Tower Bridge is THE most famous Bridge that you will see in most pictures of London. Contrary to mistaken belief it is not called ‘London Bridge’, which looks quite underwhelming. Tower Bridge is much more regal and its two towers stand 213 feet high (65 metres) and looks fantastic for a picture when in London, no matter the weather.
So what is it like to visit inside Tower Bridge? Is it worth visiting? We’ll aim to answer that question for you right here and give you a rating along with some tips on how to get a discount on entry costs.
What’s included in visiting London’s Tower Bridge?
Visiting London’s Tower Bridge is designed to combine history, engineering marvel, and great views of the city. Tower Bridge, an iconic symbol of London, is a famous bascule and suspension Bridge spanning the River Thames so when you visit you get to see how the bridge was first built, and rebuilt and how it rises at road level to allow large ships to pass through the city section of the Thames river.
To summarise what’s included in the visit
- Stairs or lift to the tower to learn about its construction history
- A walk across the bridge and over the Thames River
- Clear glass floor sections where you can see the road and river below
- A scenic view of the city of London from the centre of the river
- Descent on the other side of the bridge’s south tower
- Walk outside down the steps to the engine room underneath at river level
How much does it cost?
The price is £12.30 as of 2023, which is nice and reasonable. However, I visited this using a London Pass so I will have saved money on this and other London attractions.
What you will see as you tour Tower Bridge
Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by the impressive Victorian Gothic architecture of the bridge’s towers, which are built with fantastic stone detail and intricate ironwork.
Walk up the spiral staircase to ascend the north tower or there’s a lift option for those who need it. The bridge’s high-level walkways offer panoramic vistas of London’s skyline, showcasing nearby landmarks such as the Tower of London, the Shard, and St. Paul’s Cathedral.
There is a section of the bridge walk that is made from transparent glass and I’m assured that this is extremely strong and won’t crack when some people playfully but terrifyingly jump on it. This makes some good pictures of the road and river below where you will likely see some visitors creating some Insta-friendly fear pictures. I went for a more casual approach as you can see below.
Inside the Tower Bridge Exhibition, visitors can learn about the bridge’s history and witness the inner workings of its bascules, the massive counterweights that enable the bridge to lift and make way for passing ships.
Interactive exhibits and multimedia displays bring the bridge’s construction and storied past to life to show how it was built and changed over the years to become electrical with less mechanical labour required to open the bridge for passing ships.
If you purchase the full ticket you will also get access to the engine room which means taking a trip outside of the tower amongst the public and entering the engine room down at river level to see the huge wheels and mechanisms that have powered the bridge.
If you are lucky you might witness the bridge in action and watch the bascules being raised to allow a ship to pass through, that’s another more unique type of photo opportunity in itself.
How long does it take to visit Tower Bridge?
Around 1 hour including the engine rooms. The visit can be over surprisingly quickly if you don’t feel the need to read all of the details in its history.
The highlights and best bits
For me, the highlight of the bridge visit was the walk across the middle to see the river views of London. The glass floor is a good addition here to allow you to see beneath the bridge and get a sense of how high you are. It also makes for some great pictures too.
The price is good considering the entry cost of other London landmarks, however, it won’t require a lot of time to visit and there’s not as much to see so this makes sense.
The not-so-good bits
Overall I was expecting more in terms of interactive elements and London history from the Tower Bridge visit. Most rooms don’t have much to see and I thought there would be more hands-on exhibits inside.
There is information on the walls and some TV screens but it doesn’t feel very immersive nor does it have much of a wow factor when attempting to take you back in time.
You will most likely be standing in a queue before walking in. This can vary in times but we went off-peak and it was a 10-minute wait.
The time taken to visit Tower Bridge can be quick and you could get through it in 30 minutes if you skimmed over the details of its construction. The engine rooms were also underwhelming and didn’t hold much interest seeing the large wheels and old boilers.
Our overall rating: 2 out of 5
For me the Tower Bridge was an underwhelming visit, we flew through it pretty quickly and didn’t feel overly immersed, however, it is only £12.30 so the value is good.
I would say if you’re in London for a while then go and check out Tower Bridge since it is iconic but if you have limited time then go see other London attractions instead. It looks better from the outside so that view is enough to capture the best of it.
How to get a discount on Tower Bridge
I visited Tower Bridge with a London Pass and also visited 4 other London attractions and saved around £30 in total entry fees with this discount attraction pass.