Castles in London: the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace
Forty listings at a median of 69.03 EUR and 150 minutes, one castle open every day of the year and one open for 81 of them.
London holds two castles worth crossing the city for, and they keep opposite calendars. The Tower of London has no weekly closing day and no closed season: whatever Tuesday in February you happen to have free, it is open. The State Rooms of Buckingham Palace open for 81 days a year, from 9 July to 27 September in 2026, and are shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through September. For the other 284 days London has one castle you can walk into and one facade you can photograph. That single difference should decide the order of your week here, and it is almost never the thing people plan around.
The catalogue reflects the city rather than the country. Across the 40 London listings the median price is 69.03 EUR and the median length is 150 minutes, against 134.41 EUR and 660 minutes an hour up the river at Windsor. Fourteen of the 40 are finished inside two hours. Only two run eight hours or more, and one of those declares 1,440 minutes because it is a day ticket, which is a validity window rather than a tour. Nobody in London is selling you a coach seat, because nobody needs to: both castles are on the Underground.
London is also the lowest rated of the three British destinations here, at a weighted 4.537 across 35,042 reviews, under the 4.653 the whole site averages. That is not a verdict on the two buildings. Both the best and the worst rated product in the entire United Kingdom catalogue sit in this city, a 5.0 across 758 reviews at 34.34 EUR and a 4.1 across 2,024 reviews at 75.79, and they are both about Buckingham Palace. What separates them is what each one promised.
What follows is the comparison the two calendars force on you, the ceremony timetable that decides which morning is spoken for, and how the London passes behave at each gate. The ticket mechanics of each castle, one at a time, are on the two pages under this one.
Choose a destination in London
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Tower of London
One ticket at 37 pounds booked ahead, with no circuits to choose between: the Crown Jewels, the White Tower and the Yeoman Warder tour are all inside it, and…
20 experiences -
Buckingham Palace
The State Rooms open for 81 days: 9 July to 27 September 2026, at 33 pounds booked ahead.
20 experiences
Castles Experiences in London
Buckingham Palace State Rooms: the Ticket, with Audio Guide
No walking tour attached and no guide to wait for: 19 State Rooms and an audio guide, on the summer dates when the palace is not in official use.
Changing of the Guard Away from the Palace Railings
The crowd at the palace gates forms early and never moves. This guided version watches from positions chosen for the view, with commentary throughout.
Afternoon Tea Bus Tour and the Buckingham State Rooms
Tea eaten on board during the 90-minute circuit, then the State Rooms at 4:15pm. The walk from Victoria to the palace is yours to make, 10 to 15 minutes.
Buckingham State Rooms with the Sèvres Porcelain and a Royal Walk
No guard ceremony to work around, so the hours go on the royal walk and on the palace collections: the Sèvres porcelain and the French furniture.
Buckingham State Rooms with Van Dyck, Rembrandt and Canaletto
Four painters hang in these rooms and most listings never name them. Self-guided with an English audio guide; no guide and no transport included.
Changing of the Guard with a Headset, in a Group of 15
A group of fifteen that moves between vantage points as the ceremony does, with a headset so the commentary carries over the band and the crowd.
The Royal Mews: the Working Stables and the State Coaches
A working stable, not a museum: the Windsor Greys and Cleveland Bays live here, and it still arranges every road journey the King makes.
Tower of London Day Ticket with the Crown Jewels and Line of Kings
The Yeoman Warder tour is inside this ticket, not sold separately, and leaves every 30 minutes. So is the Line of Kings in the White Tower.
Tower of London Tickets with the Yeoman Warder Tour Times
The free Beefeater tours leave every half hour, and the last one goes at 2:30pm in winter. Arrive late and you miss it. Full opening hours by season here.
Westminster Abbey Reserved Entry, or Guided with a Private Upgrade
The standard ticket gives you the Abbey with an audio guide; the private upgrade puts a guide inside with you and adds the Changing of the Guard.
London Sightseeing with Changing of the Guard and a Harrods Cream Tea
A full London day with St Paul's admission included and the Tower on the full-day option. Two upgrades: cream tea at Harrods, or a London Eye flight.
The King's Gallery: the Public Art Gallery Inside Buckingham Palace
The part of the palace that shows the royal collection to anyone with a ticket, through the pillared portico, with exhibitions that change.
Tower of London Admission with the Medieval Palace and Royal Beasts
A plain admission ticket that covers two parts most visitors walk past: the Medieval Palace where the kings lived, and the Royal Beasts menagerie.
Tower of London Led by Your Own Beefeater, with the Royal Mint
A Yeoman Warder assigned to your small group for the whole visit, not just a handshake, plus the old Royal Mint. Meet at the Group Ticket Office, not the gate.
Thames Cruise from Westminster to the Tower of London
A seat on the river rather than a walk along it, with commentary past Westminster Abbey, the Cabinet War Rooms, the London Eye and Tower Bridge.
Buckingham State Rooms and the Guard, via Lancaster House
The walk explains which ceremony you will actually see, Foot Guards or Horse Guards, then takes you inside the State Rooms with an audio guide.
Ratings collected by Tiqets, Viator, Tripadvisor and Civitatis