Tower of London: free audio guide, hours and tickets

The Tower of London is the royal fortress on the north bank of the Thames whose heart, the White Tower, William the Conqueror began building from 1078. Over the centuries it was a palace, an armoury, a mint and a prison, and it still guards the Crown Jewels. This free audio guide lasts about 4 minutes and takes you from the White Tower to Tower Green, the ravens and the Jewel House.

What the audio guide covers

Press play outside the entrance or once you are through the gate, and let it walk you round the inner ward at your own pace. It has 6 stops:

Put your headphones on and let the audio lead you from the White Tower to the Crown Jewels. If the signal is weak inside the thick walls, start playing it where you have good coverage, before you go in.

Opening hours and tickets

From 25 October 2026 the Tower is on its winter hours: it closes at 4.30pm, last entry is at 3pm and the last Yeoman Warder tour leaves at 2.30pm. It usually opens at 9am from Tuesday to Saturday and at 10am on Sundays and Mondays, although in some weeks it opens at 9am every day it is open, such as the week of 25 October and from 27 December to 2 January. Winter hours run until 28 February 2027; from 1 March it closes at 5.30pm again. It is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December 2026 and on 1, 4 and 5 January 2027.

Ticket prices, bought online or on the day at the ticket office:

• Adults (18-64): £38, or £41.80 with the optional 10% donation.
• Children (5-15): £19. Young people aged 16-17 also pay £19; ID may be required.
• Seniors 65+, students and disabled visitors: £30.30. A carer goes free.
• Under 5s: free, with no ticket needed.
• £1 tickets: for people receiving benefits such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, for up to 4 people in the household, booked online. Residents of Tower Hamlets can also get £1 tickets at the ticket office.

What to see inside the Tower

Start with the Crown Jewels in the Jewel House, in the Waterloo Block. A moving walkway carries you past the cases, and the staff will stop it if you need a pause; the rooms are kept dim to protect what is on show.

In the White Tower, the Norman keep, you will find the Chapel of St John the Evangelist, the Line of Kings, armour displayed on carved wooden horses, and the Armoury in Action exhibition on the second floor.

Outside, on Tower Green, a glass memorial remembers those executed within the Tower, and next to it stands the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, where Anne Boleyn is buried. Leave time for the walls, the Bloody Tower, the Medieval Palace, Mint Street and the exhibitions on imprisonment and torture at the Tower, and look out for the ravens around the grounds.

The Tower in 5 moments

From 1078: the White Tower. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror built a stone keep on the edge of the city, to control London and to show who was in charge now. Everything else grew around it.

The 13th century: the Crown Jewels. Keeping the royal regalia here is a tradition that probably goes back to the reign of Henry III. Later kings added the rings of walls and towers that you walk through today.

1483: the Princes in the Tower. The boy king Edward V and his younger brother Richard were taken to the Tower in 1483 and were never seen again.

19 May 1536: Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII’s second wife was beheaded inside the Tower walls. Lady Jane Grey, the Nine Days’ Queen, was also executed within the Tower.

Every night: the ravens and the keys. The ravens are cared for by the Ravenmaster, and legend says the kingdom will fall if they ever leave the Tower. When the visitors have gone, the Ceremony of the Keys locks the fortress up for the night.

Getting there and accessibility

The Tower of London is at EC3N 4AB, beside the Thames. The nearest Underground station is Tower Hill, on the District and Circle lines, about 5 minutes on foot.

It is a historic site, with spiral staircases, cobbled paths and low doorways, and wheelchair access is limited. The Jewel House has level access, a platform lift takes you into the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, and free wheelchairs are lent on entry, first come, first served; they cannot be booked in advance. There is no lift or ramp to the Battlements, the Bloody Tower or the Imprisonment at the Tower exhibition, and the lift in the White Tower only goes down to the shop in the basement. Lighting is low in the Jewel House, on the Battlements, in the Bloody Tower and in the Torture at the Tower exhibition. Assistance dogs are welcome, and there are also toilets in the Salt Tower and the Cradle Tower.

More London audio guides

About 300 m away, down by the river, is Tower Bridge, the bridge that opens to let ships through; inside, you can walk its high-level walkways, 43.5 m above the Thames, with a glass floor.

The other great chapter of London is in the west, at Westminster, and you can get there without changing trains: Tower Hill and Westminster are on the same District and Circle lines, 7 stops apart. From Westminster station it is a short walk to Westminster Abbey, and across Westminster Bridge, about 450 m away on the other bank, turns the London Eye, the 135 m wheel. You will find the rest in our free London audio guides.

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