Tower of London and WM Abbey in 90-100 minutes
 

We have a booking at 10:30 AM for the Tower, a 2:00 PM booking for Westminster Abbey and then 4:00 PM Thames Cruise from WM Pier to Greenwich.

Please give ideas about how we can tour both around 100 min each.

Yes, I know it will "not do justice" to the historical places. But I guess that's better than just taking selfies from outside, right? ;)

So, please send some well-wishing advice my way. :)

Ok, why do you want to visit WMA?

Is it to see poet's corner
and climb to the top of the cupola
If so, that will take about 60 minutes, tens minutes looking at the stained glass and the ceilings and you are out of there.

OK -- tough love here -- give up one or the other! To try and squeeze in The Tower, the Abbey AND a Thames cruise in that short window is absolute madness. And where were you going to fit in lunch?? To do the the Tower any soet of justice you be there until close to 2PM by itself. Question . . . why is your booking at the Tower so late if you are trying to fit in the Abbey the same day??

AND. - why on earth are you taking a cruise to Greenwich from Westminster Pier when you are already out in east London at Tower Pier. Just an awful plan all around :( . . .

just goofy

Just reading that made me exhausted. Check online for best way to get between these places. TFL app, Transport for London, the tube is usually quick as there's no traffic. Can you go earlier to the Tower or is that when it opens? Check it out online and figure out what's of most interest to you. Do that first once you're inside. For me it would be the Crown Jewels. Are you allowing time to eat? You could buy sandwiches and eat on the run.

BTW you don't really have the option of just peeking inside the Abbey -- there is a route one walks and it ain't quick.

You don't say when this trip is, but we walked around this area in late Oct. 2023. Crowds were enormous. We visited WMA (hadn't been inside in 30+ years), and it was wall-to-wall people. Even if you wanted to speed through, it wouldn't be possible.

you could attend a service which tends towards 45 minutes

I did not want to pay the admission price to visit Westminster Abbey, so I attended Evensong for free. Visited it as a church and it was great. Sitting as a member of the congregation (OK most were probably tourists) let me really look at the church and how it was intended to be used. Walked out past everything I wanted to see. Wonderful experience.

Evensong or another service at the Abbey (as well as St Paul's and other churches/cathedrals) is highly recommended - but do note one cannot 'tour' the Abbey or sightsee so services are not a true substitute for visiting

We took a Thames boat ride several years ago from the pier at the Tower but we didn't add an additional stop at Westminster Abbey on the same day. It is just too much to do. There will be plenty of other people touring and when you see the Crown Jewels which are memorable to see you are on a moving walkway past the display, or at least that is how the exhibit worked when I was last there. That is only the Crown Jewels and there is so much more to see at the Tower. I don't recall paying additional fees for a guided tour perhaps it was included in the admission price but you are walking with a guide and a group. They will stop and tell you lots of information and people will have questions, all of that takes time. In Greenwich we had an enjoyable afternoon as there is much to see and do there as well and the boat ride itself gives you an opportunity to see the residential housing along the Thames.

Not arriving at the Tower until 10:30 will mean the Jewel House will have a huge queue. To get into the Crown Jewels in minimal time requires entering the Tower at opening time (9:00 AM everyday except Sun/Mon when it opens at 10AM). By 10:30 the place will be mobbed.

If I remember your plans, you have quite a bit of time in London. Can you move your Tower tickets a bit earlier and your cruise tickets a bit later? If not, I would move Westminster Abbey to another day.

KTravel's post had me going back for a look see. Yes, you are in London for a relatively long time. Why are you trying to squeeze in major sites on the same day that are on total opposites sides of the city?? The Tower and Greenwich are a terrific 'two-fer' since boats go straight there from Tower Pier, andc the Tower+Greenwich wouldmake a pretty full day.

Westminster Abbey simply does not fit in between the Tower in the east end and Greenwich even farther east.

At least you did give up on doing Greenwich and Wimbledon on the same days . . .

Hi, subirnag1965...yes, it's tight BUT show up early (hour??) at the Tower and throw yourself at their mercy. Take a cab to Westminster Abbey and a cab to the river cruise. In the meantime, read up about what precisely you wish to see most at the Tower and go there first! Please report back!

I think you should stick with the original plan & report back here afterward. It’d be interesting to learn if it can be done & how successful, or not, you feel the day was.

Sorry but a taxi makes little sense for either journey. The tube from Tower Hill would be faster than driving through London congestion (if its a weekday), and the Abbey is barely a third of a mile from Westminster Pier.

Re arriving early -- likely not :( They let you arrive inside 30 minutes after your time but from the website:

"You can arrive within 30 minutes of your ticket time (e.g., between 10:00-10:29 for a 10:00 ticket). We are unable to guarantee entry before or after your time slot."

I was surprised during our recent trip to London how much has changed. For main sights (and even not-so-main sights), you need advance tickets, entry time slots, bar codes, QR codes, yadayada, all to regulate the flow of people, but there are still enormous crowds and lines... And we were there outside of high season summer.

We still don't know when this trip is.

It is in just a few weeks - late May. No - I'm not clairvoyant ;) here is her original planning thread https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...dback-1721123/

OK, peace. Changed the Tower tickets to 9 am!

The Thames Cruise was not planned that day and I made a mistake thinking it was. But in any case, I guess now we can take more time at the Tower and queue up for the Crown Jewels.
Going from India, I certainly want to feel the pain by looking at the Kohinoor ;)

janisj I hope you are doing well today. You have been very helpful (despite your despair and angst) to me in planning the trip which starts tomorrow. Thank you so much! :yay:

No despair and angst :) -- just hoping to help you have a great trip.

Some GOOD news for a change LOL With your new ticket time at the Tower you won't have to queue for the Crown Jewels. When you cross the entrance bridge across the moat at 0900 there will be a group forming for the next Beefeater tour. IGNORE that and walk through the Tower directly to the Jewel House. You'll be able to walk right in. There will be just a handful of people if anyone at all. Visit the Jewels. There is a moving walkway that sort of circles the jewels -- but once you've done the loop, you can step up a few steps to a sort of mezzanine where you can spend more time looking at the crowns/scepter, etc.

Then if you want to take the Yeoman Warder tour, walk back near the entrance and hook up with the next one (or not - you are free to wander throughout the Tower complex on your own). The tours are free but do have some small change (£2 is plenty) to tip the Beefeater as the group leaves the chapel at the end of the tour.