Is there any advantage to purchase tickets for the Tower of London in advance? They can be purchased on-line and they indicate that you don't have to stand in line Is that only the ticket purchase line?

we went to the T. of L. the day the London Marethon was running, so maybe that is why we did not have stand in any lines.
There seemed to be alot of people there though, and I recall quite a few ticket booths, too.

You can purchase tickets in advance online here: http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/home.asp

You can also save a few pounds with "combination tickets".

With your prepurchased ticket, you can skip the ticket booth and go straight to the main entrance.

We bought our tickets at a tube station and walked to the front of the line.

It has been about 2 years since I visited the Tower, but the advance purchase was a big help.

The line to purchgase tickets had perhaps 300 people in it. There was no line where you redeem the voucher for tickets.

Keith

For those who purchased their Tower tickets at a Tube station, were you able to use the London Rail Offers two for one coupons? Or does one have to redeem them at the Tower itself?

Anybody?

We bought our tickets at a tube station. When we arrived at the tower shortly after opening on a Monday morning there was no line at all so it did not matter to us.

I don't think it's necessary to buy them online, especially if there are additional fees. You can purchase an advance ticket through your hotel concierge, at a Tabac, or other ticket office. Having the ticket in advance is a MUST. You will sail past lines of 11/2- 2 hours, and go right over to the group window and be inside in 2 minutes. Some visitors may get lucky and find no line, but why risk it?

You DO need to book in advance, far in advance, if you wish to attend the Ceremony of the Keys. It is only available to about 30-40 people per night. Please see:

http://www.rencentral.com/jul_aug_vo...nyofkeys.shtml

We were there in March I believe and had no lines at all. We got the audio guide and loved it b/c we could skip the stuff we didn't want to see (all the suits of armor) and didn't have to put up with hokey Beefeater humor (apologies to all the beefeaters out there).

We were there at the end of March, got our tickets at our hotel, got there when it first opened (Sunday a.m.), and went right in.

Afterward we rested/recovered with a nice hop on/hop off bus tour. We took advantage of the ticket for a free Thames cruise the next morning and enjoyed it very much.