Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Victorian bascule bridge completed in 1894, its twin towers connected by high-level walkways and the bridge itself still able to open (raise its road deck) to let tall ships pass, a mechanism used a few times a week and announced in advance on the bridge's website. It's one of London's most recognisable landmarks, distinct from (and often confused with) the plainer London Bridge just upstream.
The Tower Bridge Exhibition takes visitors up into the towers and across the high-level walkways, which include a glass floor section giving a vertigo-inducing view straight down to the road and river below, plus access to the Victorian engine rooms that once powered the bascule mechanism. Simply walking across the bridge at street level is free and gives good views up and down the Thames, including toward the Tower of London and the Shard.
Budget about an hour for the exhibition; walking across at street level takes just a few minutes.
Tower Bridge FAQs
No, they're two different bridges; Tower Bridge is the distinctive Victorian bridge with towers and a raising mechanism, while London Bridge, a plainer structure just upstream, is often mistakenly assumed to be the famous one.
Yes, crossing at street/road level is free at all times; only the Tower Bridge Exhibition, which includes the high-level walkways and glass floor, requires a paid ticket.
Yes, the bascule mechanism still raises the bridge for tall ships several times a week, with lift times published in advance online.
A glass section of the high-level walkway inside the Tower Bridge Exhibition that lets visitors look straight down to the road and river far below.
About an hour to see the walkways, glass floor, and Victorian engine rooms.
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