Tower of London Tips: How to See the Crown Jewels First (Without the Long Wait)
The Tower of London is one of the top must-see highlights during any London vacation. Because of its popularity, it’s also extremely busy.
If seeing the Crown Jewels is important to you, making a plan ahead of time will keep you from wasting hours of your precious vacation time standing in line.
During our 6-day family vacation to London, we visited the Tower of London as soon as it opened. Then, we followed a strategy that allowed us to see the Crown Jewels with hardly any wait at all.
Here’s how we did it, along with tips for visiting the Tower of London with kids.
Go Straight to the Crown Jewels (Don't Save Them for Later)
The Crown Jewels are the Tower of London’s most popular attraction, with the crowds to prove it.
If you’d like to see them, we highly recommend booking the earliest time slot for the Tower of London and heading straight for the jewels upon entering.
With this strategy, we waited mere minutes to get in.
The massive line that we spotted an hour or two later in the day confirmed this was the right strategy!
Our First-Hours Tower of London Strategy
We visited the Tower of London during our 6-day trip to London in May 2025. We were blessed with perfect weather during our trip!
We recommend buying tickets for the earliest time slot available. As of writing this, the Tower of London opens at 9 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, or 10 a.m. Sunday and Monday.
We went on a Friday at 9 a.m. We got there early, and there was already a decent security/entry line forming.
Upon entry, we hightailed it to the Crown Jewels. We were able to get in within a few minutes and enjoy the jewels before continuing to explore the rest of the grounds.
After seeing the jewels, we headed back to the entrance to inquire about taking one of the Beefeaters Tours. One was starting within 30 minutes or so, so we headed to the moat, which is now a lovely garden, and waited for the tour to begin.
After taking the tour, we went inside the White Tower.
And finally, we headed to the Lower Wakefield Tower to see the Torture at the Tower exhibit.
Our Experience Visiting the Crown Jewels
Once we got through security, we had a little wait before the Tower officially opened. It was exciting to see the doors open and the guard standing there.
We visited the Tower of London on Friday, May 2, 2025. Our tickets were for 9 a.m., which is right when they open. We were in line about 30 minutes prior to opening to be safe. That turned out to be wise because quite a line had formed already.
As soon as we passed security and made it through the gate, we walked as fast as we could in the direction of the Crown Jewels.
The line to get in was super quick, so we barely had a wait.
The walk through the exhibit was fairly quick for being such a notable highlight. The Crown Jewels themselves are displayed in a room with a moving sidewalk, so you don’t get a lot of time to look at them closely.
Having said that, they were incredible to see in person.
Don't Miss the Free Beefeater Tour
We absolutely love our Beefeaters Tour at the Tower of London. The tour began in a moat, which is now a garden. The kids thought being in a real moat was awesome. (Who are we kidding? So did I!)
Immediately after we finished viewing the Crown Jewels, we headed back toward the entrance to ask when the next Beefeater tour would be.
One was coming up within 30 minutes, so we waited in the moat area, which is now a lovely garden, until it began.
Taking the Beefeater Tour was my favorite part of visiting the Tower of London.
It was free, but don’t think that means it’s not valuable!
The guide took us through much of the grounds, pointing out major sites along the way and stopping to share the history of what we were seeing.
The tour was both informative and entertaining.
Some of the information was over the kids’ heads, but they were good sports and went along with it.
Is the Tower of London Worth It?
The Tower of London is absolutely worth seeing while visiting London. Not only is it home to the Crown Jewels, but it’s also filled with rich history. It has served as a fortress, a palace, a royal menagerie, and the site of executions of the likes of Anne Boleyn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you take pictures of the Crown Jewels?
No, you cannot take photographs of the Crown Jewels.
Are the Crown Jewels included with admission?
Yes, viewing the Crown Jewels is free with admission to the Tower of London.
Can you visit them more than once?
Yes, you can, but you’ll have to wait in line again.
Should you see the Crown Jewels first?
Yes, visiting the Crown Jewels right after entering the Tower of London is a must. The line forms quickly and becomes very long.
How long do you need at the Tower of London?
Plan for at least 3 hours. By the time you get through the security line, see the Crown Jewels, take a Beefeaters Tour, and explore a few sections further, much of your morning will be gone. History buffs could easily spend all day there, but when traveling with kids, we tend to pick a few major must-sees at any attraction and gauge the rest of the day by how they’re doing.
Is the Tower of London good for kids?
Yes, despite being a site of notable high-profile executions, the Tower of London is quite kid-friendly. In fact, there were numerous school groups there on field trips. I will note that the White Tower has a lot of stairs. Our kids, 7 and 9 at the time, managed. (My lower back was not happy, though.)
Ceramic poppies were on display throughout the grounds. They were placed there in honor of the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII. (We were there in May 2025.)
How We Spent the Rest of Our Day
After visiting the Tower first thing in the morning, we crossed Tower Bridge and headed toward Borough Market.
Visiting Borough Market at that time of day was a big mistake. It was so packed that we felt completely overwhelmed and decided to leave and find food elsewhere. We ended up eating at Wagamama instead.
Then, we visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. We did not have tickets, so we just enjoyed seeing it from the outside.
We still had some extra time, so we headed to the Tate Modern after that. Modern art is not our thing, and we found the layout confusing, so we ended up finding a play area for the kids instead.
After that, we called it a day and headed back toward our hotel. There was a Nando’s nearby, so we ate dinner there.
Final Thoughts
Visiting the Tower of London was one of the highlights of our 6-day visit to London. We enjoyed our time there, and it is definitely worth visiting.
Looking for more help with planning your London trip?
If you found this article helpful, you may also enjoy reading about our easy British Museum highlights route.
Curious about whether the Harry Potter Studio Tour London is worth it? Read our take here.
Wondering what kids actually enjoy in England? Read our tween's favorite day trips from London.
