Our third day in London had us visiting the most sinister tourist attraction that London has to offer; The Tower of London. The scene of many executions, torture and prisoners over the years, it set the stage for any teenagers delight. We would spend five hours exploring the Tower of London. We concluded the day by heading over to the Tower Bridge which is another essential London tourist attraction.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to Portugal, the United Kingdom (England and Norther Ireland) and Ireland. This trip was redeemed through American Airlines Advantage and enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Activity City Visit: Touring the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, London, United Kingdom.

We started the day headed for the Tower of London. WT73Jr didn’t fancy getting up early to see the opening of the gate and the ceremony that takes place every day at 9 AM so we opted for an easier wake up. Thankfully, it was a nice pleasant day leaving the Residence Inn by Marriott London Kensington in Earl’s Court’s as we headed for the Underground station to get into London.

The Tower of London:

We arrived to Tower Bridge station and headed through the gates into the Tower of London. This included model lions for the surrounding moat!

Touring the Torture Chambers:

We started in the tour of the Torture Chamber. It was a small area near the entrance where there were sample instruments used to torture prisoners. There was nothing like presenting “The Rack” used to stretch prisoners until they split to an impressionable teenager.

After a poignant stop where all the hanging’s used to occur, we headed over into the main building. The hanging spot is now marked with a glass sculpture representing all of the lives lost.

The Armour Inside the Tower of London:

Once inside the tower, there was every type of weaponry used over the many eras. Junior was thrilled to be able to move through them all.

The higher up we got in the tower, the greater the views were of the Tower Bridge.

After the Tower itself, we wandered over to the Raven display. The Tower of London has a series of black ravens’ that are said to have feasted on the blood of prisoners. The tradition is that if the raven’s leave, the tower will collapse. As sinister as it is, it was enough to keep junior entertained and curious to see if they looked like any different than any other ravens.

The Changing of the Guard at the Crown Jewels:

After the ravens’ display, and a tour of the Crown Jewels (not pictured) we had a look at the changing of the guard outside of the Crown Jewels’ hall. It wouldn’t be England without the beautiful uniforms of the British Armed Forces.

The Tower Bridge:

After a good five hours at the Tower of London, and a stop at the souvenir store to collect a period goblet with swords and crests, we headed out to take a closer look at the Tower Bridge. It’s such a fabulous structure that is unique to London and the World.

We walked over the Tower Bridge, taking in it’s marvellous architecture from an era far gone.

Once over to the other side, the sun was shining on the right angles and we took in a last look. We also had some great over the Thames water views of the Tower of London.

Passing by The Monument:

We headed back over the Tower Bridge, back past the Tower of London over to Monument. It’s an attraction that’s always escaped me whenever I’ve come to visit. We left the Tower of London again and headed into town. We past by the Maltese monument commemorating the wars of times past.

Eventually wandering through newer Westminster and an interesting contrast of neighbourhoods before getting to Monument. Monument is a fabulous column that was in memory of the Great Fire of London in 1666 that demolished two thirds of the city.

We ended up taking the Underground home from Monument Station via the District Line through the afternoon chaos of rush hour.

On arrival to Earls Court, we checked out the main entrance and the business district around Earls Court. It was the usual bustling area of working class London; a neighbourhood I’d visited as backpacker looking for cheap accommodation over twenty years ago.

We headed home for the other half of the breaded chicken dinner and pasta, cooked on the HOB, in the comfort of our suite. We enjoyed it, along with some funny fire alarm messages.

Travels aren’t always exotic, but sometimes meals like this are the best ones you could ever ask for when traveling with family.

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If you’ve visited the City of London, did you visit the famous Tower of London ?

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