London

VIP Tower of London: After Hours Tour & Ceremony of the Keys

Badge of ExcellenceLondon, England

1 hour 40 minutes
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

What's Included

Local English-speaking Yeoman Warder guide
Expertly guided walking tour
Small group of 20 guests maximum
After hours access to the Tower of London
Ceremony of the Keys

Hotel Pick-up/Drop-off
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

35 Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DR, UK
Please meet at the West Gate of Tower of London - 35 Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DR. Your guide will be holding a green walks sign.

Start time

08:30 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Tower of London

1 hour 40 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Not wheelchair accessible

Our group tour utilizes multiple areas that are not wheelchair accessible/mobility friendly. Those with wheelchairs and mobility issues should contact us so we can arrange your visit.
Sites on this tour are subject to occasional closures. If modifications are needed and time permits, we will reach out to you prior to your tour. For last-minute closures, modifications may be communicated at the tour start time.
Walks comply with all local government regulations. You may need to wear a mask or provide proof of vaccination to enter certain venues. Please refer to London government guidelines for the most up to date information
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 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.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

23 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 23 reviews

Awesome tour!

Ronald_F, Apr 2024

Descriptions of Historical events and ceremony. It was quite windy and cold, our guide did a nice job of trying to keep us comfortable and out of wind.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hi Ronald, We're delighted to hear that despite the chilly winds, our guide managed to make your experience as comfortable as possible. It's always our aim to ensure our guests enjoy their visit, even amidst the whims of weather. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and we hope to welcome you back soon for more historical exploration! Best regards, Andrii Walks & Devour Tours

Phenomenal end of trip tour and close out to our trip to Great Britain 🇬🇧

Robert_G, Apr 2024

We did this tour as the final stop on our 8 days in England and Scotland. It was fantastic. Well worth the experience. They only allow photos in a few places, but there are a couple of videos of the Keys Ceremony on YouTube. Clive, the #2 Yeoman Warder of only 35, was our tour guide for about and hour prior to the ceremony and told some behind the scenes stories. You don’t get to see much of the full Tower site on this tour, since most of it is closed, so I would recommend going to the regular tour in the late afternoon for 1.5-2 hours, walk over to Tower Bridge, hit St. Dunstans garden, Leadenhall market and then get dinner before meeting the tour guide. There is VERY little open for dinner after you exit the Tower around 10:30 pm. A VERY cool and unique experience. There are about 15 spots in this tour. The Tower itself has about 50 Keys Ceremony tickets that will watch with you, but doesn’t include the nighttime tour of the castle. You will also be joined by about 35 patrons of the private Keys Pub, which are vip guests of the Yeoman Warders for the evening. I highly recommend this tour, and the inner circle tour of Stonehenge. I was extremely happy with both offerings through Viator, and definitely enjoyed the experiences.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello Robert, Thank you for sharing your experience with us! It sounds like you had a fantastic time exploring the Tower of London and attending the Keys Ceremony. Clive's behind-the-scenes stories must have added an extra layer of intrigue to the tour. Your recommendation to combine the tour with other nearby attractions and dining options is very helpful for future visitors. We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed both this tour and the inner circle tour of Stonehenge arranged through Viator. We appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you back for more memorable experiences in the future! Kindly, Andrii Walks & Devour Tours

Don’t Miss This Tour

Nicole_L, Feb 2024

This is not to be missed. Wonderful semi private tour. Incredibly interesting and a great view of the Ceremony of Keys which is truly something to behold. Our tour was led by Clive one of the Beefeaters and he took us to places people rarely see.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Dear Nicole_L, We agree 😉 It's so nice to hear that you had fun on the tour and enjoyed the company of Clive! It will be awesome to welcome you again! Kindly, Andrii Walks & Devour Tours

Excellent tour

Kelly_h, Feb 2024

Awesome tour - the history is phenomenal. Definitely recommend completing. Value for money. Tour guide was well presented and pick up area easy to find

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Dear Kelly_h, I'm thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the tour! It's fantastic that you found the history so fascinating and that you would recommend it to others. It's also great to hear that you felt it was good value for money and that the tour guide was well presented. Thank you for sharing your positive experience! Best wishes, Andrii Walks & Devour Tours

Poor meeting point instructions

Jennifer_W, Jan 2024

Never found the tour group. According to GPS, the meeting point was north of the Tower & after 30 minutes of walking the area and 40 minutes on the phone with a rep, never connected with the group. Alone in the dark in an unfamiliar city with poor meeting point information made this an awful experience. The rep, Charlotte, was amazing however. She stayed on the phone with me trying to figure out how to get me to the group but to no avail. Other tour companies include a satellite image map with an arrow pointing to the meeting point making it abundantly clear exactly where to meet. This would have been extremely helpful. As it was, I missed the whole thing with no time to reschedule.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Dear Jennifer, Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you encountered during the VIP Tower of London. We understand how crucial clear meeting point instructions are, and we appreciate your feedback. We're truly sorry to hear that you were unable to locate the tour group. Upon reviewing the situation, we found that our coordinator waited for an extended period and made every effort to connect with you, even after the tour had started. We appreciate your kind words about our representative, Charlotte, who diligently assisted you during this challenging situation. Our team is committed to providing exceptional service, and we're pleased to hear that Charlotte's efforts were acknowledged. Please contact us at feedback@walks.org and we will explore more alternatives to make sure you give us another chance to provide an amazing experience. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Kind regards, Jhonas. Walks and Devour Tours.

Read the description carefully!

Jenny_S, Dec 2023

The Ceremony of the Keys was undeniably cool, and our Guide was charming and well-informed... But it's really worth emphasizing that this tour DOES NOT actually go inside any of the Tower buildings apart from the Chapel (where we were for just a few minutes). We paid $350 (for two) to walk around outside in the dark while our Guide pointed at buildings and described things that may have taken place inside the buildings. As we were walking from one spot to another, the Beefeater Guide gestured briefly at a random spot on the ground and said "...and that's where Anne Boleyn was beheaded," and then kept us walking. It just wasn't what I was hoping for.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Dear Jenny, I hope you are doing well. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are glad you found the Ceremony of the Keys great and enjoyed the company of our guide. We consistently aim to offer our guests the best possible experience. In response to your comments about the Tower buildings, it's noted that our tour description explicitly mentions that a guide will lead you through the external grounds of the Tower. We do not intend to deceive our guests, and we sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding. If you do have any questions or concerns, please contact us at feedback@walks.org. Best holiday wishes, Andrii

British Hospitality

4k2nzk2n2b, Dec 2023

Fantastic tour. Sheldon our Beefeater guide was fun and knowledgeable. The only single drawback… it’s very unclear where to initially meet up therefore we were a bit late.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Hello 4k2nzk2n2b, Thank you so much for your feedback and warm words about our guide! Furthermore, we appreciate you bringing the unclear meeting point issue to our attention. We are currently working to resolve it. We're all set to welcome you again on tour. Warm regards, Andrii

Misleading description

Peter_C, Nov 2023

This tour is for history aficionados only! The title is "VIP Tower of London After Hours Tour", which leads one to believe that the tour will allow one to see the tower exhibits after hours. However, the tour only brings the group inside a small chapel. For two hours, the time is spent listening to narratives about historical events.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Peter_C, Thank you a lot for sharing your experience with us. I would like to point out that in no way do we try to deceive our guests about the sites visited during the tour, as they are all listed on our website in the tour description. The tour includes walks to the Tower of London, Execution Square, and Traitor's Gate during which you can indeed hear stories of the famous ghosts who haunt the Tower of London, including those of a few royals and so much more. We truly hope you will give us another chance and visit one of our other tours. Warm regards, Andrii

Fascinating tour - DO THIS!

kclark999, Oct 2023

What a BLAST!!!! The Yeoman Warder that conducted this tour was the best! Basher Briggs was truly entertaining while maintaining the dignity of the Ceremony of the Keys. This after-hours tour is worth the money and time. We learned a great deal of history and details about the Tower and the people that guard it. A standard tour of the Tower is nice, this adds a completely different perspective.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Dear kclark999, Thank you for the review provided! We are extremely happy to hear that you had a great experience with us and enjoyed the tour. We look forward to seeing you with us in the near future! Best, Sasha

Almost Great

Leslie_W, Oct 2023

I rate this event a 3 only because we were preventably unprepared. The tour itself was soaked in history and tradition. The Beefeater guides were excellent. However, we had a hard time finding the meeting spot. The walking was difficult at night on the cobblestones and at times, brisk. There were no benches. For the price, I was expecting a bit more coddling. A better description of the physical effort would have helped. Not for anyone unstable on cobbles or who can't walk fast. Finally, this was advertised as a small group. Our group was only 20 for the tour, but at the end, we joined about 80 more people. Again, a better description would have helped my opinion. Still glad we went...the time in the chapel was special.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Leslie_W, Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and we're glad to hear that you found the history and tradition of the tour interesting and that the Beefeater guides made it an excellent experience for you. We apologize for the difficulties you faced in finding the meeting point. We always strive to provide clear directions, including text, photos, and Google Maps links, to assist our guests in locating the meeting point. All our guides and coordinators wait at the meeting point with the Walks or Devour flag. In order to find the meeting point in time, we ask our guests to arrive about 15 minutes earlier. Regarding the physical demands of the tour, we appreciate your input. We do our best to offer accurate descriptions of our tours' physical requirements; however, we provide "walks" tours, which require lots of walking and minimal transport involved. As for the group size, we typically keep our groups small, but it's important to note that we can't control the actions of other companies or groups in the areas we visit. For the tour you visited, there were 19 people booked, and the group size remained the same until the end of the tour. Your comments are valuable to us, and we appreciate your feedback. We hope you'll consider joining us again, and please feel free to reach out to us at feedback@walks.org if you have any further suggestions or thoughts on how we can enhance your experience. Thank you for choosing Walks Tours, and we look forward to serving you in the future. Best, Sasha

Tower of History

Robert_S, Oct 2023

Best trip I have ever had. Memorable in every respect. Our guard and guide, Barry, was superb. He knew it all and took pride in his work. His background and knowledge made the Tower come alive.

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Dear Robert_S, Thank you for the review provided! We are extremely happy to hear that you had a great experience with us and enjoyed the tour. We look forward to seeing you back in the near future! Best, Sasha

A truly one off experience

Georgina_W, Sep 2023

Possibly one of the best experiences for those who love history and pageantry. Put this on the bucket list if you ever visit London.

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Dear Georgina_W, Thank you for the review provided. We look forward to seeing you again soon! Best, Sasha

Best tour ever

Jay_M, Aug 2023

Our guide was very knowledgeable, friendly, and entertaining. Lots of stories and antidotes. We highly recommend taking this tour if this is a first time visit.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Dear Jay_M, Thank you for the review provided. We are so glad to hear that you learned new information on the tour. We hope you had a great time not only with us but also in the city. Best, Sasha

Nighttime tour of The Tower of London Ceremony of the Keys

DavidScott_F, Aug 2023

Tour by knowledgeable Yeoman Warders and observation of The Ceremony of The Keys. Highly recommended

Response from Host, Aug 2023

Dear DavidScott_F, Thank you for the review provided! We are delighted to hear that you have wonderful memories from the tour. We hope you enjoyed London to the fullest and look forward to seeing you again with us! Best, Sasha

Beautiful Tour

Stephanie_L, Jul 2023

Loved our guide (a Beefeater that lives on the property), the architecture, the history, and the ceremony. The tour was quick and interesting and made me want to go back to learn more.

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Dear Stephanie_L, Thank you for the review provided. When we read such comments, we understand that all our hard work has not been in vain. We are very delighted to hear that you had a great time with us and enjoyed every minute of it. We can't wait to see you on one of our tours again! Best, Sasha

Likely to Sell Out