The Tower of London is a historic castle with an infamously bloody past. Originally built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, this complex includes several buildings including the Royal Armouries collection and the Crown Jewels, defensive walls and even a moat. It’s not surprising that this is one of the most popular tourist attractions in London. On our last trip to London, our children were 10 months, five and seven and thoroughly enjoyed the Tower. Visiting the Tower of London with kids was a wonderful family outing.
Getting to the Tower of London
We traveled to the Tower of London by Underground to the Tower Hill station. From the station, the Tower of London was a short walk. The London Underground is an efficient way for families to travel, and kids under 11 ride free.
How to Tour the Tower of London
We booked our Tower of London tickets online and showed our receipt for at the ticket booth. After entering the Tower, we were greeted by one of the Yeoman Warders, commonly known as the Beefeaters, who began our extremely informative tour that focused on Tower of London history. Among other things, the tour highlighted the execution of two of Henry VIII’s six wives on Tower Green – Anne Boleyn in 1536 and Catherine Howard in 1542 – and the history of the ravens in the Tower of London. Over 500 years ago, King Charles II declared, “If the ravens leave the tower, the kingdom will fall…” and ruled that at least six ravens must be kept onsite at all times. Our whole family enjoyed our Tower of London guided tour.
Our tour guide
One of the Tower’s ravens
- Kid Facts: King Charles II’s superstition is not one to be tested. Seven ravens are always kept at the Tower – six plus one spare. The ravens are cared for by the Tower’s Ravenmaster, and their wings are clipped so they can’t fly away.
Visiting the White Tower With Kids
The 11th century White Tower was the keep of the castle and is the most iconic image of the complex. The White Tower now holds the collection of the Royal Armouries and St. John’s Chapel, which was built for William the Conqueror. Expert warders provide guided tours of the White Tower.
The White Tower
- Kid Facts: St. John’s Chapel is the oldest church in London. The White Tower was almost destroyed in 1940 during a World War II bombing.
Visiting the Crown Jewels
The Crown Jewels of England have been displayed in the Tower of London since the 17th century and are protected by armed guards. No photography of the jewels is permitted.
Guarding the Crown Jewels
- Kid Facts: The Crown Jewels are owned by Queen Elizabeth II and not the government.
During our wall walk, our boys enjoyed exploring the inner battlements that served as protection for the castle.
The Tower of London is also a fantastic place to view the Tower Bridge.
View of Tower Bridge from the Tower of London
Why We Loved the Tower of London
We regularly tour a museum or historic site in less than two hours, but we spent the better part of a day on our tour of the Tower of London. We arrived close to noon and ate ice cream (possibly twice!) but did not stop to sit down for lunch until about 4:00 p.m. because there was so much to do and see. There was a good deal of standing and listening the whole afternoon, our boys were fascinated and did not complain. While we brought a stroller for our daughter, we parked it for much of the day and predominately used the carrier instead. A visit to the Tower of London definitely requires a few hours but is a site not to miss when visiting London.
London has so many fun family museums, and we can’t wait to go back and check out more! Make sure to check out our blog posts on London, including Our First Family Trip Abroad, Five(teen) Fun Family Attractions, Five Fun Family Museums, Five Fun Family Parks and Sample Itineraries (to come).
Every so often, we encounter a place that is so fabulous for those traveling with kids that it is worthy of being featured on its own. For more fabulous locations, please check out our other Spotlight features!
14 comments
This is actually the number one place I suggest people to visit when in London. It’s a great day out, plenty to see and do, and perfect for kids!
It is! Glad you enjoyed as well.
We visited the Tower of London earlier this year. See the crown jewels and everything there was to offer was wonderful. So much history surrounded by modern.
I loved visiting the Tower of London and this was a lovely re-visit. Thanks!
This looks so fun! I hope to take my son there next year 🙂
I’m sure he would love it!
I would go so far as to say that the Tower of London is the number one must see place in London. It’s a place with such a fascinating history and with so much idiosyncratic ‘Britishness’ to it that it’s worth paying the admittedly high expensive fee! And yes, kids do love it too 🙂
Looks like a wonderful place! I would love to take my family to London some day!!
The place looks wonderful. I would love to know about the history of the place. BTW, are the ravens kept here till date?
There is so much history that I could only just touch on some it, At least seven ravens are always onsite and cared for by the Ravenmaster.
How awesome is this?!!? My husband was born in England! We love London! Cant wait to take the kids now that they are older!
The tower of London looks like a pretty majestic place to visit! I didn’t know that it houses the Crown’s jewels, which belong to the queen. That’s an interesting fact!
The Tower of London tops my list of must visitplaces in London city mostly because of the Crown Jewels. I missed out on touring the place as the tower as it was closed for the day. So explored the outside instead.
I remember walking past it when I went to London. I wanted to pay this a visit but they were closed at that time 🙁 I’m glad to have seen what it was like through your post. UK is just full of history which makes it my favourite country in the world.