Hi friends, welcome back to my Paris and London anniversary series 🙂 On our first full day in London, we grabbed coffee from Notes and then took the tube to the Tower of London, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was another activity I was very excited about because I couldn’t wait to see the Crown Jewels. The Tower of London somehow seems larger than it appears and has so many different areas to explore. I also thought it was neat that it was right in the middle of the city, just like the castle we visited in Edinburgh.
Jon and I got to the entrance around 9:15, grabbed our audio guides, got our bearings, and then made a beeline to the Waterloo Barracks to see the Crown Jewels. There wasn’t a line to enter the exhibit at 9:30 on a Thursday, but by about noon the line looked pretty long. You’re not allowed to take pictures inside, but I loved being able to see over 23,000 beautiful jewels. The Crown Jewels were destroyed or sold at the Tower after the English Civil War and remade or bought back for Charles II’s coronation in 1661.
The exhibit features actual items used during the coronation of kings and queens. The most impressive is The Sovereign Scepter with Cross with a 530-carat Great Star of Africa diamond, the largest cut diamond in the world! Some other highlights of the exhibit include The Imperial State Crown with a 317 carat diamond, The Sovereign’s Orb, The Jewelled Sword of Offering, The Queen Mother’s Crown, and The Prince of Wales’s Investiture Coronet. This link here includes items in the estimated $4 billion Crown Jewels collection. (Pictures below are The Sovereign Scepter and The Imperial State Crown from the Royal Collection Trust website)
There is also footage of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1952 showing all of the jewels in use. In front of the most popular jewels, they have a moving sidewalk like at the airport so people can’t stand in front of the best jewels the whole time. I thought this was quite a genius idea! The only pictures of the Crown Jewels I have is this ornament I brought home with me 🙂
We went into The White Tower next and this was the original castle built by William the Conqueror in the 1070s. The tower is 27m high and was the tallest structure back when it was created, symbolizing the absolute power and strength of the monarchy. The tower then became a prison where torture and suffering were the norm. It is now a museum containing lots of armor, weapons, a chapel, and torture devices including the actual execution ax and chopping block used here.
This was Henry VIII’s suits of armor when he was 24 and 50. People enjoy pointing out the difference in waist lines 😉
This chapel, Chapel of St John the Evangelist, is the oldest one in England dating from 1080.
I loved the views of Tower Bridge and the city in the background.
The Tower of London held a zoo at one point, so you can see sculpted animals throughout the grounds. They even had a chained polar bear that would swim in the Thames. Suffice to say I don’t think the animals fared too well here.
You can also walk along the Wall Walk to get great views of the city, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. There are different exhibits in the towers along the walk that are interesting to read about.
Ann Boleyn was beheaded right here and is buried in the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula behind Tower Hill.
There is a tradition that if the ravens leave the Tower, the crown or Tower will fall. The birds kind of freaked me out, but they are well taken care of here. The current raven’s names are Jubilee, Harris, Gripp, Rocky, Erin, Poppy, Georgie, Edgar and Branwen.
Bloody Tower is named so because of the supposed murder of the 12-year-old Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, in 1483. The theory is their uncle, Richard III, had them killed to clear the way for the throne.
Currently, about 100 people live inside the Tower of London, including the 32 famous Yeoman Warders and their families. Yeoman Warders are also referred to as Beefeaters and it is thought their nickname is derived from their position in the Royal Bodyguard, which permitted them to eat as much beef as they wanted from the king’s table. To become a Yeoman Warder, you need 22 years of military service, to reach the rank of warrant officer, and be awarded the long service and good conduct medal. They give free tours of the Tower of London that are highly entertaining and begin every half hour. I’d definitely come back here to take a tour with the famous Yeoman. It slipped my mind to join a tour, we were so fascinated with our audio guide and wandering around the grounds.
The Tower of London was one of our favorite parts of London and we would highly recommend visiting! Next up we’re heading over to Tower Bridge 🙂
Posts in my Paris and London Anniversary series:
Paris
- Day 1 – Saint Chapelle, the Concierge, and Notre Dame
- Day 2 – Palace of Versailles
- Day 2 – Versailles Garden
- Day 2 – Touring the Versailles Summer Homes
- Day 3 – Louvre Museum
- Day 3 – Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe
- Day 4 – Montmartre & Sacre Coeur
- Day 4 – Musee d’Orsay & Crepes
- Day 5 – Luxembourg Gardens & Eglise Saint-Eustache
- Day 5 – Going up the Eiffel Tower
- Day 6 – Rodin Museum
- Day 6 – Palais Garnier & Galleries Lafayette
London
- Day 7 – Westminster Abbey
A great tour indeed Lyssy. Our best encounter with a Yeoman Warder was at the nearby Paul’s sandwich kiosk. He came up all properly dressed to grab a coffee and pastry, telling all around that this was his “crack” of choice. When we first visited the tower in 1977, there was no moving walkway around the Crown Jewels and you could stand there all day if you wanted. Thanks for sharing. Allan
That’s funny! Paul’s is a great spot. It sure would be interesting to live inside the Tower of London. The Crown Jewels sure are pretty!
I’ve been to London three times and still have not done or seen any of its biggest attractions. I live only a two-hour train ride away too, so it’s shameful. Ha 🙈
It sounds like you had a great tour, and your photos are beautiful.
Thank you!! The Tower of London is definitely worth the cost of admission!
Oh I am pretty sure I would have LOVED to see the crown jewels!
Oh yes! They were fabulous!!
I (embarrassingly) thought the Tower of London would look more like a tower and less like a castle/fortress. Clearly I don’t know anything about it 😂. Also, of all the ways to be executed, I have to admit that an execution axe sounds extremely unpleasant.
Haha I didn’t know anything about it until I started planning my trip! I agree, the chopping block would not be the way to go. I can’t even imagine standing around the block watching other people get executed. Gruesome!!
Another excellent review Lyssy. What a difference a few months make as we were there in January and had the place virtually to ourselves!
Thank you! How amazing to have it virtually to yourselves! There always seemed to be a school field trip wherever we went in Paris and London.
An enjoyable read!! I have not visited in many years but agree that this is one of those attractions that is expensive to enter but well worth the fee. The White Tower is an impressive structure today but it must have provoked real awe a thousand years ago!
Thank you! Definitely worth the fee, this was such a neat place to explore. I agree, it must’ve looked so intimidating when it was first built. It’s still pretty cool and intimidating, but compared to all the skyscrapers and Versailles, it’s not as awe inducing.
You are very welcome! 🙂
Yes, we have lost the scale that these old buildings were built to!
Good choice, the Tower’s one of my perennial favourites.
I can see why it’s one of your favorites! Such a neat place!
Absolutely
Wow there is so much history surrounding the Tower of London, and it is interesting to think about there being a zoo there as well. That is neat that there are still families residing there!
It’s such an interesting place to visit! It would be very cool to live there, although might feel kind of spooky at night haha
Can’t believe I haven’t been to the Tower of London yet. Great post Lyssy, I’ll have to get round to this one of these years.
Thank you! I can’t believe it either! Although I haven’t been to places in NYC like the Empire Statue Building haha.
I like all the pictures you took! It reminds me my old life in the UK… and it was indeed gloomy but very beautiful at the same time 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you! It was such a beautiful place, the gloom kind of added to the mystery of the sight. I loved London!
I knew zero about the Tower of London before this post so I enjoyed all of the detail and history you shared from your visit. I admit to being distracted by whatever tower or remodel is going on in the background of the second and third photo – any idea? I also couldn’t help noticing the suit of armor for a child (really?). And the Tudor style – which I assume is the residences – is one of my favorites. I’ve seen generic versions in America but I’m pretty sure they only get it right in England.
BTW, you can’t live in NYC and not have been to the top of the Empire State Building. “Homework!” 🙂
I keep asking myself why I’ve never visited the inside of Tower of London, perhaps because I’ve seen it too many times from the outside for working opposite it for a while. I’ll have to go one day.
I’d highly recommend going in, it’s such a neat place!