One might expect a single tower, but this actually is an entire complex of buildings that went up over a long period of time. The innermost building was built by William the Conqueror, who entered England in 1066. The crenellations on these buildings really were for defense. But there are walls that go back to the Roman occupation.
There's so much to see here that one should really plan to spend most of a day. The crown jewels are here and they are definitely worth seeing. There's an armoury with all all kinds of armor and weaponry - hard to remember these aren't replicates but the actual items. I saw one suit of armor that looked Japanese, walked over to read the placard - it was a gift from the Shogun of Japan to James I. There's also the house Henry VIII built for Anne Boleyn, and the spot where it is believed she and other people were executed. And the tower where the little princes, Edward IV's sons, were imprisoned and then murdered in the mid-15th century, with the window it is believed their bodies were passed out of marked. Little statues of various animals here and there, because it was a sort of zoo for a time.
And all sorts of other stuff.
You can find better pictures and videos than I could get with my smart phone all over the internet. Here is video I took standing in the middle and turning slowly in one spot.
Eventually we left to meet up with the rest of the tour group outside. And there was a dreadful foreshadowing of events to come: It was colder than heck, and F wanted some hot chocolate, so she bought some from a vendor. But when she sipped it, she made a face and said there was something wrong with it - they had put something in it. I sipped it and thought it tasted just fine, and handed it back to her, and she tried to drink it because she really did want it. But it tasted awful to her, so I finished it off, enjoying the wonderful rich cocoa taste.
That was F coming down with a cold, and that was me catching it from her ...
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