If you are in London, The Tower is a must-see! Built as a royal palace and defence system, The Tower of London is easily one of the most famous castles in the world and is now a World Heritage Site attracting more than 2 million visitors a year. The castle has a grim reputation for being a ghostly place of torture and death and is also rumoured to have once housed a grizzly bear but fiction aside, one cannot simply overlook its rich fascinating history.
If you’re looking to visit the legendary tower, there are various accommodation options to choose from, from affordable guest-houses to luxury hotels such as the likes of Berjaya Hotels & Resorts.
Within the tower’s walls you will also discover the history of a royal palace, an armoury and a powerful fortress. You will have the chance to been shown around by bearded Yeoman Warders (official guards of the Tower) and will be delighted to learn of the wild and exotic animals. Witness magnificent sculptures of polar bears, lions, kangaroos and elephants that once inhabited the Tower in 1200’s, making it the first London Zoo, remained there for 600 years. While wandering through this reinstated historical landmark, you will discover the priceless Crown Jewels, not all sinister and of considerable beauty, on display which are worth more than twenty billion pounds. There are over twenty-three thousand five hundred jewels there today.
If you are looking for entertainment, leave it to a Beefeater to tell you bloody tales of execution and despair. Why not learn the legend of the Tower’s ravens and place your feet upon the ground where famous people breathed their last? As luck may have it, you will reach the armouries and get a chance to admire and grip their superb collection of amour, swords, long bows and firearms.
The Tower may hold darkness but it is far too enchanting for one to not enter. This post-World War II Tower is regarded as one of the very few medieval buildings in- tact and promises a thrilling experience!
Varuna Dayaratne is a creative nomadic travel writer, writing under the pen name, Damon Starky. He is well informed and experienced on a wide range of interests that would connect to the needs of any type of traveler.
