Tower of London later in day?

We found that it got busier and busier as the day progressed. As long as you are ok with the crowds, then go for it.

Thanks Sharon- that's what I expected to hear.

Thanks Tom_MN- we are locked into our accommodations- and we are fine with location. We have 8 nights in London and no way would we want to shorten that! too much to see/do already! Just trying to consolidate our touring schedule to limit back and forth. I've got a few other ideas on how to make this work and may very well end up at Tower at opening time on a diff day.

From what I understand of the Tower website you can now purchase and print your tickets in advance- I would think if it's a voucher it would have instructions for exchanging voucher for ticket- am I reading this wrong? Appears you purchase a ticket with a start date good for 7 days so you are not locked into a particular day.

This is what it says-

If you choose ‘Print at Home’ (currently Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace only), please print out all tickets individually and show at the point of entry, failure to do so will result in delayed entry. Please note we do not operate a fast track entry system, you will need to join the queue to enter the palace.<<

I cannot answer your question about exchanging voucher for ticket, because we always just walk up and purchase our ticket on the day we want to go.

About your original question; yes, its doable to enter the Tower of London about 2:00 and see most everything.
On a Monday in late September, at least you will be avoiding the huge, tremendous crowds that roll through there in July and August.
Because you are going on a Monday and not a weekend, yes, it will be crowded, but not to such an extent that you cannot enjoy it.
That said, I cannot know what tour groups will roll in at that time.
We arrived at the Tower when it opened one morning last May, and were shocked to see 4 German tour buses full of people unloading right behind us. We were slightly ahead of the crush, but the Tower became very crowded as all of the people from those buses filed in.

You said, "Plan would be to see Jewels last."
Absolutely agree. If you must end up skipping something, my own personal choice would be that. I was a lot more eager to get into the White Tower and see that, and also to walk around through the outer walls of the Tower, with all of its turret staircases and rooms.

They will mail you (for free) the actual ticket(s) -- they're pretty and I know it sounds corny but it was exciting to get them in the mail, a tangible sign of my trip! I think I received the ticket within 2 weeks of buying them online from the Tower's website.

We went later in the day and were there as it closed. Had to wait in line to see the jewels for about 20 minutes.

The jewels were nice. Honestly, I thought it was pretty Disney-ish feel to their display. It was also very rushed, being impressed upon to keep moving. I was glad to get out of that part of the site. Be aware, no photographs allowed in the jewels display. Even so, we saw multiple people surreptitiously using their phones and small video cameras. The guards did nothing. So much for rules!

But, that's just my 2 pence opinion.

For me, seeing the White Tower, the scaffold green, the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula and the Traitor's Gate was what grabbed me. That was more about real history. Especially seeing the gate and imagining how many went through it and wondering whether their fate would be swift or not. Either answer was not good... But, Elizabeth 1 also went through and look at how amazing her life was thereafter.

I'd revisit the Tower without a second thought. But, see the jewels, again? Nah...

Wanted to add: What you can print from home is a voucher that needs to be redeemed when you get there. Saves no time at all. As you have to stand in line and the window opens when the Tower opens. That was not clear to me at all when I bought our tickets for our early July visit. I would do what Julie did and get them mailed to your home to really save yourself the time.

Thank you everyone for your input- great advice!

Rebecca- I actually think we have worked things out so we can be there at opening time.

Julie- Great advice- we have plenty of time so we will have them mailed to us. I love that ticket is good for 7 day period- hate locking into specific days/times for touring when I can get away with not.

Leslie- We were there 30 years ago. I hardly remember the Jewels! and to be honest- they are not top priority now either but we will see first now that we plan to get there at opening. Like you we are much more interested in the history.

Sharon- very helpful! You'd think it would say "must exchange voucher" in the online instructions. Guess I am reading it wrong!

So if you have tickets mailed to you, you can skip the line where people are buying tickets? Would you then immediately go to a line where they are checking tickets, or perhaps a security line?

thecarters--I visited last December. Yes, with mailed ticket in hand I went directly to the security line where they check your ticket and look in your bag and then you walk in. There were probably 50-75 people in line 5 min before opening (Sunday morning) but once the staff started checking tickets it moved quickly.

Thanks, Julie.