Castles · Tour

Tower of London Opening Ceremony with an All-Day Ticket

The guided part of this one lasts a morning; the ticket lasts until closing. That is the difference worth knowing: when the group breaks up you are not asked to leave. The group is capped at 20. It starts outside with a walk along the medieval outer walls, past the moat, Traitors' Gate and the ramparts facing the Thames, with the stories of the royal prisoners attached to each. Then, before the Tower opens to the public, a Yeoman Warder takes the group in through a side entrance. The Beefeater Opening Ceremony happens in an empty fortress: Warders in full dress uniform march across the courtyard and unlock the gates with military precision. It is a working ritual, not a re-enactment, and almost nobody who buys a normal ticket sees it. Straight afterwards comes the Jewel House, first of the day, before any queue forms. The Imperial State Crown is set with over 2,800 diamonds; the Sovereign's Sceptre carries the largest colourless cut diamond in the world. The rest of the day is yours, with a map and an audio guide app included: the White Tower armouries, the Bloody Tower, Tower Green and the Chapel Royal. Arrive 10 to 15 minutes early. The guide waits in front of the Tower of London shop, directly across from the entrance.