My tips for visiting the Tower of London

Like anyone who's lived in London for a few years I have my own list of things you Must Do if you're visiting.  You should do a walking tour, visit a museum and a park, take a boat trip down the Thames, check out the views from on high at the Shard or London Eye, enjoy afternoon tea, see a show in the West End, visit a market and walk the South Bank.  

Also on that list is the number 1 tourist attraction in London.  Many people will suggest that you avoid the tourist spots and focus on seeing the "real" London.  But, tourist spots are tourist spots for a reason and the Tower of London is the epicenter of London and British history, it is real London. 

A Winter Walk

Today is Boxing Day and we are still in full-on sprawl around the living room, watch TV, eat tons of food, and keep a cocktail in your hand mode. 

The sky is a clear blue and the sun is out, so I think a walk is in our future.  

In the mean time, here are some pictures from a walk we took last week. 

We crossed over tower bridge to see the ice skaters at The Tower of London.

We then popped into a pub for some pie and mash.

My favorite days in London are when we get out and explore. 

Our first stop was a little Christmas Market at The Scoop for some mulled wine.

Tourist posing, pigeons cooing and in the background a 1,000 year old tower.  

We then crossed over my favorite landmark in London, the Tower Bridge.  

"Where's Waldo?!? "

Okay, let's just stop here for a moment.  The picture above has to be one of my favorite photos. 
 This random guy in red and white stripes was just walking along the bridge. 

I wanted to follow him all over London taking pictures. 

By the way, in the UK it's "Where's Wally?"  I prefer Waldo, don't you?
 

On the other side of the Thames is the Tower of London.

It's a must-see if you are visiting London.  

We visited on my first trip here and it's on my list for a return visit soon.

 Apparently, lions were kept in the Royal Menagerie at the tower.

They've set up an ice skating rink in the tower moat.

We decided that just watching was a much safer option than actually participating.

The Shard is almost ready to open and is now an ever-present part of the London landscape.

  

It was now time for a quick pub stop.  With a name like that, how can you pass it up?

I'm starting a new blog trend here. 

Instead of perfectly lit and edited pictures of wonderful food, 

I'm just going to post the aftermath of some really great grub.

These are the remains of a chicken and chorizo pie with mash.

It was go-oood!

This church is All Hallows-by-the-Tower is the oldest church in London, founded in 675.

I returned a few days later for a candlelight Christmas service.  It is beautiful inside.

Next to the church you will find one of the cast iron dragon boundary markers for the City of London.

With the sun starting to set we walked back around the Tower.

I never even noticed this iron archer up on the tower until I looked at my pictures. 

I think the best views of The Shard are from Tower Bridge. 

Thanks for taking a walk with me!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Boxing Day!
I'm off to find some peanut butter fudge for Breakfast.

What did you get for Christmas??

xoxo

Selena

Tower Bridge from the Inside Out

*I received two complimentary tickets from Tower Bridge Exhibition.

 

I mentioned in my post yesterday Cheers, Madame! how much we love the Tower Bridge.

Last week we decided to take a much closer look at the beautiful bridge by visiting the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

It was fascinating and you should add it to your London To See List.

After getting our tickets, (only £8 for adults/£3.40 for children) an elevator took us right up to the top level.  We watched a short video, it was time to explore the two walkways.

There are exhibits in each but the real highlight is the views.  The Shard and the London Eye are great for views but this is a terrific option for much less money.

I'm very freaked out by heights so I was concerned that the East and West walkways were open air as they were originally.  But they are now completely enclosed with little windows that open for getting the perfect shot of those London views.

I still can't get over the fact... that is the Tower of London.  THE Tower of London!  Amazing.

This feat of Victorian Engineering opened to the public in 1892.  It's built of 11,000 tons of steel.  The stone and granite is just for looks.  It's so interesting to see how it was made.  It took 400 workers eight years to build the bridge.

Your visit will only take an hour or so, depending on how long you want to linger over those views.  It's great value for money and it's going on my list of things to do when we have visitors. 

 

 There is something so beautiful about this steel structure.  I love the steel beams and rivets and the power behind it.  But yet, it's just so pretty and graceful.  One of my favorite features is the blue with red and white accents.  The bridge was originally green and only painted with these festive colors in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee.

The final stop is the Engine Rooms.  This suspension/bascule bridge is the only one on the Thames that opens to let ships pass.  It was originally powered by steam and converted to electricity in the 70's.  The bridge is still raised about 1,000 times a year.  You can check the bridge lift times and coordinate your visit to see this amazing bridge in action.

The Tower Bridge is featured prominently in my blog  (here and  here specifically).

That 2nd link has my very favorite picture, can you guess which one?

I just love her, don't you?

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 *I received two complimentary tickets to Tower Bridge Exhibit for the purposes of review.
All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide. 
 

Exploring South Bank London

*I spent the morning exploring as a guest of southbanklondon.com.

When we lived over by Tower Bridge,

one of our favorite things to do was to stroll along the south bank of the Thames.

The area between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge is one of London's greatest attractions.
So much to see and do. Every time we walked along this route, I fell more and more in love with London.  

So when I received an invite from SouthBankLondon.com to spend a few hours exploring
just some of what South Bank has to offer I was happy to join them. 

I was always a little confused about what the area along the south bank of the Thames is actually called.  So I got a little clarification.  Generally, the area west of Blackfriars Bridge is called South Bank.  The area from Blackfriars Bridge to London Bridge is called Bankside and the area East of London Bridge is called London Bridge. 

On this particular warm day of exploring South Bank we started at the world renowned National Theatre for a behind the scenes look.  

 

Besides the fabulous productions offered by the National Theatre, you can also visit and take a backstage tour (£8.50) or a costume tour (£12.50).  There is a bookshop, bars and restaurants.  They even have a Costume and Prop Hire department.  Can you imagine the period costumes they have?  

The Shed which is a temporary venue in front of the National Theatre that will be open until February 2014.  It's an intimate theatre with 225 seats around a small stage.  A version of Romeo & Juliet for young audiences is running for the next few weeks that I'm hoping to go see.  Tickets are £12 and £20.  They also offer Family Workshops for a behind the scenes look at the production.  

After a ride on the London Eye (which has a separate post), we visited the Southbank Centre.   It's the UK's largest art center and there is always something creative going on.   They are currently celebrating a summer long Festival of Neighborhood through September 8th.  This festival celebrates neighborhoods and what makes them great.  A giant urban garden, allotments along the Queen's Walk, a greenhouse, foliage sculptures and wheelbarrow installation and more are all there for you to enjoy.

 

 London Wonderground is running until September 29th with circus, cabaret and sideshows.  We are hoping to go see Limbo in the next few weeks.  

These are just a few of the many festivals, performances, films, exhibitions and experiences that you can enjoy at South Bank.  Not to mention all of the restaurants and bars.  One of my favorites is Propstore.  It's a summer pop up bar that is built with props and sets from the National Theatre productions.  

 

The opportunities for fun are perfect for a day out in London.

And don't just take my word for it.
Emm in London recently wrote about the murals you see above.   

 What's your favorite find in South Bank?

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  *I was a guest of southbanklondon.com.  All photos and opinions are 100% my own.

As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide.