10 Things You Can´t Miss at the Tower of London

Located on the banks of the River Thames, the Tower of London is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city for that mixture of intrigue and fear that inspires its history.

There is no doubt that it is one of the essential places to see in London during your trip. It has also been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1988. If you want to know everything you can see in the Tower of London, I recommend you read this post and get tickets to the Tower of London in time, so you don't get caught in the bull.

During your visit to the Tower of London you will have the opportunity to see the Crown Jewels of the British monarchy, magnificent pieces of goldsmithing.

In addition to the jewels that Queen Elizabeth II of England usually used in her public appearances, you can also see badges, crowns, swords, scepters and other objects of great value that are used in different events and ceremonial acts, such as:

• St. Edward's crown: it is the most important of the royal collection and the one used to crown the monarchs in Westminster Abbey.
• The Imperial Crown of State: it was made for the coronation of Queen Victoria and is the one used for the opening ceremony of the British Parliament.
• The Scepter of the Dove and the Scepter of the Cross: held by the monarch at the moment of her coronation.
• The jeweled sword of the Offering: created for the coronation of George IV, it is also used in the coronation ceremony of the kings.

The White Tower is an icon of London that has stood for almost a millennium. It is located in the center of the Inner Ward and, over time, has served as a royal residence, prison and armory. It is so nicknamed because of the white stone that was used for its construction, which gives it such a shiny and beautiful appearance.

Inside the White Tower you can see two very interesting places:

• Line of Kings: one of the first exhibitions held in the world. It dates from the seventeenth century and King Charles II presented this collection of weaponry to the public in order to promote his newly established monarchy after the English Revolution.
• St. John's Chapel: it is located on the second floor of the White Tower. It was built in the late eleventh century for use by the royal family while they lived in the fortress. It is a beautiful example of Norman church architecture.

The Tower of London was built by King William the Conqueror in the 10th century to protect London and to watch over shipping traffic on the River Thames. Its reputation as a fortress remains unchanged, as it was several times besieged but never taken.

During your visit to the Tower of London you can learn about its role as a fortress, explore its impregnable defenses and imagine what it was like to be a soldier in those days with the mission of defending this all-important stronghold.

Don't be surprised if you see soldiers guarding the Queen 's House or Jewel House. You may even run into the famous Beefeaters who have guarded this place with great zeal since Tudor times and who now give guided tours of the Tower of London.

During your visit to the Tower of London you will enter the chambers of two English kings, Henry III and Edward I, who in the 13th century expanded the defenses of the fortress and also built a luxurious new palace inside.

This Medieval Palace is composed of the Wakefield Tower, St. Thomas Tower and Lanthorn Tower. Inside you can see fantastic recreations of the rooms inhabited by the monarchs during their visits.

For example, in the Tower of St. Thomas you can see a recreation of the bedroom of King Edward I with a small chapel. But where I advise you to open your eyes wide is in the Lanthorn Tower as there is a curious collection of rare objects dating from medieval times.

In addition to being a royal residence and fortress, the Tower of London was also used as a prison and scaffold for the executions of those who had been convicted of treason or other reasons.

This is one of the most chilling parts of the visit because during the tour you can follow the steps of those condemned to death in that place.

Death in the Green Tower (located west of the White Tower) was a "privilege" reserved for those of high rank or for those who had great popular support and could not be executed in front of the crowds. Some of the people who perished here were:

• Anne Boleyn
• Catherine Howard
• Queen Jane Grey

Next to the Green Tower you will find The Queen's House, a half-timbered cottage known for being the place where Queen Anne Boleyn spent her last days before being executed.

However, you may also be surprised to learn that this was the site of the trial of Guy Fawkes, a Catholic revolutionary who participated in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 to kill King James I, who refused to grant some religious tolerance to Catholics in the kingdom.

The name already gives you a clue that this was one of the least recommended places to be in the Tower of London.

It is called the Bloody Tower because it is associated with the disappearance and presumed death of the child king Edward V and his younger brother Richard in 1483. Both were confined in this place by order of their uncle the future King Richard III and some time later mysteriously disappeared leaving the way free to the throne.

Another of the most famous prisoners locked up in the Bloody Tower was Sir Walter Raleigh, the favorite privateer of Queen Elizabeth I of England to attack the Spanish Empire before her fall from grace. You will be able to see his cell as it was during his multiple imprisonments here before his execution for treason.

Another of the most sinister parts of a visit to the Tower of London, along with the Bloody Tower or the Green Tower, is the exhibition on torture in Lower Wakefield Tower.

The period between the 16th and 17th century was a time of extreme religious and political turmoil in England, which resulted in a multitude of executions and torture for its inhabitants.

There is evidence that almost 50 people suffered physical and mental torment in the Tower of London for practicing the Catholic religion, to force them to confess to acts or inform on others before being taken to the scaffold. In this exhibition you can see some of the elements of torture that were used in the tower

Isabel's Traveler Tip

This exhibition makes your hair stand on end, so if you visit the Tower of London with children or if you are a sensitive person, it is best to avoid it to avoid having nightmares.

The most famous inhabitants of the Tower of London are its beautiful black crows. Did you know that there is a legend circulating since the time of King Charles II that states that if these crows were to disappear from the Tower of London, it would collapse and with it the whole kingdom?

The English take this superstition very seriously and therefore make sure that there are at least seven crows roaming the gardens. So, if you pay a visit to the Tower of London, you will definitely see them. However, they also take some extra precautions and so they clip the birds' wings so that they can't wander off.

In any case, the crows at the Tower of London are very well cared for and fed by a "Ravenmaster" and even in recent times several crow chicks were born here as part of the breeding program that takes place at the Tower of London.

Did you know that in the Tower of London there was a menagerie? They were there from the 13th century until the 19th century, when they were moved to Regent's Park Zoo.

The function of the menagerie was not only to entertain the royal family and their guests by watching exotic animals (there was even a polar bear!) but also to guard the Tower of London itself. That is why the animals were placed in strategic locations near the middle tower and the moat.

Today you can see some sculptures depicting those wild animals (of which the famous "Beefeaters" were in charge) and the spaces they occupied.