Things to visit in London: the Tower of London

Our series of not so traditional walks and tours around London sights and famous locations continue with a visit to the Tower of London and majestic Tower Bridge. Short Let London would like to talk more in details about this legendary place and its history.

The Tower of London is a castle situated on the North bank of river Thames in the central London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the area is also known as Tower Hill. The castle was founded at the end of 1066 during the Norman Conquest, and the White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078. The Tower was used for many purposes, primarily it served as a royal residence, an armoury, a menagerie, a treasury, the home of the Royal Mint and of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. But it is most known for being used as a prison and the peak of its reputation as being a torture and death place was during the 16th and 17th centuries. Some famous figures were put under detention or sent to the Tower for death penalty, like Elizabeth I and Anne Boleyn.

You can get a ticket to go inside the Tower of London and see royal armoury, the prison and the Crown Jewels, or you can just admire an amazing view on Tower Bridge for free, you can even see how the bridge is opening to let the ships pass underneath it. 

To do your visit to Tower Bridge differently, finish your journey by heading off to the financial city of east London, Canary Wharf, and combine the old heritage with cutting-edge modern architecture. Canary Wharf is also called London`s Manhattan, you can just hop on DLR and when the train is going through the different levels and bridges you will feel like you are on the flying car in some futuristic city. This unusual mutual existence of ancient and new styles will make you love London even more. Once you are in Canary Wharf, you can also go to Greenwich, which is only few stops away from there, but you might save it for later as you can spend the whole day in this area and we will talk about it in our next article.

Stations close the Tower of London:

• TOWER HILL (Circle, District)
• MONUMENT (Circle, District)
• TOWER GATEWAY (DLR)
• ALDGATE (Circle)
• ALDGATE EAST (Circle, District, Hammersmith & City line)
   

 

Short Let London wants you to take out the most of your visit to London and will be happy to give you any advice. We will also help you with your short term accommodation, with us you can get a private en-suite apartment for short let in London for reasonable price.