Tower of London

[Notambitious]

Posting here for traffic.

Just how busy is it really?

We are planning to go next week with dc x2, probably in the week, although it is half term. A colleague has kindly informed me today that we won’t be able to see anything, will queue for hours to even get in (we have timed tickets) and also for the jewels, the audio guides will sell out etc etc. I am prepared for it to be busy but is this an exaggeration? They said to go straight to the jewels as soon as you get in to avoid the worst of the queues and also do a Beefeater tour rather than the audio guides. They said it’s one or the other for the tours and you don’t do both. Does anyone have any other recommendations?

Thanks :)

It won't be that busy. Buy tickets in advance. You usually queue a bit for the jewels but go either first or last and it's fine.

Thank you 🙏 that is good to hear! Any thoughts about which tour to do?

I don't know about the tours. We have membership so tend to do it more casually. The audio guides at other historic royal palaces like Hampton court tend to be really good though, and have a kids and adults version.

That's a bit weird. I don't particularly remember queuing except for the Crown Jewels. It was quite well managed.
My top tip is don't get too close to a raven as they peck!

I went last July and it was fine - queuing for the Crown Jewels but that was all.

Watch out for idiots trying to feed crisps, etc. to the ravens. 🙄

The beefeaters give the Tours, at the time you’ve booked. They are great. If it’s a busy time there’ll be a queue for the Crown Jewels.

It’s well managed and it will be fine

You might have to queue for the jewels but once you are in the crowds don’t matter as you’re on a moving walkway only one deep so you can see everything

The Tower came up in my photo memories today, so we were there this time last year. There weren't any massive queues anywhere, a little congested going up and down some staircases and a small tailback to control numbers going through the jewels, but that was it.

Your colleague probably got unlucky on a busy day. February half term is too chilly for outdoor attractions to be packed out.

It's really well run. Any queueing is well managed

The Tower of London also attracts loads of international tourists from April-October but it's too bloody cold for them in February so there are significantly fewer visitors.

I went in the August holidays and although there was a queue to get in, it moved extremely quickly. The queue to the jewels was the longest queue and took about 5 / 10 minutes to get in. It is well managed and it didn't feel rushed once you were inside.