Tower Bridge

We had a great time visiting the famous bridge and enjoying its upper level with the glass floors (and the partial mirrors above).
There was a 5-minute queue to get the tickets, but it was worth it.
Included with the ticket is entry to the nearby Tower bridge museum, which is a lovely addition that explains the mechanics behind the bridge.

This was an unexpected gem of a self-guided tour. We purchased tickets in advance which I almost always would recommend because sites like this can limit access. We visited in September 2022 the weekend before the Queen's funeral, so the access pattern was a little different from the usual signage, but it only delayed us a few minutes and all of the staff were extremely polite and helpful.

This is a tour that you could easily blow through in an hour or less, but if you take your time (which we did) and enjoy the views and read about the history, you should plan on a couple of hours to see the exhibits.

The old boilers and pumps were cool to see, but I wish we could have seen the actual working mechanism (even if you don't get to see it work - since openings don't happen randomly). Maybe they already offer a small group tour, but if they don't, they should.

The views from the top were awesome and the glass floor provided some very cool perspective on the river and the bridge itself. It was a beautiful morning so the vistas were awesome. This was also a relative bargain at just over 11 GBP each.

This is (I think) one of London's most beautiful bridges, and with our Travelcards, we were able to get two for one tickets to climb up the North Tower and walk across the upper level walkway. It is enclosed, so weather is not an issue, and there are small windows that open that allow you to get amazing pictures up and down the river. We went at night, so the city was lit up; it was beautiful. There is also part of the floor that is glass, so you can see the road and the river underneath you. We also went just down the road a bit to see the Engine Room and learn more about the history of the bridge and the people who worked it every day. It was fascinating and well worth the extra time. Walking back across the lower level of the bridge (street level) rounded out the visit nicely. This was a very cool stop.

Tower Bridge (not to be confused with London Bridge), is one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of London, and it is a must-visit. If you are able to walk up the steps, I recommend you do that, for you go up a winding staircase from the street level, all the way up to the observation deck level. Along the way, you feel like the engineers and workers who built this wonderful tower and bridge. At the observation area, you are able to see the street and people below through the glass-bottom floor. Very cool. You can walk from one tower to the other, and from one end of each tower to the other end. You then walk downstairs, go outside, and about a block from the Towers, the engines that power the bridge can be seen, and a pretty good gift shop can be visited. The area around the bridge is very lively, with pubs and restaurants nearby, so there are lots of things to do. A must do when in London!

One of Londons most photographed landmarks The Tower Bridge.
We recommend viewing from both sides of the river to see it in all its glory.
If you are lucky you may see it open for a big ship like we did.

Trying to find affordable child friendly things to do in London isn’t easy but Tower Bridge with it’s glass floored walkway was both fun and great value. However, once you’ve climbed the stairs (lift available for wheelchairs & buggy’s only) it’s a very short experience. The glass floor section is only a few meters long, so everyone up there is huddled around this one section and once you’ve managed to find a space to take a pic of the traffic below, you head back down again. We’re we’re only on the bridge for 15mins! You can then visit the engine room but my kids weren’t at all interested in that part of the experience. Overall I’d say it’s worth doing once, just to say you’ve done it as the unique view of the bridge below your feet is quite something.

This visit takes between 30mins- 1hour.
There was plenty of info about how the bridge was developed and built. There was a clear but slightly uninspiring video talking through the process at 2 points in the upper walkways. Lots of photo displays and great views across the river and the Tower of London. The glass floors are fun, mainly because it was entertaining to see lots of grown ups rolling around on them pretending to be scared they might fall through. People also jumping cheerfully on the glass, posing in the air. The engine room was really good, and I especially liked the stories of the people who worked there - some for 40 years, and the joy and pride they took running the amazing hydraulics system to raise the bridge.
Good mix of history and entertainment

Visited on a day trip to London. One ticket covers both a tour of the original steam powered engine room (under the Southernmost part of the bridge) and the overhead non moving part of the bridge, with access gained from the Northernmost tower.

The Victorian engine room is well laid out, informative and easily accessible but it’s mainly of interest to adults who like industrial heritage and anyone seeking the history of the bridge.

The greater highlight for young and old alike, has to be the twin over bridges. Both of these have a large glass floor in them, where the opening bridgedeck and the Thames can be clearly seen below your feet. Although part of the ascent is via a lift, there are a number of steps to climb so check in advance whether this is suitable for you. Views up and down the Thames are lovely (especially on a fine day), and small sliding windows in the glass sides enable photos to be taken from the over bridges without any intrusion into camera autofocus systems.

Well worth a visit, and on this occasion no prebooking was necessary even though some ticketing websites were implying that tickets weren’t available so again, best to check direct with Tower Bridge before travelling

There was a short queue when we arrived and we were soon in a lift being taken upwards. There was a short film to watch when we got out the lift and a guide chipped in with various snippets of info and answered any questions. We were then free to walk along the walkway reading about the bridge and looking at the views. The best bit was the glass floor with the mirrors above so you can look up and see what's going on under your feet! Amazing. We then descended and walked to the engine room. What an interesting history this bridge has. Well worth the entrance fee. I thoroughly recommend this place.

It was satisfying to time our visit with 2 opening and closing moments of the bridge within 45 mins. For the first we looked down on the animated passengers below us on the deck of a cruise ship. They were waving and clapping and one boldly stood on a table to get our attention whilst holding aloft a red sweatshirt. We gazed at them through the glass floor of the viewing platforms as 2 tugs guided the ship through, enjoying their excitement. Then we dashed down the stairs in time to see the bridge raised again for one of the tugs to go back down river.Plenty of photo opportunities and lots of information about construction and running of the bridge over its history. It is disappointing that the engine rooms no longer form part of the main tour.