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2:30 hours at Tower of London , enough time??

Hello.
We are planning to do Tower of London ( 9am ) --- Globe Theatre tour ( noon) - Globe theatre performance show ( 2:30pm)
My worry is that spending 2:30 hours at the Tower of London will be enough or not. I heard that the line for the crown will be really long during summer. But 9am is the first time slot for entrance ticket. I would like to get feedback from world traveler about this plan will work well or not.
And our family loves history by the way, which means that they would like to spend good amount of time at the Tower.

Thank you.

Posted by
8815 posts

If you are at the Tower of London when it opens and go immediately to the Crown Jewels, you won’t have any problems. No one can say whether 2.5 hours is enough for your family.

Posted by
4433 posts

We love to linger and spent almost 6 hours at the Tower. It's a big complex with plenty to see. We spent almost 2 hours just at the exhibits within the White Tower.

Posted by
545 posts

I have been to the Tower of London and the the Globe Theater.

I believe 2.5 hours is insufficient for the Tower. It holds so much history that you would want to soak it in -- sites, presentations and special events. The stones are practically oozing history.

I would recommend a minimum of four hours for the Tower.

The Globe also has an A-plus-level museum, tours and the performances. (I saw a performance of Henry IV Part II). Plus, there are other sites associated with Shakespeare in the Southwark area outside the Globe worth touring. I'd also recommend four hours for the Globe.

Maybe see the Tower and Globe on separate days. They're stellar sites worth the investment of time.

Posted by
1069 posts

Consider skipping the Globe tour. If you'll be attending a performance, you'll have ample opportunity to experience the theatre. Otherwise you may well feel rushed, and not enjoy your day.

Posted by
358 posts

If you are there at opening you will get into the Crown Jewels fairly quickly.

Two and a half hours is a bit tight for most people - I would consider just doing the Tower, have a nice lunch then go to the show.

Posted by
1130 posts

I agree with the advice about skipping the Globe tour. We did the tour last week, and we absolutely loved it, but you will see everything that the tour shows you by attending a performance. The exhibition that is part of the tour is not worthwhile, so you are not missing anything there. Your time is better spent giving the tower the attention it deserves, it is amazing. Also I disagree with Rick Steves about the glamour of the standing tickets for the theater, I highly recommend getting a seated ticket and getting the cushion to go with it. Those seats are hard.

Posted by
13 posts

Last year I was there with my 7-year-old granddaughter, and 2 1/2 hours was about what we spent, including a light lunch at their lovely cafe. We were there mid-May, however, and the lines were manageable for the Crown Jewels -- no lines anywhere else. Have fun.

Posted by
2665 posts

I have visited the Tower on all 4 of my trips to London--the first time I spent about 4 hrs seeing everything in all open buildings including the Crown Jewels, the subsequent visits have been just to spend time with the ravens and poke around a bit, have a snack in the cafe, and those visits were around 2-2.5 hrs or so. The tours led by a Beefeater are not to be missed as they are quite engaging and wonderful storytellers. Perhaps you could just do the Globe performance at 2:30? That would seem ideal, to me.