Within Walking Distance of the Tower of London
36 places on foot, with real walking routes and times
The Tower of London sits where the City meets the river, which makes it a better walking base than it first looks. Tower Bridge is two minutes away, a marina, a Roman wall and the best food market in London are all on foot, and Tower Hill station is a three minute walk for the last train home.
The map
Tap a place to draw the walking route from the Tower of London. Add a few and the page works out the whole stroll.
The list below works without the map.
My walk
Every place, closest first
Showing all 36 places. 30 of them are inside 1 km.
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All Hallows-by-the-Tower
The oldest church in the City, with a Saxon arch and a Roman pavement in the crypt.
6min
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St Katharine Docks
A marina hidden behind the Tower, with yachts, an old Thames barge or two and waterside food.
6min
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Tower Bridge
The bridge everyone means when they say London Bridge. Free to cross at road level, ticketed for the glass walkway on top.
6min
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6min
Tower Hill Memorial
The merchant navy memorial in Trinity Square, naming 36,000 sailors with no grave but the sea.
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Roman Wall at Tower Hill
A surviving stretch of the Roman city wall, nearly two thousand years old and taller than you expect.
8min
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9min
Trinity Square Gardens
The green above Tower Hill station, on the spot where the Tower's scaffold once stood.
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St Dunstan in the East
A bombed out Wren church left as a garden, all ivy and empty windows. The City's favourite quiet corner.
9min
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Bridge Theatre
Nicholas Hytner's modern playhouse beside Tower Bridge, with river views from the foyer.
9min
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St Olave Hart Street
Samuel Pepys' parish church, small and medieval, with the skull topped gateway Dickens nicknamed St Ghastly Grim.
10min
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Potters Fields Park
The lawn between Tower Bridge and City Hall, and the classic picnic view of the Tower across the river.
10min
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11min
Sky Garden
Three storeys of garden and a viewing deck at the top of the Walkie Talkie. Free, but book a slot online first.
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Butler's Wharf and Shad Thames
Cobbles, iron gantries and warehouse names still painted on the brick, just over Tower Bridge.
11min
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St Magnus the Martyr
Wren church that once stood at the foot of old London Bridge, with a model of the medieval bridge inside.
11min
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The Monument
Wren's column to the Great Fire, 311 steps up to the balcony and a certificate when you come back down.
11min
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13min
Lloyd's Building
The inside out building, all pipes and steel and external lifts, still startling forty years on.
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Unicorn Theatre
A purpose built theatre just for children and their adults, on Tooley Street.
13min
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London Bridge
Plain to look at, but the view back at Tower Bridge and the Shard from the middle is anything but.
13min
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13min
Leadenhall Market
A painted Victorian arcade in the heart of the City, and Diagon Alley in the first Harry Potter film.
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HMS Belfast
A Second World War cruiser kept afloat on the Thames, nine decks deep from the bridge to the boiler rooms.
13min
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Bevis Marks Synagogue
Britain's oldest synagogue, lit by candle chandeliers since 1701.
14min
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Wilton's Music Hall
The oldest grand music hall in the world, beautifully half restored down a Whitechapel alley.
15min
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15min
Hay's Galleria
A tea wharf turned riverside arcade, with a kinetic bronze ship where the boats used to unload.
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15min
The Gherkin
The tower that changed the City skyline, best photographed from the lanes around St Andrew Undershaft.
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London Mithraeum
A Roman temple rebuilt where it was found, seven metres under the City. Free, book a slot ahead.
17min
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18min
Royal Exchange
The City's old trading floor, now a courtyard of cafes under a grand portico at Bank junction.
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Southwark Cathedral
London's oldest Gothic church, with a Shakespeare memorial and Borough Market at the door.
18min
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Bank of England Museum
The story of the pound, and a real gold bar you can put your hand on. Free, weekdays only.
18min
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18min
Maltby Street Market
Weekend street food under the railway arches of Bermondsey, smaller and easier than Borough.
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18min
Borough Market
London's great food market, a thousand years old and still the best lunch within a walk of the Tower.
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Old Operating Theatre Museum
Europe's oldest surviving operating theatre, up a spiral stair in a church attic near London Bridge.
19min
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Golden Hinde
A full size working replica of Drake's galleon, tucked into a dock beside Southwark Cathedral.
19min
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The Shard
The tallest building in western Europe, with the viewing gallery on floor 72 and the river laid out like a map.
19min
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Whitechapel Gallery
The East End's contemporary art flagship since 1901, where Picasso's Guernica once hung.
19min
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Clink Prison Museum
On the site of the prison so old it named all the others, down a dark lane on Bankside.
20min
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Guildhall Art Gallery
Victorian paintings above and the remains of London's Roman amphitheatre in the basement.
21min
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21min
Petticoat Lane Market
The old clothes market on Middlesex Street, loudest on Sunday mornings, as it has been for 400 years.
Nothing matches those filters. Try a longer walk or another category.
Walking times from the Tower of London
Real routed walking distances, not straight lines on the map. Tap a walk to see the route.
- The Tower of London to Tower Bridge 508 m · 6 min
- The Tower of London to St Katharine Docks 501 m · 6 min
- The Tower of London to Sky Garden 849 m · 11 min
- The Tower of London to The Monument 856 m · 11 min
- The Tower of London to Leadenhall Market 1.1 km · 13 min
- The Tower of London to HMS Belfast 1.1 km · 13 min
- The Tower of London to The Shard 1.5 km · 19 min
- The Tower of London to Borough Market 1.5 km · 18 min
Distances are real walking routes from TfL's journey planner, measured from the centre of the Tower of London to the centre of each place, so a large site like St Katharine Docks starts a little sooner than its number suggests. Times assume a steady 4.8 km/h and no stops at crossings, which is a touch quicker than TfL's own cautious estimates. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check the official site before you set off.
Walking from the Tower of London: common questions
What is within walking distance of the Tower of London?
36 places worth stopping at sit within 1.9 km of the Tower of London on foot, which is roughly 24 minutes at a normal pace. That includes All Hallows-by-the-Tower, St Katharine Docks, Tower Bridge, Tower Hill Memorial and, a little further out, Clink Prison Museum, Guildhall Art Gallery, Petticoat Lane Market. Every distance on this page is a real walking route, not a straight line on a map.
How long does it take to walk from the Tower of London to Tower Bridge?
About 6 minutes. It is 508 m along the wharf and up onto the bridge approach, and crossing at road level is free.
Can you walk from the Tower of London to Borough Market?
Yes. It is 1.5 km, about 18 minutes on foot, following the riverside path to London Bridge and dropping down to the market on the far side.
How far is the Shard from the Tower of London?
1.5 km, about 19 minutes. Cross the river at London Bridge and the entrance is right beside London Bridge station.
Can you walk from the Tower of London to HMS Belfast?
Yes, but the river is in the way, so it is 1.1 km, about 13 minutes on foot even though the ship looks close from the wharf. Cross Tower Bridge and follow The Queen's Walk west along the south bank.
What can you see near the Tower of London for free?
25 of the 36 places on this page are free to enter or simply out in the open, including All Hallows-by-the-Tower, St Katharine Docks, Tower Hill Memorial, Roman Wall at Tower Hill, Trinity Square Gardens, St Dunstan in the East. Filter the list by "Free entry" to see them all.
Which station is closest to the Tower of London?
Tower Hill is a three minute walk from the main entrance, with Tower Gateway on the DLR right beside it and Fenchurch Street about five minutes up the hill. If you are working out how late you can stay out, check the last trains from each of them.
What is the closest thing to see from the Tower of London itself?
All Hallows-by-the-Tower, 445 m, about 6 minutes on foot. The furthest place listed here is Petticoat Lane Market at 1.7 km, so everything on this page fits inside one afternoon on foot.
Is Tower Bridge the same as London Bridge?
No, and mixing them up is the classic London mistake. Tower Bridge is the Victorian one with the two towers, right next to the Tower of London. London Bridge is the plain concrete one upstream, about a ten minute walk along the river. If you are here for the famous photograph, you want Tower Bridge.
Is it free to walk across Tower Bridge?
Yes. Crossing at road level is free and open at all times, and it is the best free view on this page. The ticket is only for the exhibition inside: the high level glass walkways and the Victorian engine rooms.
Do you need a ticket to see the Tower of London?
Only to go inside the walls, which is where the Crown Jewels, the ravens and the Yeoman Warder tours are. The outside costs nothing: the wharf along the river, the moat, Tower Bridge and St Katharine Docks make a fine free circuit on their own.
Staying out until the end?
Tower Hill and Fenchurch Street are both a few minutes from the Tower. Find out the latest you can leave and still get home.
Plan my journey → Tonight's last trains →Image credits (25 photos via Wikimedia Commons)
- All Hallows-by-the-Tower: Lonpicman, Public domain
- St Katharine Docks: Panhard, CC BY 2.5
- Tower Bridge: Barcex, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Roman Wall at Tower Hill: Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Dunstan in the East: Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bridge Theatre: Lord Belbury, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Olave Hart Street: Lonpicman, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Potters Fields Park: PAUL FARMER, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Butler's Wharf and Shad Thames: Gürkan Sengün, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Magnus the Martyr: Duncan Harris from Nottingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
- The Monument: Eluveitie, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Unicorn Theatre: Krw01, CC BY-SA 3.0
- London Bridge: oyxman, CC BY 2.5
- HMS Belfast: Images George Rex from London, England, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Bevis Marks Synagogue: John Salmon, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Wilton's Music Hall: Wilton's Music Hall, CC BY-SA 3.0
- London Mithraeum: Carole Raddato from Frankfurt, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Southwark Cathedral: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Bank of England Museum: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Old Operating Theatre Museum: The original uploader was MykReeve at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Golden Hinde: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Shard: Colin, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Whitechapel Gallery: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Clink Prison Museum: Sir James, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Guildhall Art Gallery: Elias Gayles from USA, CC BY 2.0