The best family days out in London and beyond rated by kids and teens
Average K-Rating based
on 23 K-Rating reviews
Initially named The White Tower by its creator William the Conqueror, the Tower of London has been everything from a royal residence to a prison in its time. Its protective surrounding moat gives it a truly medieval feel.
Look out for the six protective ravens surrounding the Tower! Legend states that if they leave, the tower and kingdom will fall. Luckily, other security measures are also on hand: Yeoman Wardens – popularly known as Beefeaters – can be seen standing guard. Join the Yeoman Warder tour to hear their tales of intrigue, imprisonment and torture.
Inside, the Tower of London hosts fascinating historical objects, including the beautiful Crown Jewels! See the armoured Line of Kings and hear fascinating stories of the wild beasts which were kept captive in the Tower.
If you fancy sticking around, at precisely 9:53pm every night you can watch the Tower’s tradition, carried out over the centuries: the Chief Yeoman Warder’s daily ceremony of handing over the keys, including the phrase ‘HALT! Who comes there?’ – that is, providing the Chief Yeoman Warder’s watch doesn’t stop!
I got my kids up at the crack of dawn and drove to the Tower of London where we found it easy to park in the area. There were hundreds of people already there to see the poppies at sunrise but the atmosphere was incredible. It was surreally tranquil and quiet. It was very moving and the kids, though initially reluctant about rising early, soaked up the moment and loved getting up close to the poppies. I recommend a once in the life time dawn visit to the Tower of London to see the poppies. So go to bed early tonight and get a visit in before school or football club – whatever day you go on!!!
The moat of poppies is absolutely beautiful – a one-off piece of art, see it while you still can! We went on Remembrance Sunday and the atmosphere was very moving.
This is absolutely perfect! We did this with our two boys last week and this review is really helpful. Ditto to all the great advice here.
Avoid! The crowds to see the poppies are massive and we waited over an hour in a queue prebooked tickets before we gave up. A waste of £55. We went to the Tate Modern instead.