Tower of London

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2. TowerofLondonTour:History,To-dos,Buy Tickets,BestTourGuides,FreeTour TheTowerofLondontourisanexperiencetorememberastheentirestructureisa landmarkof richBritishcultureandheritage.Itisone ofthemostfamoustouristspotsin London.Touristsfromaroundtheworldvisitthisplacetoobserveallthetraditional practicesthathavebeenhappeningeversincetheTowerof Londonwasconstructed.Itis

3. alsoviewedasasymbolofevolutionbecauseithasbeenawitnesstohowsocietyhas changedovertimeintermsoffinances,artillery,andtrade. This fascinating yet horrifying Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror during the 1070s in the center of his London fortress to proclaim and defend his royal status and power from the Londoners. This skyscraper was built to dominate the minds and hearts of the defeated people. The Tower took almost two decades to be built. The stone used in its makingwasbrought fromCaen, France,bythemasonsthemselves. After thedeathof William,theTower ofLondonkeptonexpandinganddevelopingbythe rulerswhocameafterward.HenryIIIandEdwardIplayedapivotalroleinexpandingthe fortress bybuildingdefensivewallsandsimilarsmalltowers,thusspreadingthecastle. ThemedievalkingsalsoconvertedtheTowerintooneofEngland’sstrongestandlargest concentrictowers.Theyalsoendedupconstructingstunningroyallodging.TheTower became a safespot for allthekingsandqueensduringtimesofwarandtrouble.The royaltieswouldgointohidinginordertoprotectthemselvesandtheirroyalpossessions. Eventoday,itisusedforprotectingtheCrownJewelswiththehelp ofthegarrisonsof the soldiers.However,theTowerendedupsufferingfromfaileddefensesduringthePeasant’s Revoltin1381whentherebelsraninthroughtheopengates. The fortresshasanumberofluxuriousapartmentswherethemedievalmonarchslived. They offeredtheirprayersintheRoyalChapelandkeptanumberofexoticanimals.This placewasusedtohostrulersfromdifferentcountriesinextravagantceremonies.The roomsoftheTowerweremodernizedduringthetimeofHenryVIIIforthecoronationof his new bride,AnneBoleyn.

4. Despitebeingasafespotfortheroyalties,theTowerdoeshaveitsfairshareoftragedies anddeath.HenryVIwasmurderedhereduringtheWar ofRosesin1471whileprayinginhis privatechapel,andlaterEdwardIV,thegreatrivalofHenryVI;hischildrenwerekilledinthis Towerin1483.AnneBoylnwasalsolockedherewhenshewasaccusedoftreasonand adulterybefore beingexecutedbythesword. TheTowerofLondonbecame astateprisonduringtheTudorage,andanyonewho threatenednationalsecuritywouldbesentthere.Untilthe20thcentury,Germanspieswere broughthereandshot. HenryVIII,duringhisreign,orderedthattheYeomanWarderswouldstayandguidethe Towerpermanently.TheYeomanWardersareconsideredasymbolofthehistoricaltowers aroundtheworldandwerepart of themonarch’spersonalguardsandwouldtravelwithhim everywhere.Theguards,tilltoday,carryoutalltheceremonialactivitiesassociatedwiththe Tower,suchaslockingandunlockingtheTowerinaceremonycalledtheCeremonyofthe Keys.Theyweartheirinfamousreduniformduringtheofficialceremoniesandduringthe gunsalutes.TheTowerisnowhometotheresidentgovernor,agarrisonofsoldiers,the Yeoman Warders,andtheirfamilies.

5. The TowerofLondonTourExperience TheTowerofLondonhasalsoplayedapartinliteratureandhistory,andtilltoday,itis contributingtoEnglishhistory.AstheTowerhousesalltheroyalartifactsandcrownjewels, itgivesaveryfleetingexperiencethatallthewars,deaths,andconquestswererealandnot afigmentoffiction.TheTowerofLondontourisanexperiencetobeholdfor aloverof history.

6. Hop on HopoffBus London HowtoGettothe TowerofLondon TherearemultiplewaystogettotheTowerofLondon.Youcangetherethroughthe following: • Hop onHop offBus:Almostall HoponHop offbusesstopattheTowerofLondon. • Public Bus:Busnumbers15, 42,78,100,andRV1cantakeyoutotheTowerof London.

7. Train:LondonBridgeStationistheclosesttrainstationneartheTowerofLondon andisonly 15 minutesawayon foot. • Tube:TheTowerHilltubestationistheneareststationtotheTowerandisonlya five-minutewalkaway. • Taxi:YoucanalwaystakeataxitotheTower.Thefaredependsonthedistance traveled. Watch:Margaret,atourguideandmanagerofFreeToursbyFootLondon,takesyouona virtualwalkingtouroftheTowerofLondon Items YouNeedtoPreparefor the TowerofLondonTour OnlysmalldaypacksarepermittedontheTowerofLondontour.Sinceyou’ll bespendinga fewhoursattheTowerofLondon,youshouldbringcomfortable walkingshoes,awater bottle,andarainproofjacket.Youwillvisita few outdoorareas,andtheweathercanget unpredictable,evenduringthesummer. BestTimetoDo the TowerofLondonTour It’salwaysbesttoremainupdatedabouttheopeningandclosingtimesoftheTower of Londontourtoavoidanyuncertainty.

8. No mattertheopeningtime,youshouldconsidervisitingduringtheweekdayasit’salways crowdedwithtourists.We recommendyouarriveearlyinthemorning,evenonweekdays,as crowdsareexpected after 3 pmoralldayonweekends. SightstoLookOutforDuringthe TowerofLondonTour Once youhaveenteredtheTower,therearenumerousplacesyoucanvisitandlookat variouscrownjewels.A few ofthehotspotsintheTowerofLondonarelisteddownbelow: • TheTowerMint Thisplacewasspecificallyusedtomakecoins fortrade.Theremnantsofthe craftsmanshiparedisplayedhere,andthetouristscanenjoyanumberofactivitiesthatare offeredhere. • TheCrownJewels TheTowerhasbeenusedassafekeepingforalltheroyaljewelssincethe1600s.Thejewels maynot be appealingtosome, butthehistorywhich comes withthemis.

9. MedievalCastles This is the ideal place for all history lovers to understand how life was in the past and how different monarchs lived in luxury. The walls of the castles are the witness to all the events whichtookplacestarting from thereignofWilliamtheconqueror. Otherplaces you can visitin the Tower ofLondonare TheBattlements,theBloodyTower,theWhiteTower,theRoyalChapel,theRavens,the Tower Green,and Scaffold Site,amongmanyothers. HowtoGetTicketsfortheTour InordertobooktheTowerofLondontour,therearenumerousoptionsavailable.Theentire tourlastsupto 60minutes if youarevisitingwithagroupandalmostthreehours if you wanttovisiteveryplaceinthe fortress andlookateverythingindetail. Theeasiestwayistobuyyourticketsonline.Followthelinksbelow.

10. Oneotheroptionistopurchasethecitypass.Thiswillallowyouafullfreedayentryand hasaplethoraofotheractivitiestooffer.Thepasshastwooptionsfromwhichyoucan choose;theLondonPassallowsyoutoaccesstheotherattractionsinthecity.Ithasalist of 80touristspotsyoucanchoosefrom,andtheotherpassiscalledtheGocityLondon ExplorerPass.Itisforthosewhoprefertovisitoneortwoplacesperday.Bothtouroptions are offered attheTower’smainentrance. AnotherwaytobooktheTowerofLondontourisviaatravelguide.If youarenotfondof looking fordirectionsandwaitinginlonglinesandyouhavetotravelwithchildrenandolder people,thenbookingaguideisthemostsuitableoption foryou. The Towerof London Ravens

11. Facts abouttheTower of London ThereareseveralcuriousfactsabouttheTower ofLondon,andweareheretosharesome of themwithyou. • TheTower has ravensthat cannot leave TheravenslivingintheTowerareregardedasitsguardians;theycanbefoundonthesouth lawnandlovetomimicsoundsandplaywitheachother.Mostoftheravenstherehavea nametoo.ItissaidthatCharlesIIinsistedthattheravensshouldbe keptintheTower. • Theceremonyof thekeys is the oldestritual remaining TheceremonyofthekeyshappeningintheTowerisoneoftheoldestritualsthathasbeen goingonforthepast700years.Theceremonyusedtotakeplaceevenduringtheworld warsandthegreatplague. • TheTowercanbehaunted

12. Alot of peoplehavereportedstrangesightingsintheTower.Someof themevensaidthat theyhadseentheghostofAnneBoylnwalkinginthefortress. • The Tower of London has asecret pub Yes,thereisasecretpubonthepremisesoftheTowercalledtheKeys. • TheWhiteToweristheoldestand themostfamous part of the building ThetopblockoftheWhiteTowerwaslastusedin1747,anditsbasementisthoughtto bea torture chamberinthepast. OtherPlacestoVisitNearby: Despitebeingthemaintouristattraction,theTowerofLondonhasmanyotherplacesyou canvisitnearby.Someofthemcanbevisitedonfoot;forothers,youmayhavetouseacab or bus. The mostfamousplacesyoucanvisitare:

13. TheLondon Dungeon Shrek’sAdventure! London HousesofParliament TheLondonEye HMSBelfast TateModern TowerBridge RestaurantsneartheTowerofLondon