Discover many of London's top landmarks—all in just half a day—on this immersive, multi-part tour. Start with a visit to the UNESCO-listed Tower of London, where you'll have early access, can visit the Crown Jewels, and can upgrade to see the opening ceremony. Next, cruise the Thames River, and depending on the day, either attend the Changing of the Guards or a fully guided walking tour through the vibrant city of Westminster.

Enjoy early access to the Tower of London and beat the crowds
Get up close with several UNESCO World Heritage sites
Listen to insightful commentary about London’s royal highlights from a guide
See a new angle of the city as you cruise along the Thames River
Choose between the Changing of the Guard or a fully guided walking tour of Westminster City

What's Included

VIP early-access tickets to Tower of London
Opening Ceremony at the Tower of London by the Beefeaters (if option selected)
Boat ride on the River Thames
Changing of the Guards (depending on the day)
Guided Walking tour of Westminster City (depending on the day)
Expert, English-speaking guide
Headsets when appropriate, so you always hear your guide

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

1 Tower Hl Ter, London EC3N 4EE, UK
Meeting Point - Walking Tour: Directly in front of the Ticket Office at Tower of London, look for the City Wonders sign. Arriving by tube: Tower Hill Tube Station: Head west turn right towards Trinity Square, turn left onto Trinity Square, Tower of London - 3 min walk

End point

Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA, UK
This service ends at Buckingham Palace

What To Expect

Embark on a captivating journey through London's royal history and iconic landmarks. Begin with an early access visit to the infamous Tower of London, where you’ll see the opening ceremony and be dazzled by the Crown Jewels. Cruise the Thames River aboard a relaxing boat and either attend the Changing of the Guards or explore the heart of London on the Westminster City Walking Tour.

Tower of London

1 hour 15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Thames River

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Changing of the Guard

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Westminster

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Buckingham Palace

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level

Please note that there will be no guiding inside the Jewel House and White Tower at the Tower of London as this is forbidden by the venue.
The Changing of the Guard is subject to changes in date, time and cancellation at the discretion of British authorities. Cancellation due to bad weather or other circumstances is not announced before the morning of the ceremony. When this occurs, you will be provided with a walking tour of Westminster city instead.
Please note that the changing of the guard schedule may change and on different dates we will see either Foot Guards or Horse Guards.
Please note that the Changing of the Guards ceremony is not included if your tour departs from 9am onwards. On these days, you will be provided with a walking tour of Westminster city instead.Due to increased security measures at many attractions some lines may form on tours with 'Skip the Line' access.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

605 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 605 reviews

Great highlights tour

Olga_Z, Apr 2024

Our family had a great time on this tour. We especially enjoyed the early access to the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, which are spectacular. Our tour guide Adrian was very knowledgeable and told us many stories about the history of the monarchs, events at the Tower, and was very engaged with our kids, entertaining all of their questions. After the Tower, we took a ferry to our next stop, during which he continued to tell us about the sights on the Thames via the earpieces he had given us at the start, and we finished the tour by walking around the houses of Parliament and Westminster. Overall I recommend this tour as a highlights tour and crash course in British Royal history. I wish we had a little more time to go into some of the other buildings in the Tower of London besides the crown jewels and/or Westminster Abbey (which isn't part of the tour).

Loved it

Chris_V, Apr 2024

Trudy our guide was excellent!! We saw prince william it was amazing. The early access is a must for the tower and Crown Jewels

Memorable visit

Mervyn_B, Apr 2024

We were escorted in early to the Tower of London by Adrian and were able to see the ceremony of the opening of the gates . Well worth the money and Adrian was very interesting to listen to. I would highly recommend this tour and Adrian as your guide !

A Jewel of a Touring Experience!

Kathy_S, Apr 2024

My husband and I could not have been more pleased with our Tower of London experience! Kudos to our very personable tour guide, Adrian, for sharing his understanding of British history and adding his insights with touches of humor. We were impressed by the depth of his knowledge and his emphasis on safety as we traversed the busy city streets!

History and beauty

Regina_B, Apr 2024

Adrian was incredibly knowledgeable, shared wonderful history, and knew answers to off the wall questions. Highly recommend this tour!!

Awesome Tour

Marissa_N, Apr 2024

Seeing the Crown Jewels b4 the crowds arrived. Adrian was so patient, knowledgeable and informative.

I do not take demands

David_W, Apr 2024

No comments necause you wont allow no comments. I keep getting this email over and over and over. F%&## your se%%lf. we loved the tour so, stop asking.

Our guide was amazing!

Sally_M, Apr 2024

Mark was a great guide! He gave us so much information and told great stories. He even knew the Ravens names at the Tower. He made the entire tour very fun!

A great introduction to London

Shashi_B, Apr 2024

I highly recommend this tour. Starts off with the Tower of London, a quick cruise down the Thames to Westminster. Then ended at Buckingham Palace. Our tour guide Isobel was so friendly and knowledgeable.

Isabel was sweet and...

Erica_N, Apr 2024

Isabel was sweet and gracious! We appreciated her insights throughout the tour. We loved seeing the Tower Bridge and Westminster especially

Great tour!

Alex_M, Apr 2024

Trudy was the best guide! We really enjoyed this experience, 5 stars, 10/10, A++ whatever you want to call it - great time.

Good tour

Nikki_T, Apr 2024

We enjoyed all that we learned on this tour. Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. I wish we would have had more time at the Tower of London to walk around and explore more. Loved seeing the Crown Jewels and all of the history our guide gave us. The boat ride up the Thames was fun and the walking tour through Wesminster was also a great way to learn more about the area.

The best tour to see the historical highlights

Tim_A, Apr 2024

This tour takes visitors in early at the Tower of London and to see the Crown Jewels. Then the River cruise highlighted many beautiful sights on the Thames River. After, walking to further land historical buildings and monuments. The tour guide gave headsets to be able to hear and explained it very well. We highly recommend this small group tour, we loved it!

Trudy was great! Best tour of the week.

Michele_N, Apr 2024

Best tour of our week in London. Trudy was very engaging, lots of great facts, and good stories. Try and request her! She used a headset to talk to us throughout the tour which was wonderful. Definitely book the early tour to see the opening ceremony. We were first 20 people to see the jewels and when we exited the line was 90 minutes long. Book on a day the guards change. Be prepared to hustle from site to site. It is all very closely timed. You will not spend significant time in the Tower of London. You will see the jewels, some of the rooms, and the inner courtyard before moving to Buckingham palace to see the guard change. Definitely recommend!

Great experience

Brian_M, Apr 2024

Excellent tour! Adrian was very knowledgeable and a great guide. The early access and changing of the guard was worth the early start!

Great tour…

Mark_J, Apr 2024

Very enjoyable, informative tour! Guide was extremely well versed in English history and had many informative and interesting stories. Unfortunately one of the tourists lost his phone and our group lost time while he went searching. We had to leave the tour before it ended since it ran past the scheduled time. In the future, recommend that there should be someone other than tour guide available to help out if one guest has special concerns.

Amazing tour for our family!

Jennifer_H, Apr 2024

We had a wonderful tour of Tower of London, cruise of the Thames and walking tour of Westminster. Our guide Mark was wonderful, very knowledgeable and made it fun for our whole family!

Awesome tour!

Elizabeth_T, Mar 2024

The tour was remarkable and so was our tour guide Mark! Definitely recommend this tour to anyone visiting London.

London 101

Leslie_M, Mar 2024

Guy the Guide was AMAZing! Very knowledgeable and entertaining. He timed event perfectly to ensure we made it to our destination on time . The experience was wonderful. The Chicago ladies enjoyed our experience in London.

Fabulous tour

Gretchen_M, Mar 2024

Our tour guide, Linda, brought each location to life with both history and humor. We enjoyed the whole tour and highly recommend it!

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