Tower of London: how long you need and when to go

The Tower of London is the one big London attraction that rewards planning, because almost everything people complain about afterwards is a queue they could have avoided by arriving at a different hour.

It sits at Tower Hill, on the north bank, and it is a fortress rather than a building: a walled site with a dozen things inside it. That is why people underestimate how long it takes.

How long you need

Historic Royal Palaces recommends at least two hours, which is right if you are efficient about it. Three is more comfortable for the Crown Jewels, the White Tower and the walls without hurrying. Half a day is what it takes if you also want a Yeoman Warder tour and time to sit down. An hour is not enough for anything except the Jewels, and people who budget an hour are the ones who leave annoyed.

When to go, and the Crown Jewels queue

The Crown Jewels are the bottleneck and the queue for them is at its worst in the middle of the day. Going straight there on arrival, before anything else, is the single most useful thing to know about the site. Late afternoon is the other quiet window, though it leaves less time for the rest.

Term-time weekdays are quieter than weekends by a wide margin, and school holidays are the busiest of all. Weather matters more here than at an indoor attraction, because a good deal of the site is open ground and the walls are exposed.

The Yeoman Warder tours

Included with entry and the best thing on the site. They run regularly through the day from near the main entrance, last about an hour, and are led by Yeoman Warders who live on the premises. They are genuinely funny and cover ground you would otherwise walk past.

Tower Bridge is not the Tower of London

The most common and most expensive confusion in London. Tower Bridge is the bridge with the two towers next to the castle; the Tower of London is the castle. They are run separately, ticketed separately and entered separately. A ticket to one is not a ticket to the other, and the Tower Bridge Exhibition with its glass floor is its own visit of about an hour.

Who it suits

Children old enough to care about armour and ravens do very well here. Under-fives do less well, because the site is large, the ground is cobbled and there is a lot of queueing. Anyone with limited mobility should know in advance that the White Tower is stairs and the walls are stairs.

Nearby, and free

St Dunstan in the East is a ten minute walk and costs nothing, and Leadenhall Market is not much further. Both are quiet at the weekend when the Tower is not. Free things to do in London has the rest.

What is on at the Tower itself, when we have checked it, is on its venue page.

Tickets and opening times

Checked on the operator’s own page on 9 September 2026. Historic Royal Palaces lists adult entry at £37.00 and children aged 5 to 15 at £18.50, both excluding the optional donation, with members free. The audio guide is a separate booking from £5.00.

On the day we checked, the Tower opened 09:00 to 17:30 with last entry at 16:30, and hours move with the season, so the palace’s own page is the one to trust before you travel. The detail worth planning around: the last Yeoman Warder tour of the day goes at 15:15, which is well before last entry and catches people out.

Historic Royal Palaces recommends allowing at least two hours, including the Crown Jewels. Our own view is that two hours works if you are efficient and three is more comfortable if you also want a Warder tour and somewhere to sit down.