Jewel House
Jewel House
4.5
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Exhibit of the crown jewels within the Tower of London.
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The area
Neighborhood: City of London
From its ancient past as a Roman trading outpost to its 21st century status as the wealthiest square mile in the world, the financial district known simply as “The City” is one of London's most historic and fascinating neighborhoods. Here high rise office towers such as Norman Foster’s Gherkin mingle with Roman ruins and architectural marvels from virtually every era in between, including Christopher Wren's glorious St.Paul's Cathedral, and John Soane's dauntingly classicist Bank of England. This neighborhood is also home to some of the finest restaurants and plushest hotels in Europe, in addition to an assortment of watering holes, upscale shops, and Tube stations. During the week, the City is abuzz with white collar workers going about their business; the weekend sees this area turn into a quiet haven for sightseers.
How to get there
- Tower Hill • 3 min walk
- Tower Gateway • 4 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
26 reviews
Excellent
16
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5
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4
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phat_dawg_21
Alpharetta, GA16,977 contributions
Aug 2022
The Jewel House houses the Crown Jewels, and everyone is in a hurry to get to them. But as you enter the building you pass through a series of rooms which contain displays outlining the history of the monarchy, which we found very interesting. Many people just rush through this area. If you have time, take a few minutes to read the information.
Written September 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grover R
Pensacola, FL22,266 contributions
Dec 2022
One of the highlights of the Tower of London is the Crown Jewels. You have to make plans on your tower visit to come here. Before coming I heard how crowded this could be. However, if you are here in December, there was no line. We could take the moving sidewalks on both sides multiple times to see the jewels. It is great and they are truly amazing. This is something you have to see when you come to London.
Written May 27, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Valletta054
Mosta, Malta389 contributions
The Jewel House is quite a small building, depicting the history of the Parliament on 2 floor. Be aware that you have to climb a narrow staircase to see the exhibition, and then you might be forced to stop, and go down or up, to allow others to pass.
However, being opposite the House of Parliament is a good stop over for a quick look. 30 minutes would be more then enough.
Furthermore, it is quite cheap. It is also included in the London Pass.
However, being opposite the House of Parliament is a good stop over for a quick look. 30 minutes would be more then enough.
Furthermore, it is quite cheap. It is also included in the London Pass.
Written June 3, 2007
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WMIM
Horsham, UK3,201 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
All of the previous five reviews appear to be for 'Jewel Tower' which is part of the old Palace of Westminster, more than two miles away (reviewed separately). They are all wrong, as this review site is clearly for Jewel House which houses the marvellous exhibit of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London (reviewed separately).
You must pay to enter the Tower of London even if the Crown Jewels exhibit is all you want to see there. There is no extra admission charge.
As far as I am concerned this is one of the top five things that anyone visiting London should see. The attraction is so popular that that at weekends, holidays and other busy periods there can be a long wait, but be patient. There is plenty to see and learn as the queue gradually makes its way to the 'main event', where you stand on a travolator which takes you past this astonishing and utterly priceless collection of crowns, orbs, sceptres and other paraphernalia used in past coronations.
When we went on a quiet weekday in December late in the day there was no queue at all and once you come to the end of the travolator you can walk back to its start and go by again.
You will see many famous gems including the Cullinan diamonds and the Koh-I-Noor amongst others. Don't try to count the diamonds on the Imperial State Crown as there are over 2000! The whole thing is absolutely breathtaking.
You must pay to enter the Tower of London even if the Crown Jewels exhibit is all you want to see there. There is no extra admission charge.
As far as I am concerned this is one of the top five things that anyone visiting London should see. The attraction is so popular that that at weekends, holidays and other busy periods there can be a long wait, but be patient. There is plenty to see and learn as the queue gradually makes its way to the 'main event', where you stand on a travolator which takes you past this astonishing and utterly priceless collection of crowns, orbs, sceptres and other paraphernalia used in past coronations.
When we went on a quiet weekday in December late in the day there was no queue at all and once you come to the end of the travolator you can walk back to its start and go by again.
You will see many famous gems including the Cullinan diamonds and the Koh-I-Noor amongst others. Don't try to count the diamonds on the Imperial State Crown as there are over 2000! The whole thing is absolutely breathtaking.
Written April 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dimitris L
Sydney, Australia50,924 contributions
Oct 2018
Jewel House is one of the buildings in the Tower of London. You obviously need a ticket to enter. The Jewel House is where the Crown jewels are kept! And there are a whole lot of them; not just a few! They are magnificent. Unfortunately no photos are allowed inside. This is definitely worth a visit.
Written September 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ProfCoop
Hurst, TX292 contributions
Apr 2016
The Jewel House -- home of the the British Crown Jewels -- is within the grounds of the Tower of London. Our No. 1 tip for visitors is to get the Tower entrance early and when they open, go straight up to the Jewel House. We were able to see the crown jewels several times by riding the moving walk first on once side and then the other, then looking down from the platform. once the crowds begin, that would be almost impossible to accomplish... and there are large crowds and longer lines as the day wears on.
Written August 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cameron P
Manly, Australia657 contributions
Dec 2017
Hang on, you mean the real Crown Jewels? On display? Not replicas? No way! Well WAY! 😱
This was a major highlight of the Tower of London tour and as our 19 yr old said ‘it was more than worth the price of admission alone’.✅
No armed guards, no massive security screening, no overt Uber security at all. The vault doors are also amazingly massive so you know there must be way more hidden security going on unnoticed. Seriously, have a look at those doors! 🧐
This was a great display of an amazingly gobsmacking array of incredibly beautiful things. The crowns, the Cullinan 2 diamond is soooo massive, the Stewart sapphire... the Orb. The maces, the robes... the platters and the 144 wine capacity golden punch bowl... 🤩
The gold work was incredible. The whole Jewel House was amazing. Loved it. A lot.
It’s all displayed brilliantly in a very understated way, which just sets off how magnificent the items are on display. The historical images and stories bring the jewels to life too. Seeing them in real life use, just drives home how real each item is and how old....
Please don’t miss the display if you’re in London. It’s quick and easy to get to and see and very worthwhile.
No photos or videos allowed inside of course so I can’t do justice to the display with pictures, so I tried to do as mum used to tell me... use your words... 😉
This was a major highlight of the Tower of London tour and as our 19 yr old said ‘it was more than worth the price of admission alone’.✅
No armed guards, no massive security screening, no overt Uber security at all. The vault doors are also amazingly massive so you know there must be way more hidden security going on unnoticed. Seriously, have a look at those doors! 🧐
This was a great display of an amazingly gobsmacking array of incredibly beautiful things. The crowns, the Cullinan 2 diamond is soooo massive, the Stewart sapphire... the Orb. The maces, the robes... the platters and the 144 wine capacity golden punch bowl... 🤩
The gold work was incredible. The whole Jewel House was amazing. Loved it. A lot.
It’s all displayed brilliantly in a very understated way, which just sets off how magnificent the items are on display. The historical images and stories bring the jewels to life too. Seeing them in real life use, just drives home how real each item is and how old....
Please don’t miss the display if you’re in London. It’s quick and easy to get to and see and very worthwhile.
No photos or videos allowed inside of course so I can’t do justice to the display with pictures, so I tried to do as mum used to tell me... use your words... 😉
Written December 20, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BigHugh51
Adelaide, Australia3,628 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
This was our second visit to the Tower of London. We knew from our first visit in 2013, that if you wanted to visit the Jewel House, it was best to go as early as possible in the day, to avoid a long wait in a queue. Consequently, we arrived at the entrance to the Jewel House mid-morning and were able to virtually walk straight in.
Once we were inside, there was a slow moving queue waiting to enter the vaults where the Crown Jewels are on display. As has been our experience at many locations, there were some people present who just could not follow the rules. Several people in the queue managed to jump several places in the queue simply by pushing in. Inside the vault area, despite signs stating “no photography”, and the presence of security staff to maintain order, several people attempted to snap away with their phones and cameras. Unfortunately, certain people think that the rules apply to everybody else but not to them!
Within the vault there are moving footways which carry you past the Crown Jewels in their glass display case. This prevents anyone from dwelling for too long in front of the glass cabinet and thereby slowing the movement of people, past the display. If you wish to dwell longer, there are areas behind the moving footways, where you can stand and take a longer look at the displays.
The Jewel House is highly recommended as a place to go to see a unique and unbelievable display of fabulous jewels, jewellery, tiaras and crowns.
Once we were inside, there was a slow moving queue waiting to enter the vaults where the Crown Jewels are on display. As has been our experience at many locations, there were some people present who just could not follow the rules. Several people in the queue managed to jump several places in the queue simply by pushing in. Inside the vault area, despite signs stating “no photography”, and the presence of security staff to maintain order, several people attempted to snap away with their phones and cameras. Unfortunately, certain people think that the rules apply to everybody else but not to them!
Within the vault there are moving footways which carry you past the Crown Jewels in their glass display case. This prevents anyone from dwelling for too long in front of the glass cabinet and thereby slowing the movement of people, past the display. If you wish to dwell longer, there are areas behind the moving footways, where you can stand and take a longer look at the displays.
The Jewel House is highly recommended as a place to go to see a unique and unbelievable display of fabulous jewels, jewellery, tiaras and crowns.
Written November 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alice R
Hobart, Australia8,927 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
Housed in the Waterloo barracks is the impressive display of Her Majesty's "bling". Some of which is still used to open Parliament each year. A priceless experience.
Written March 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard L
New York City, NY171 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
The crown jewels are a must see attraction for any tourist visiting London. The history and craftsmanship of the crowns, scepters, gowns, and jewelry is simply majestic. The tour is very quick and if there is no line, can be done in fifteen minutes. Make sure to stop by as you visit the Tower of London.
Written January 23, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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