If you’re looking at things to do in London, you may or may not (but very likely may….) have heard of Tower Bridge. One of the landmark attractions in London, in addition to admiring the bridge from the banks of the Thames, on the Thames or walking across it – did you know you can actually explore Inside Tower Bridge? With views, history and the Instagram famous glass walkway, Inside Tower Bridge makes for a pretty cool experience.
Where is Tower Bridge?
Tower Bridge is found (no surprises here) in London. Located near The City of London and the famous Tower of London, you’ll find this iconic landmark situated over the Thames here.
What is Tower Bridge known for?
Tower Bridge was opened on the 30 June 1894 after 8 years of construction. When it was completed it was the largest bascule bridge in the world and celebrated as a great feat of engineering. You can read more about Tower Bridge history here. Today it is known mostly for its London landmark status and is a must do for everyone visiting London.
What is Inside Tower Bridge like?
Once I had heard there was a glass floor walkway at the top of Tower Bridge, it instantly went on my must do London list. We visited on a Saturday afternoon and our experience went like this:
Purchasing tickets
You can purchase tickets on the spot or you can purchase them in advance online. The tickets are sold for different entry times – e.g. 350pm-410pm slots. We were given a mobile QR code to show on arrival. You can find ticket prices for the Inside Tower Bridge experience here.
Lining up
The lining up process could do with some improvement. Although we had booked our tickets in advance, it didn’t make any real difference to our experience – except, perhaps, if the time slot had otherwise sold out. We were initially put into a different line from people who hadn’t pre-purchased their tickets but then that line was given priority to enter over us and we all had to join the same line inside whether we were buying tickets or showing we had already bought them. It was just very counter-intuitive. Once inside our bags were searched to make sure we weren’t bringing anything dangerous into the Inside Tower Bridge experience. Once we arrived at the counter, we showed the QR code and were given an Inside London Bridge paper ticket to show from then on.
Heading up via stairs
Once we lined up, swapped our tickets for paper ones and headed into the actual Inside Tower Bridge experience, we were given the option of heading to the top via the stairs or the lift. After being told there were things to see on the stairs on the way up we chose this option. On the way up it was really cool to walk among the towers and feel like you’re within a part of history, but the things to see where just signs explaining facts about the Tower Bridge. If you have bad legs you wouldn’t miss too much going via the lift rather than the stairs, but it was cool and interesting to do it this way.
At the top
The top of the Inside Tower Bridge experience was the highlight. When we first arrived at the top of the Inside Tower Bridge experience they were showing old clips of Tower Bridge and of London. There was a staff member there explaining what some of the clips were and ample seating to sit down and enjoy the videos (and rest from the stairs if needed!) This was a great spot to gain a little bit of perspective into Tower Bridge and how much London life has changed in the last 100 or so years.
Glass walkway inside Tower Bridge
After we left the clip viewing section we ventured out onto the pathways. This was the section of the Inside Tower Bridge experience that I had wanted to do – walk along the glass floors at the top of Tower Bridge. There are two pathways here where you walk out across Tower Bridge below. It was really cool to look down and see the cars, pedestrians and boats carrying on as normal below.
The second glass pathway in the Inside Tower Bridge experience was also equipped with a mirror which was really helpful for taking photos. We lay down across the glass and snapped some selfies using the mirror above. Although you don’t need that long at the glass floor of the Inside Tower Bridge experience it was a really cool things to do in London and I would recommend visiting just for the Tower Bridge glass walkways.
The Engine Room
Once we had ventured back down the stairs to the entry point of the Inside Tower Bridge experience, we were directed to follow the blue marking on the ground to the Engine Room. This took us to the base of Tower Bridge where we could walk through the rooms and learn about how Tower Bridge used to operate and the mechanics involved in operating this large bridge. We learnt that Tower Bridge is actually still frequently lifted up and down (2-6 times a day!) and you can find the times for when the Tower Bridge rises here.
Overall I had a great time at the Inside Tower Bridge experience, and although it was a touristy thing to do in London, it was really fun and something I’ll recommend to those who are interested in similar types of activities!
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