Tower of London

To be sure, a visitor to London can't miss the Tower. I'd recommend it to everybody. With that said, my own trip to the Tower was marked by a few disappointments. On the day that we went, it was pouring rain. This being London, we decided to not let the rain stop us, and went ahead regardless. The rain does, however, stop the Beefeaters, apparently. Ours took us only to the Chapel, and gave us a brief and nearly inaudible historic summary. Left without a guided tour, we turned to the audio guides, which were great, but lengthy. I knew this attraction would be extensive, but I didn't realize it would take 5 hours! Be sure to leave yourself time so you don't feel rushed. Also, since the day was so wet, we couldn't sit down. Almost all the seating in the complex is outdoors, and these were soaked. My 60-something parents were really hurting by the middle of our stay. While we were visiting, the White Tour housed the Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill exhibit in honor of his 500th birthday. It was a really well-done exhibit, though the thoroughly modern displays detracted a bit from the historic feeling of this oldest part of the tower complex. Plus, it was packed. Be prepared for LOTS of people in that tower, all going up and down narrow stairways together. We did do well to follow previous reviewers' advice and go straight to the Crown Jewels first thing. By doing that section first, we had the jewels almost all to ourselves, which was a great experience. All in all, the Tower is certainly a world-class sight. You may, however, want to check your weather forecast and try to pick a drier day than we did.

The jewels are gorgeous. Go there first so that you will for sure see them, since the line can be long (it does move quickly though). Other than that, very nice place to visit, with lots of room to walk around. Many, many towers. You will not be able to see all of them unless you spend a significant amount of time there.

It was a fun place historically to see, as I studied it some when I was in college. The architecture is remarkable, but the downside is that the tour we went through with the Beefeater tour guide was WAY too morbid. I felt like 75% of what he spoke about was all the people who had been killed in the Tower's history. Overall, it was OK, but I wouldn't recommend going unless you are anxious to find out about the morbid history of England centered around the Tower.