Tower of london

I confess the crown jewels were a strong pull for me to the tower area. However, the tower is so much more and I really enjoyed spending time there. We spent several hours and then came back for the ceremony of the keys in the evening.

If the crown jewels are a top item for you, I suggest getting there first thing when it opens and going immediately to the crown jewels. There was no line. At that time the attendant just allowed me to go back and ride the moving walkway past the jewels a few times, one right after another. I don't know if this is still allowed, but I was glad I was there first thing.

The crown jewels are nice, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again. The rest of the Tower is far more fascinating, in my opinion. Look on YouTube or Netflix for some of the many documentaries about the history of the Tower, I think you'll find it is a fascinating place with lots of history.

I agree that the Crown Jewels were our least favourite part of the Tower (though my Monty Python loving teenagers did amuse themselves with a lot of chatter about the holy hand grenade.)

I will say that we followed the advice from this forum to go directly to the Crown Jewels when the Tower opened to avoid lines and had them practically to ourselves, even in peak tourist season in July. By the time we'd wandered out, a queue was already forming outside, and within the hour it was wrapped around the courtyard.

The Tower of London is fascinating. Read up on it before you go and you'll be amazed. Incredible place. The Crown Jewels are a must see, but don't miss the other historical items of interest there.

I also agree that the crown jewels are worth seeing...when you learn the history of the various pieces, where the individual stones come from, etc., it's fascinating! Unfortunately you cannot buy a ticket for just that...there's a LOT to see in the Tower complex though...make time for more than just the bling!

Agree with others that even though the Crown Jewels were lovely, they accounted for about 15 minutes of our two hour visit to the Tower of London. We went as a family of 4, and were also hoping to visit other royal palaces including Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace (and the London Pass was not going to work for us), and instead of opting for individual tickets to these locations, we became members of the Historic Royal Palaces for 100 pounds (https://www.hrp.org.uk/membership/#gs.MxnBurM) which allowed for "free" visits to these locations and saved us some money, so look into whether that option works better for you than individual tickets.