My sister and I will be taking a Great Britain tour that starts in London. For free time we will have Tues. from 1pm on and Wed afternoon/eve, then our tour moves on. We'd like to tour the Tower (mostly see the crown jewels). Should we take the Beefeater tour? I'm trying to figure out when we should schedule and line things up so we can see and do as much as possible before we leave.

if you don't take a Beefeater tour you will really be missing out. One problem you face is that it is usually best to get to the Tower just at or before opening time to avoid the lines. With your schedule you can't do that. The good news is that often late in the afternoon - around 2 hours before closing time the lines are shorter.

So that is when I would go - after 3 PM either day.

Don't miss the tour, but also don't call them Beefeaters, the more polite title is Yeoman Warder. These guys are very informative, and more than willing to pose for pictures. I would plan on at least three hours. Also, don't forget that Tower Bridge is nearby.

smueller, thanks for correcting my verbage. I surely wouldn't want to offend anyone.

We'll definitley do the tour. Thanks for the info. I'll be able to better arrange our afternoons.

Get an advance ticket voucher and avoid the long line to buy tickets.

You will still have to deal with the line for the Crown Jewels.

Keith

I agree with Keith, we got the advance ticket voucher and you should have seen the look on the faces in the Queue as we walked past them..... ;-)

Muck

How/where do you get an advanced ticket voucher?

Online tickets for Tower of London:
http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/content.asp?ID=228

We visited the Tower of London on a Sunday in July 2003 with no advance tickets, and we spent only a short time in the queues. Maybe we were lucky, but I think it would have been more trouble to get an advance ticket (unless you can get a discount).

Advance tickets can also be purchased at many London Underground stations.

You did not say when you are going to be in London. The Tower is especially crowded during mid-days in the peak tourism months, which are waning as the fall approaches.

If your nights are free, you might also want to write ahead and try to get (free) tickets to the ancient Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower.

Go to this URL (cut and paste into your browser) for info:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/content.asp?ID=622

Notice that I said "also" write away for these tickets...the ceremony is terrific, but it is no substitute for a Yeoman Warder tour of the Tower, followed by an hour or two to explore the site on your own.

Enjoy your visit!

Dave White
[email protected]

I bought my ticket voucher in the same little office at Victoria Station where I was picking up my London Visitors Pass for the tube.

The line to buy tickets that day in the off season (March) was a block long. There was no line at all to turn in my voucher for a ticket.

Keith

We arrived first thing in the morning and zoomed through the Crown Jewels with no queue at all.

We then took the Y.W.'s tour and were easily done by noon.