Tower of London

On the north bank of the Thames in central London, the Tower has anchored the city for nearly a thousand years. Its White Tower was raised in 1078, right after the Norman conquest of England, and for the next nine centuries this was the stronghold of English royal power: fortress, palace, prison, treasury, and execution ground in turn. These stones have witnessed it all: the two young princes who vanished inside these walls, Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey beheaded on Tower Green, the reign of Bloody Mary, and the ghosts visitors still report today. The Crown Jewels live here still, guarded by the Yeoman Warders and, by legend, six ravens who must never leave. Late October brings a Halloween program that leans into the Tower's darker centuries; the rest of the year, spring and early autumn give the best odds of a clear day on the ramparts.