London Sightseeing – Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge in London has to be a must see place for tourists. This is the most beautiful bridge and the one that lifts up to let the boats through, a must see!

Tower Bridge is in the east side of London next to the Tower of London. Quite often people who have not visited London before think that this is actually London Bridge, but London Bridge is a very plain old bridge a bit further along the river. Actually I think the original London Bridge was sent over to somewhere in the US hundreds of years ago, brick by brick, but I digress!

The main point of interest of Tower Bridge (apart from the fact that it is a spectacular looking bridge) is that the two sides of the bridge open up to let large ships through. If you are around to see it do this then you are lucky. You can see a twitter feed of the when the bridge opens and closes here. It opens and closes approximately 1000 times a year so you may well catch it.

towerbridge

The bridge took 8 years to build and was finished at the end of the 19th century. The design was open to a public competition which elicited 50 submissions, with the winning design being submitted by Horace Jones (who was also one of the judges!).

Tower Bridge – How and When to Go There

The nearest tube station to Tower Bridge is Tower Hill which is on the district and circle lines and from there you can visit the bridge as well as the Tower of London which holds the Crown Jewels. Also while you are in the area, have a walk along the banks of the Thames – there are other attractions in this are that are worth a visit like HMS Belfast and the Royal Armouries.

The best time of year to visit London is in the Summer (May-Sept) but also the spring can have lovely days and you might also see some nice days in autumn. Whenever you go though, make sure that you take an umbrella as any time of the year there could be rain!

The best way to travel around London is to get an Oyster card which you can use on the buses and the underground system (the Tube). If you buy an oyster card rather than getting individual tickets you can save yourself a lot of money. Tubes and trains are frequent and cover the whole of London so you will have no trouble getting anywhere. There are also some nice boat tours that you can take along the river Thames.

Seeing the Workings of Tower Bridge

If you want to see how Tower Bridge works and the history of it’s construction then you can go to the Tower Bridge Exhibition. You can also access the Victorian engine rooms and have access to the high level walkways which give amazing views over the Thames. Entrance to the exhibition is £8 for adults or you can buy a London Pass which gives you free access to a whole host of places for one fixed price.

Other places you can visit nearby with the London Pass include HMS Belfast and the Tower of London – another must see for all London visitors!

 

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