Is The Ceremony of the Keys worth the time?

Please take a look at this website and video and judge for yourself if you think it's worth it: http://goo.gl/6OM3L I thought the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace was underwhelming and overrated, so I would not make a special trip to the Tower for a ceremony such as this. But if you enjoy this kind of thing, by all means go for it. BTW, if the above link doesn't work, copy and paste this URL: http://www.trooping-the-colour.co.uk/keys/index.htm

Four guys with guns, one with a flashlight, one in a red jacket. They march around and lock a door. It's at an inconvenient time in a place that's way the hell and gone from anything else you might be doing. It'd be more fun than sitting on a pile of fire ants, but not much.

Been to the Tower 4 different times and only recently saw the Ceremony of the Keys. I throughly enjoyed it. Probably because one young Yank in our group was asked to leave because he wouldn't shut up and was annoying everyone, especially our guide. We had a lovely time in a nearby pub following the visit and then strolled along the water front taking great snaps of the London Bridge, the Beehive, etc.. Each to their own. @Ed why did you sit on fire ants? Brings new meaning to pain in the ass!

If you like history then you would enjoy this. This ceremony has taken place for over 700 yrs and hasn't missed a night even during WWI and II.

I'm somewhat torn on this answer. If you genuinely are pressed for time, or have something else you need to do every evening of your trip, or Britain is experiencing its worst winter in history, or you have absolutely no reason to be anywhere near the east end of London, sure, I could say you can skip the Ceremony of the Keys and still enjoy your trip to England without fear of having missed a life changing event. I think some people hype it too much. But I always have at least one free evening (how many theatre performances can one see in the course of a few days?) and I enjoyed witnessing a historic tradition and taking part in something that the mass of tourists aren't even aware is happening. It's practically free (except for the postage), doesn't take up too much time (and most other sites are closed anyway when it takes place), and most importantly it is unique to London. You can probably see "Jersey Boys" at 50 different venues in the world these days, but you can't see the Ceremony of the Keys anywhere else but the Tower of London.

It's an awful lot of work for not much payoff I dunno. Seems to me that lots of things take lots of time to achieve a short moment. Going to Florida, then all the way to Cape on the off chance that a space shot will blast off, or maybe even does. After a minute, if it goes, its gone. Going all the way to Pisa and the Field of Miracles to stand at a jaunty angle so somebody can take your picture, then swap and take theirs and then leave. While in London taking an hour out of an evening to see an ages old tradition. It all boils down to what interests you. If its your thing, do it. If its not, do something else. Don't know how we here can mind read what you prefer to do, or how important it is to you. Even if it doesn't last too long. BTW - each E-Ticket ride at Disneyland takes less time and has a longer wait than the Ceremony of the Keys. Worth it? Dunno.

If you're interested in "living history", then by all means see the ceremony. The thing to remember is that you're watching something essentially unchanged for hundreds of years (except the name of the monarch): "Who comes here!?" "The Keys" "Whose keys?" "Queen Elizabeth's keys!"

Go Sunday night not much to do.

I decided that if the blitz of London couldn't stop this centuries old tradition, it was worth seeing. And our family thought it was fun and something a little different.

We traveled a long way to see it. It was raining very hard but we had the tickets. After a long wait they made us move back so that tour groups could get in front of us. We were wet, tired, and disappointed.

I agree with Matt. It is a unique piece of history only available once a night at one location. It is not crowded so you don't have a large mob to fight through. While we were waiting we got a wonderful picture of the Tower Bridge all lit up. Have a great time

To me it was worth it. I am interested in English history. It all depends on your interest.

I've been to the Tower, but not the Ceremony of the Keys; just seen the video. I do interpretation in one of the US national parks and get the question, "Is ??? worth it?" My reply is, "I can only tell you what is there, you'll have to decide if it's worth it." Find out all you can about the actual ceremony and the mechanics of doing it and decide what's best for you and yours.

We enjoyed it, but we love British history! This is just one of those little tidbits of formality and tradition that we love. But if you are unsure, go online and watch the video and then decide. On your trip, you can incorporate a lovely day of sightseeing in that area of London and end the day with the Ceremony. It's free, but do send off for your tickets in plenty of time (per the website will explain)