The Tower of London sells one adult ticket at 38 pounds and asks you to add 3.80 to it. The price on the booking screen is 41.80 pounds, and the 3.80 is an optional donation that is switched on by default. Everything else on this page, including the cheapest way in and the one early start worth paying for, follows from reading the ticket page properly.
The Tower’s own advice is that it is quieter in the afternoons, after midday, and that two to three hours is enough. That is the whole plan: do not queue at ten with everyone else.
What Tower of London tickets cost
These are the prices on Historic Royal Palaces’ own ticket page, the charity that runs the Tower. Each ticket is shown with and without the donation.
Adult, 18 to 64: 38.00 pounds, or 41.80 with the donation. Children aged 5 to 15 are 19.00 and 21.00. Young people aged 16 and 17 are 19.00 and 21.00, and ID may be asked for. Over 65s, full time students aged 18 and over with a student card, and disabled visitors are 30.30 and 33.40. Children under five are free and need no ticket. A disabled visitor’s carer or companion is free.
Groups of 15 or more are 35.00 each, with no donation option.
Anyone on Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance can book a one pound ticket, for up to four people in a household, with documents shown by one of them. These must be booked online in advance, and the Tower says many dates are sold out, so a date with no one pound tickets has not necessarily got none later. Residents of the borough of Tower Hamlets visit for one pound as well, on the day from the ticket office, with proof of address.
The membership sum
Membership of Historic Royal Palaces is advertised as unlimited entry from 65 pounds a year, covering the Tower, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace. Two adult visits to the Tower alone cost 76 pounds without the donation, so a second visit already costs more than membership. The Tower says “from”, so check the tier that applies to you, but for anyone who will come twice in a year it is the cheaper route and for anyone who will see all three palaces it is not close.
Opening hours, and when to go
The Tower publishes its hours by date, and they change through the year, so the page you want is the one on the day. On Friday 2 October 2026 it opened at 10am, closed at 5.30pm, and admitted until 4.30pm, with the last Yeoman Warder guided tour, which is included in the ticket, at 3.15pm. The Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula is a working chapel and closes on some days, which it did that Friday.
Go after midday. The Tower says afternoons are quieter and recommends allowing two to three hours. That fits a half past one arrival comfortably before the guided tour cut off, and it fits lunch first.
The 1pm tour is cancelled on gun salute days. Salutes are fired at 1pm, 62 rounds unless otherwise stated, the Wharf closes at least an hour before, and Yeoman Warder tours start again at 1.30pm. If a tour is the point of your visit, check the salute dates.
The Wharf, the riverside walk along the Tower, is open daily from 7am to 7pm, and it closes at 6pm on Wednesday 7 October 2026.
The experiences worth the extra money
Three upgrades are sold on top of admission, and they differ in what they buy.
The Opening Ceremony experience is 62.00 for an adult, or 68.20 with the donation, and it includes your admission. You enter early, watch the Opening Ceremony, and are first in line when the Crown Jewels exhibition opens, skipping the admission queue. That is 24 pounds above the standard ticket for being first through the one room everybody queues for.
The Ravens experience is an early morning session offered on Wednesdays and Fridays, and also skips the admission queue. The Keys Club experience runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays: a 45 minute talk from a Yeoman Warder and access to the Keys Pub, added to a standard ticket. Both are adult experiences, and the Tower publishes the current price at checkout.
If your day is built around the Crown Jewels, the early entry is the only way to see them without a queue. If it is built around anything else, go after midday and pay nothing extra.
Getting there, and what is nearby
The Tower sits at the eastern edge of the City, beside Tower Bridge, which is free to cross and worth timing for a bridge lift. The restaurants around London Bridge are the obvious lunch before a half past one start, and The Shard is the view if the afternoon turns out to want height.
Tower of London
- Address
- Tower of London, London EC3N 4AB
- Nearest
- Tower Hill
- Hours
- Published by date. On Friday 2 October 2026, 10am to 5.30pm, last entry 4.30pm, last Yeoman Warder tour 3.15pm. The Wharf is open daily 7am to 7pm
- Booking
- Online in advance, or at the ticket office. One pound tickets must be booked online in advance
- Price
- Adult 38.00 pounds, or 41.80 with a voluntary donation. Over 65s, students and disabled visitors 30.30. Children 5 to 15 and young people 16 to 17 from 19.00. Under fives free. One pound tickets for named benefits and for Tower Hamlets residents
- Standing
- Run by the independent charity Historic Royal Palaces, which receives no ongoing government support
How to get in
Allow two to three hours. The Tower says it is quieter after midday. The Chapel Royal is a working chapel and closes on some days.
Where to go next
Tower Bridge is next door and free to watch from the road, and The Shard is the height alternative across the river.
The best views in London ranks the lot by what you have to arrange, and central London in Zone 1 covers what sits inside the same ring.
Questions we get asked
How much are Tower of London tickets?
An adult ticket is 38 pounds, or 41.80 with the optional 10 per cent donation. Children aged 5 to 15 and young people aged 16 and 17 are 19 pounds, or 21 with the donation. Over 65s, students and disabled visitors pay 30.30, or 33.40 with it. Children under five are free.
How long do you need at the Tower of London?
The Tower recommends allowing up to two or three hours, and says it is quieter in the afternoons, after midday. The last Yeoman Warder tour, which is included in your ticket, left at 3.15pm on the day we checked.
Are there cheap Tower of London tickets?
Yes, if you qualify. Anyone on Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance can book one pound tickets for up to four people, online and in advance. Residents of the borough of Tower Hamlets visit for one pound on the day from the ticket office with proof of address.
Can you skip the queue at the Tower of London?
Three experience tickets skip the admission queue. The Opening Ceremony experience, 62 pounds for an adult including admission, lets you in early and first to the Crown Jewels. The Ravens experience runs on Wednesdays and Fridays and the Keys Club experience on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Is a Historic Royal Palaces membership worth it for the Tower?
It is advertised from 65 pounds a year for unlimited entry to the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace. Two adult visits to the Tower alone are 76 pounds without the donation, so a second visit already costs more than membership.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 180 in the guide.
Last checked 3 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
