Jewel Tower

The West End


Once part of the royal Palace of Westminster, the Jewel Tower is the only surviving piece of the 1834 fire that engulfed the structure, and it's one of the last remaining secular medieval buildings in London. The museum inside detailing the tower's history is ho-hum, but checking out the exterior architecture makes an interesting enough detour after visiting Westminster Abbey or the Houses of Parliament.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The West End attractions

1. College Garden

0.04 MILES

One of the original gardens within Westminster Abbey, the lovely 900-year-old College Garden was used for growing medicinal herbs and foods for the Abbey…

2. Westminster Abbey

0.09 MILES

A splendid mixture of architectural styles, Westminster Abbey is considered the finest example of Early English Gothic. It's not merely a beautiful place…

3. St Margaret's Church

0.1 MILES

Adjacent to Westminster Abbey is St Margaret's Church, the House of Commons' place of worship since 1614, where windows commemorate churchgoers Caxton and…

4. Houses of Parliament

0.11 MILES

Both the elected House of Commons and the House of Lords, who are appointed or hereditary, sit in the sumptuous Houses of Parliament, officially called…

5. Supreme Court

0.14 MILES

The Supreme Court, the highest court in the UK, was the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords until 2009. It is now housed in the neo-Gothic Middlesex…

6. Big Ben

0.17 MILES

The most famous feature of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) is Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben. A major £61-million…

7. Churchill War Rooms

0.28 MILES

Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill helped coordinate the Allied resistance against Nazi Germany on a Bakelite telephone from this underground complex…

8. New Scotland Yard Building

0.28 MILES

The London Metropolitan Police has moved several times since its founding in 1829 but the latest move – to this renovated neoclassical block with a modern…