners didn't much like the Tower

Today, the Tower of London is a tourist icon. But in the Middle Ages, it was mostly seen as a symbol of oppression. When a guardhouse collapsed in 1240, locals reportedly celebrated the accident.

The Tower held out… but not always for long

The Tower of London had a reputation as an almost impregnable fortress. Yet during its first siege in 1191, William Longchamp capitulated after just three days. Even great symbols have their less glorious moments.

Prisoners carved their presence into the stone

Some towers, like the Salt Tower or Beauchamp Tower, still bear graffiti carved by prisoners. These marks give the place a very human quality: behind the grand historical narratives, there were also people waiting, hoping, or simply bored.

The Tower held Rudolf Hess for four days

During World War II, Rudolf Hess, a close associate of Adolf Hitler, was held at the Tower of London. He stayed only four days in 1941, but he is considered the last state prisoner to be held in the fortress.

The last man executed at the Tower was a spy

The last execution at the Tower of London took place on 14 August 1941. Josef Jakobs, a German spy, was shot by firing squad during World War II, a far more recent episode than most people realise.

The ravens are taken very seriously

According to an old belief, if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall. To this day, at least six ravens are fed and cared for there. It may be superstition, but nobody really wants to test it.

The Tower was bombed during the Blitz

During World War II, the Tower of London was hit by the Blitz bombings. Several buildings were damaged or destroyed, before being repaired after the war to allow the Tower to reopen to the public.

Explore history and legends →

Good to know

Practical questions

How long should I allow for the visit?

Allow around 3 hours for the main highlights without rushing. If you want to see the exhibitions, join a Yeoman Warder tour and take your time around the walls, plan for half a day.

What is the best time to visit?

Arriving at opening time is usually the best option, especially if you want to see the Crown Jewels with shorter waits. In high season, queues often build up late morning and in the afternoon.

Are the Crown Jewels included in the ticket?

Yes, standard admission normally includes access to the Crown Jewels, the White Tower and the main public areas. Always check the exact ticket details on the booking page before paying.

Is the visit suitable for children?

Yes. The fortress, armour, ravens, historical stories and outdoor areas make the visit very engaging for families. Some areas do include stairs, uneven ground and narrow passages.

Is the Tower of London wheelchair accessible?

Part of the site is accessible, but the Tower of London is a historic fortress with cobbles, steps and old buildings. Some areas may be difficult or impossible to access by wheelchair.

Is this the official Tower of London website?

No. London Tower Guide is an independent guide. Bookings shown on this website are handled by Tiqets. The official Tower of London website is managed by Historic Royal Palaces.

Read the full FAQ