Tower of London

You may not care to jostle with the crowds at the Tower of London, but nowhere else will give you the same flavour for the city's past.

This is Britain's best surviving medieval fortress—one of the few historic buildings to have survived the Blitz—and it is rich with gruesome stories and impressive relics. The Crown Jewels alone are worth the price of admission, though you must suffer a moving platform to view them.

Yeoman Warders (or “Beefeaters”) conduct tours, but the personal headsets are better for moving at your own pace. You can see the private area where controversial executions were held, shielded from public view. Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey all lost their heads here for “treasonous” behaviour. No less grisly is the “Bloody Tower”, named for the two young princes (Edward V and his brother) who were smothered to death in 1483, probably at the orders of their uncle, Richard of Gloucester, who was crowned king soon after. The Tower's last prisoner was Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, in 1941.

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Contact Information

Tower of London
Tower Hill
EC3N 4AB London

Tel. +448707566060

http://www.hrp.org.uk