Tower of London day itinerary - and St Pauls time?

Looks good to me. Three house minimum at Tower of London is good to see everything. Have not been inside St. Pauls, so am no help to you there. Have fun!!

It depends on level of interest but we spent 6 hours at the Tower.

I think your schedule looks good, especially with teens. Make sure to head to the Crown Jewels first, then tour the rest of the tower.

you might not need 2 hours at Borough Market. Which day of the week? Much of it is closed early in the week.

There is also good food at the Tower if time is pressing.

St Pauls is big. Especially if the teens want to explore or you spend a lot of time in the crypt - easily done. I wouldn't leave it so late.

Sky Garden - good idea.

I think you’d be pushing it leaving only an hour for St Paul’s. It’s big, and the crypts are interesting, too, and require a bit of time. Also, the Air Force chapel closed at 4:00 on the day we were there (last Wednesday), so we only got a minute to see it. We had planned to do that last and stay for a 5:00 service and were disappointed. I didn’t see any indication that it closes regularly before the cathedral itself, though, so maybe it was a one-off. Climbing the dome would take at least half an hour, so if that’s of interest, go earlier.

We bought tickets and walked up without online reservations and got in quickly to St Paul. After St Paul’s and you have time go over to leadenhall market. It’s a cool place to kill some time before the Sky Garden. They are close to each other. If you’re going on a Sunday I think it’s closes early.

To add to hours the Tower only opens at 10am on Mondays and Sundays during June.

Ok, thanks for the input! This will be our itinerary for Thur June 1. We will shorten our time at Borough Market, and plan to get to St Pauls by 3pm at the latest. Can anyone tell me -- do you think it is necessary to buy timed tickets in advance for St Pauls in early June, or can we plan to buy at the door? Timed tickets (especially in the middle of the day!) kind of stress me out! I want to avoid being in a long queue for buying tickets the same day, but wondering if that would likely be the case at St Pauls. Edyer4356 -- when you bought tickets the same day without a queue, was that recent? I'm wondering if your experience is always the case, or if you were there during a less busy season? And thx for the Leadenhall market tip!

Thank you!

my experiences are not recent - pre-pandemic, but I have never had a more than a few people ahead of me and walked up or in to any British Cathedral. Westminster Abbey is different, almost exclusively a tourist attraction now, and of course it isn't a cathedral.

Note that entry ticket windows are entry any time within a 2 hour (or a very few 90 minutes) window and stay as long as you like. 2 hours is a big window.

(I am not Edyer4356, by the way)

Following your thread Laura, and was wondering about the timing of tickets, too, to many of these attractions in London. How strict are the places about the times you have your tickets for? Is there a little wiggle room in the event you don’t get there right at the time you reserved? Nigel, you mentioned 1.5- 2 hours, is that for most?

I don’t see us being that late (hopefully 😊) but it would be nice to not have to rush if we needed to.

The fact that St Paul's sell open dated tickets and annual tickets (the latter are the same price as timed tickets and are what their title says, without any need to prebook) gives you the answer you need. Timed tickets, purchased in advance, are not needed. Their website does not even begin to suggest that they are needed.
They are simply offered as a convenience (a convenience mainly to them, not you).
Although most of my visits both to St Paul's and to Westminster Abbey have been for worshipping (rather than sightseeing) reasons I have always preferred St Paul's to Westminster Abbey- and have never been able to quite put my finger on why, but it somehow feels a more sacred space. At one time I worked round the corner and was a daily worshipper at St Paul's. For a very long time a weekly/twice weekly worshipper.

Your itinerary looks good, especially given you have some places to spend time in case of rain. BTW: the Tate museum is an excellent place to use their public restrooms before crossing the Millennium bridge. Our experiences with St Paul's leads to not needing to pre-purchase tickets. You will be entering the second largest cathedral in Europe so there is ample room for tourists to wander about. NOTE: A number of Harry Potter scenes were taken in the stairwell to the immediate right as you enter the main doors. You will need to purchase a tour to access the area, but we found it to be well worth the expense. Do try and make the Sky Garden especially if a relatively clear shy evening.

We were there the first week of April and waited maybe 10min to get the tickets. This was on a Saturday, and all the schools were on holiday

Thanks so much everyone for the wealth of information! It's greatly appreciated! And hope you enjoy your trip too Mustlovedogs!

You, too, Laura! Hope you all have a blast! Can’t wait to hear of your trip if you decide to post about it.
I had forgotten about trying to get tickets to the Sky Garden. I see on the website that they open up about three weeks in advance. Looks like they sell out quickly. Did you find it difficult to get them for your family? (as someone still recovering from trying to get ceremony of the keys tickets- I hope it’s not as bad 😮)

Hi Laura. We are also planning a trip to London in June with a teenage boy and will be looking to get Sky Garden tickets when they open for us. Something to note – the Sky Garden website mentions that children under 16 are not able to enter Sky Garden after 6pm weekdays. Perhaps a local or someone with more experience can comment on whether this is enforced or not, hopefully not, but just wanted to mention it...

Your schedule looks good.
Just in case you run longer at the Tower of London than you expected, they have a great lunchroom there, The Armories Cafe, serving plate lunches, sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts, coffee, tea, soft drinks. It's OK to spend a couple of hours browsing the Tower, eat lunch there, then browse for another hour or two.
Tip: Don't wait until the lunch crowd hits at noon; get to the Cafe about 11:30 or so if you find yourself doing this.

If you do that, lunch at Borough Market can be moved to another day.

If you find yourself finishing up at the Tower later than you expected, take the Number 15 bus from the bus stop in front of the Tower, ride that to St Paul's, which is not far.
That's the easy way to get from one to the other.

Your river walk can easily be worked in another day.

Mustlovedogs, to answer your question,
"How strict are the places about the times you have your tickets for? Is there a little wiggle room in the event you don’t get there right at the time you reserved?"

The tickets are timed for a reason; to control how crowded it is inside.
This is especially true of the Churchill War Rooms.
If you miss your time slot, you will not be let in.
The Brits are strict about rules.
Why have any rules or timing if they are not enforced?

In Borough Market get over to the Ginger Pig for their sausage roll (if you eat meat). They were the best by far, about 5£ and we shared one, it was big. Not that I couldn’t eat one by myself. PS Lunch time at the market is crowded.

We walked right into St. Paul’s I’m the afternoon, not crowded. On line it said the tours were sold out, but the gentleman told me to go over to the desk with the people wearing red sashes for a tour. The tour and audio guide are included in the price.

Another PS, the bathrooms are down in the crypt as is a very nice gift shop.

Rebecca, thanks for the information. The Churchill War rooms tickets were mainly what I was concerned with. We’d never want anyone to think we are rude and don’t follow the rules. I didn’t know if there was maybe a ten minute grace period, but I’ll keep an eye on my watch while we’re at the Abbey before to make sure we aren’t getting there any later than the stamped time.

I’ll also ask other questions in a separate thread so as not to encroach on Laura’s questions!

children under 16 are not able to enter Sky Garden after 6pm weekdays. Perhaps a local or someone with more experience can comment on whether this is enforced or not, hopefully not,

why would you think that a rule clearly spelt out would not ben enforced?

We got to St. Paul's around 2:30 - 3 on a weekday, and there was no line when we arrived. I bought "advance" tickets about 2 hours our arrival and it saved us a few pounds.

As Nigel said I would hope the times are adhered to otherwise why have any rules for the timing?

Thanks again everyone for ALL the helpful information!! Rebecca - thanks for the your suggestions. I'm trying to not over-schedule us, but despite my best attempts, sometimes it feels that way nonetheless! And Mustlovedogs ... thanks for letting me know about the Sky Garden restriction for kids! Arghh! I didn't know that, and I'm so disappointed.... I just went to try to book an earlier time for a different day, but it's all booked now =( I will keep my eye out and crossing fingers someone cancels on a different day. Also, to answer you question, I got the Sky Garden tickets on Monday, 3 weeks before our desired week. Because of the time difference, I didn't get on to the website for at least 5-6 hours after tickets became available, but there were a lot of ticket/time availability. It seems like it fills up in a day or so after they are released. Much easier than the Keys from what I've heard!

As far as timing for "timed events", it's very helpful to hear from others how strict/not strict all of the different places are. In ordinary life we are a timely family, but with so many unknowns as a tourist, trying to be at a certain place at a certain time in the middle of the day usually goes well, but it can also be unexpectedly challenging and stressful. It's been over 20 years since I've been to Europe, and other than for evening performances, there were never timed tickets to anything, so traveling was a more relaxed experience and I didn't feel like I always had to be looking at my watch. But, I guess this is the new norm, so we're trying to get used to it! =)

Thanks again everyone!

I’m in London now and visited St. Paul’s 2 days ago. We walked right in for 10 am timed tix. There were probably 12 people in the regular/non-advance line. Cathedral was busy but didn’t feel over crowded.

Hi
I was planning 100% exact itinerary and somehow found the question you posted-
I also have 9am tickets to the Tower of London, walk across the Tower Bridge to Borough Market for lunch and then the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral and possibly Leadenhall Market . Only difference is that I am solo and not sure where I will go in the evening. How did it all go?

I am looking at getting the open dated ticket through the official website just to have a little flexibility just in case
Where did you end up buying your ticket?

thanks!

open dated ticket to where?

HI Nigel
Through Get Your Guide, they offer tickets on a specific date but there is no time slot that I need to be on time for . Apparently for the same price. It is for St. Paul's Cathedral.
I confirmed with an email this morning as well because it seemed to good to be true.
I know on the official site they have a flexible pass for a little bit more but I went ahead with Get Your Guide

I am also looking at this same schedule for our trip next month. I saw St Paul's has an annual pass for the same cost as a single entry ticket. You do have to pick a time for your pass to begin but then it's good for a year.

There was minimal wait on a Saturday in June when we went. My recommendation would be to buy tickets when you get there for most flexibility (in case you run out of time or want to prioritize other sights instead), or if it is a must do, then I would buy the anytime pass ticket so you are have the flexibility (at the same price) and are not locked into a specific time. We were there for maybe 1 1/2 hours doing the highlights audio tour, climbing the dome, and going down to the crypt.

I was also considering the anytime pass, it is about 7-10 US $ more. But with the way my days work out, it was probably the best day - as far as proximity and flow. (im only going to be in London for about 3 full days before Paris). However Get Your Guide is also refundable so I can make a change to the anytime if I think I need more wiggle room

If anyone has any other recommendations for things (not necessary typical) pls let me know! I have the Sunday completely unbooked and free right now and not sure what to do with it yet.