The tower is one of the best-preserved medieval palaces/ fortifications in the world, and it is made even more incredible as it is in the centre of one of Europe’s largest cities. It has a wealth of history that puts it a central place in several centuries of one of the major European powers. And it has an incredible collection of jewels and armour, the equal of nearly anywhere else in the world.

This should all make for a rewarding visit, but for me it really does not. There are several issues, first there is the incredible entry fee £16.50 (€21/ $33 almost twice the controversial foreign visitors rate at the Taj Mahal) I am struggling to think of another cultural site on the World Heritage list that charges so much for entry. The tower can at times seem lost among the larger buildings that surround it, many of these buildings really add to the character of London, such as Tower Bridge or the modern City Hall, however the incredibly ugly concrete hotel at St Katherine’s dock really does detract from the site as a whole. This makes the Tower feel small and doesn’t really illustrate its significance.

The Tower is always busy; there are queues even on dull weekdays in winter, this is to be expected and I always give the benefit of the doubt to busy places as I, like everyone else, am a tourist as well. The tours offered by the Yeoman Warders/ Beefeaters can range from very informative to a cartoon style pastiche of the history that is on display. Also on a personal note I am not particularly interested in jewels and armour so being shuffled past on a conveyor belt is not something that greatly improves the experience for me, but everyone is different.

All in all I am always left feeling that my time and money could have been better spent elsewhere in London, especially in the wealth of free world class museums and galleries, which make this exceptionally expensive city a manageable experience. I would never tell anyone not to visit the Tower, because it is a very important place and worthy of its inscription on the world heritage list, but I just feel that it will only ever disappoint me.