Last Updated on March 31, 2024
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If you are heading to London for the first time, chances are that seeing Buckingham Palace is on your itinerary. After all, the Royal residence is one of the top attractions and one of the most recognizable buildings in the city. Most people head to the Palace to see the exterior and witness the Changing of the Guard ceremony, but not many realize, that you can actually step inside of the Palace as well. The only thing is, you have to be there at the right time, as visiting Buckingham Palace is only possible when the Queen leaves for her summer vacation.
Buckingham Palace became the Royal residence in 1837, when Queen Victoria moved in and it has been home of the British Family ever since. The Palace has also served as administrative headquarters of the monarch and it’s one of few working Palaces left in the world. In 1993 Queen Elizabeth decided to open up the Palace to visitors, as a way to earn extra funds for the Windsor Castle, that was in desperate need of repairs. The opportunity to take a glimpse into the Royal life became an instant hit, with thousands of people visiting Buckingham Palace each year.
Whether you are a fan of the Royal family or not, I do recommend visiting Buckingham Palace as part of your trip to London. It’s not everyday, that you get to step inside of one of the most iconic places in the country. This guide includes all the information you need to plan you visit and get the most out of it.
When can you visit Buckingham Palace?
If visiting Buckingham Palace is something you’d like to put on your London itinerary, you do have to plan your visit at a right time of the year. While you can see the Palace from the outside year round, the inside is open to visitors for 10 weeks only. And that is, when King Charles leaves to spend his summer vacation in Scotland.
In 2024, the Buckingham Palace will be open for tours from July 11 – September 29. In July and August the opening hours are from 9.30 am – 7.30 pm ( with the last admission at 5.15 pm ) and in September from 9.30 am – 6.30 pm ( last admission at 4.15 pm ). The State Rooms will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan your trip accordingly!
Buckingham Palace tickets
Once you have your travel plans in order and you plan on visiting Buckingham Palace, make sure to book your tickets way in advance. Since the access to the Palace is limited to 10 weeks, and those weeks happen to be during the busy summer season, tickets do sell out quickly.
There are a few different tickets to choose from, but touring the State Rooms is why most people visit the Palace. These tickets have a timed entry, so if you have a preferred time slot, I recommend booking it weeks in advance. No matter which ticket you choose, be sure to print out the voucher to exchange it for a ticket the day of your visit. The State Rooms voucher can be exchanged at the Buckingham Palace Ticket Office. If you book either The Royal Mews or A Royal Day Out, those vouchers can be exchanged at The Royal Mews Ticket Office.
Even tough tickets have a timed entry, once you are in, there’s no limit on how long you can stay. Here are all the options of tickets, depending on what interests you and how long you want to spend at Buckingham Palace.
- The State Rooms – this ticket allows you to visit the 19 State Rooms on a self guided tour, that includes the audio guide. Book your State Rooms tickets here.
- The Royal Mews – this ticket allows you to visit the stables. The Royal Mews is actually open to visitors from May to October, so even if you are in London, when the Palace itself is closed to visitors, you can still visit the Royal Mews. The opening hours are 11 am – 5 pm ( with the last admission at 4 pm ) every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Book your Royal Mews ticket here.
- The Queen’s Gallery – if you are an art lover, you will probably enjoy visiting the Queens Gallery. As avid art collectors, the Queen and her family, accumulated an impressive collection. Book your Queen’s Gallery tickets here.
- The Royal Day Out – this ticket includes the State Rooms, The Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews. Your visit will start with a timed entry to The Queen’s Gallery, followed by a visit to the Royal Mews. The State Rooms visit is also timed, and starts automatically 2 hours and 15 minutes after the Royal Day Out started. Book your Royal Day Out tickets here.
Which ticket you choose, will depend on your interests. Obviously, if you want to have the full experience, the Royal Day Out is your best choice. If you only want to see the State Rooms, which for many is the highlight, you can book that ticket separately. However, I do recommend adding The Royal Mews to your visit. Since I personally had no interest in the Queens Gallery, I booked The State Rooms and the Royal Mews tickets separately.
PRO TIP 1: If you’d like to see the front of Buckingham Palace without the massive crowds, book an earlier ticket. This way when you get to there to pick it up, there won’t be many people at the front gate.
PRO TIP 2: If you would like to catch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, book the State Room ticket at 12 pm or later.
Visiting Buckingham Palace in the Summer 2024
In the summer of 2024, the Buckingham Palace will be open to visitors from July 11 through September 29. You have a choice of visiting The State Rooms only, The Royal Mews only or book A Royal Day Out, which also includes a visit to the Queens Gallery and the Royal Mews. Just like before, all the tickets have a timed entry.
- The State Rooms – the highlight of the visit to Buckingham Palace are the State Rooms, which will be open every day, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays! You can book your State Rooms ticket here.
- The Royal Mews – this part of the Palace opens to visitors in May, which is several weeks before the State Rooms open. Book your Royal Mews ticket here.
- A Royal Day Out – if you are interested in seeing the Queens Gallery and Royal Mews in addition to the State Rooms, you definitely want to book A Royal Day Out ticket. It’s the best value and grants you access to all three venues. You can book your Royal Day Out ticket here.
Visiting Buckingham Palace – things to know
Buckingham Palace entrance – if you are facing the Palace, the entrance to the State Rooms is on the left hand side of it. That’s where you also pick up your prebooked tickets.
Security – before you can begin the tour, you will have to go through an airport style security, so make sure to arrive a few minutes earlier. This happens in the Palace, as well before entering the Royal Mews.
Free audio guide is included – your ticket includes a free audio guide, that comes in multiple languages ( English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese )
How long does it take? – this will depend on what kind of ticket you purchase. If you want to see the State Rooms only, plan 2 hours for that. This will give you enough time to walk through the rooms at a nice pace, without rushing through them. If you plan on visiting the Royal Mews as well, add another 45 minutes. For the full experience, which is the Royal Day Out, set aside 4 hours.
Photography is not allowed inside of the Palace – which is always a bummer when you visit such an iconic place as Buckingham Palace. Taking photos is not allowed inside of the Palace, but photography is allowed in the Palace Gardens and the Mews.
Visiting Buckingham Palace
The State Rooms
As you can probably figure out by looking at it, Buckingham Palace is huge. There are 775 rooms total, but visitors only get access to 19 of them. These are the State Rooms, located in the west wing of the Palace, that are used for public events, official ceremonies and banquets. The rest of the rooms, including the Queen’s and staff’s private rooms and offices are off limits. Even though taking a peak into the Queen’s bedroom will not happen, visiting Buckingham Palace is still an amazing experience.
As I already mentioned above, you tour the State Rooms with the help of an audio guide. This is a self guided tour, but you do follow a designated route. This means, that you can take your time visiting particular rooms, but there is no way to go back and revisit rooms you’ve previously walked through.
The tour starts at the Grand Entrance, while Prince Charles himself greets you on the audio guide. Before you start making your way through the State Rooms, you end up at the bottom of one of the most stunning parts of the Palace, and that is the Grand Staircase. It is truly spectacular, and as you make your way up, you can just imagine all the people who’ve walked the same stairs. It’s quite a surreal feeling.
Once you get upstairs, you start making your way through the State Rooms. These are the rooms, that are used during official ceremonies and when the Queen receives guests, so you’ll most likely recognize at least some of them from news coverage. The White Drawing Room, State Dining Room, Music Room and the spectacular Ball Room are just the few of the ones you get to see. The most recognizable of them all and one of the favorites is always the the Throne Room. It features the thrones used in the 1953 coronation ceremony of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. But you will most likely recognize it as the setting of the official wedding photos.
Buckingham Palace Summer Exhibition
Part of the State Room visit is a special Exhibition put on by the Palace and every year it has a different theme. The theme of the Summer 2024 Exhibition is yet to be announced.
Buckingham Palace Gardens
Once you’ve seen the last of the State Rooms, the tour brings you out to the back of the Palace and you enter the Palace Gardens. Occupying the 39 acres, the beautiful garden is home to 350 species of flowers and the habitat for 30 species of birds. Some of the garden’s best features are the 19th century lake and the Queen’s Rose garden. The Palace Garden is also where the Queen holds her annual summer garden parties. When you take the path towards the exit, you’ll get a glimpse of it, but that’s just a tiny fraction of the garden. The rest of it can only be seen on a special tour.
The Royal Mews
The Royal Mews is a working stable and where the historic carriages and coaches are kept. During your visit, you can get a close look at the carriages, that are used by the Royal family for coronations, weddings and special occasions.
The most impressive is without a doubt the Gold State Coach, that is on display at the Carriage House. The stunning, almost over the top coach weighs 4 tons and it takes 8 horses to pull it. The Gold State Coach has been used for every coronation since 1821, including that of Queen Elizabeth’s in 1953. Other than that, it doesn’t get much use and its last outing was in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations .
In 2024, The Royal Mews will be open to public from March 1 – November 3, which means it opens earlier than the Palace itself. So if you are in London before the State Rooms open, it gives you a great opportunity to get a glimpse into the Royal life, even with the Palace itself still closed to visitors. Just like the State Rooms, The Royal Mews is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
One of the London attractions that always draws crowds is the Changing of the Guard ceremony. This is the Buckingham Palace experience, that you can enjoy year round and for free. It takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and daily in the summer. The ceremony starts at 11 am and lasts about 45 minutes. The schedule is weather permitting and subject to change so make sure to check this website for any changes before you visit.
If you want make Changing of the Guard a part of your Buckingham Palace experience, plan accordingly. The ceremony starts at 11 am sharp, but people start gathering at the gate quite early. If you hope to get a good spot, showing up around 10 am is a good idea. And of course, you need to make sure your State Room tickets are booked for 12 pm or later.
How to get to Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is located in Westminster and you can easily get there from wherever you’re staying via the London tube. The three Underground stations closest to the Palace are:
- Victoria (Victoria line)
- Green Park (Victoria and Piccadilly line)
- Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line).
No matter which one you choose, you will have about a 10 minute walk from the station to the Palace.
PRO TIP: Download the free Citymapper app before your trip to London! It’s the best public transport app out there, that helps you find the best way to get places.
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Oooh, I was lucky enough to get tickets to Buckingham Palace in late August one year and had such an awesome time. It’s just so beautiful, you’re right, it’s one of those things that you have to experience one in you’re life if you’re in London.
I wish I found your blog post before I went to Buckingham Palace the first time! I had no idea you could go inside now and again – what a fantastic experience that would be – much better than just standing at the gate as we did! We’ll be in London again though, saving your tips so we can do it better this time. It’s so beautiful there, certainly worth another visit I reckon. Thanks for sharing.
Oh yeah, it’s definitely a much better experience, than looking at the Palace through the gate. The State Rooms are stunning, the only bummer is that you can’t take pictures. However, that is not unusual in places like this.
Such a useful resource, thanks for sharing! Can you believe I’ve been living in London for 8 years and still haven’t been to Buckingham Palace?? I’ll have to go one day!
I think that’s always the case when you live somewhere. I still haven’t done a lot of touristy things in Boston, and I’ve lived here for years:)
I did this before I moved here, beautiful inside!
So wish I would have done some of this stuff when I was there! I just chilled by the fountain! 🙂 Hopefully I’ll get back there one day and check out the horse stables for sure!
Make sure to visit the stable, even if you visit when the State Rooms are not open.
This is so cool! I was here a couple years ago but only for the changing of the guards. This makes me want to go back! 😁