Last summer, when my parents visited us in Ireland for the first time, we planned to take a little side trip to London. By then, Rodger and I had already been to London twice and I felt pretty confident about putting together an awesome itinerary that my parents would love… until I asked my mom what she most wanted to see. She completely threw me for a loop by requesting something that had not even been on my radar during our previous visits.
She wanted to go inside Buckingham Palace.
At the time, I wasn’t sure that would be a.) possible or b.) interesting. I even suggested we tour Kensington Palace and check out Kate and Will’s digs instead. But, she insisted that if she was going all the way to London she wanted to see where the Queen lives, and she was so right!
Let this be a lesson… listen to your mama.
Unlike the Changing of the Guard, which I was a bit meh about, I’m still raving about touring the state rooms of Buckingham Palace.
Of course, touring Buckingham Palace wasn’t as easy as knocking on the front door and getting invited in for a spot of tea with the queen. But, with a little preplanning, it’s easy to get tickets, assuming you can be in London at the right time of year.
What You’ll See in Buckingham Palace
While Buckingham might be the queen’s home, you won’t exactly be tripping through Her Majesty’s bedroom. Never fear, you won’t stumble into Prince Phillip brushing his teeth in his tidy-whities. Instead, the tour includes 19 State Rooms which are used for ceremonies and official entertaining.
This is a tour that starts off with a bang. As soon as you walk in, you’ll see the Grand Staircase, and it is a stunner. Pictures do not do it justice (which is fine, since you aren’t allowed to take any inside the Palace). But, you will have plenty of opportunity to ogle the intricate scrollwork as you walk up the staircase to the rest of the rooms.
Image Source: Royal Collection Trust
From there the tour includes the Throne Room, White Drawing Room, and the Ballroom among others. For me, the highlight was the Picture Gallery which features some incredible paintings from Rembrandt and Van Dyck. Even in the other rooms, there are seriously impressive works of art scattered about.
Image Source: Royal Collection Trust
Every room is filled with luxe damask wallpapers, plush carpets, fine furniture, and glittering chandeliers. Having toured a few palaces and luxurious homes, Buckingham is by far the most decadent place I have ever been in. But, it’s not perfect. There are small things here and there… tiny tears in the wallpaper, little frays on the rugs, smudges that only show themselves if you look closely. And that made it all the better for me; I found it endearing. Those little imperfections made the palace more approachable Buckingham isn’t just a showplace, it’s a working palace and bits of wear and tear made it seem more real.
Throughout the rooms, mixed in with the furnishings, there is a special exhibit. It’s a bit like combining a palace with a history museum. The exhibit changes every year and when we were there last year the displays were of official state gifts that had been given by heads of state. It was fascinating and very well presented. For 2018 the exhibit will celebrate Prince Charles’ 70th birthday and I would love to see that.
Image Source: Royal Collection Trust
Once you explore the state rooms you will exit the at the back of the palace into the gardens. There you’ll find a café tent, restrooms and a gift shop. After checking those out you’ll walk through the south side of the garden, around the lake, to exit the palace grounds onto Grosvenor Place.
How to visit Buckingham Palace
Sadly, Buckingham Palace is only open for a limited time in the summer and around the Christmas holidays, when the Queen takes her own vacations to other palaces.
Typically, Buckingham opens for summer tours from late July through the end of September. It’s a pretty small window, so it’s something to schedule around if it’s on your must-do list.
Since touring Buckingham Palace is a in-demand activity with limited space, tickets do go quickly. To get the date and time you want, buy your tickets here well in advance. I recommend booking this first and then planning the rest of your time in London around it.
All the guides say to plan for 2 – 2.5 hours for your visit. For our museum-loving family, we were right up there at two and a half hours, not including the walk through the park and a stop at the cafe. The tour is self-paced, and you will have an audio guide with loads of info about the rooms and exhibits. I recommend taking your time and leaving plenty of room in your itinerary to take it in.
When you arrive at Buckingham Palace, you’ll line up and enter through the Ambassador’s Entrance on the North side, very near to where the Changing of the Guard takes place. Before entering you’ll go through a security screening which is almost exactly the same as airport security. When we arrived for our 9:30 AM tour, the line was quite long but moved quickly. Tours start every 15 minutes, so you’ll likely be in line with several tour times, but they will sort you into the correct group once you enter the screening area. Just plan to arrive 15 – 30 minutes before your entrance time.
Since the entrance is near the viewing area for Changing of the Guard, you may want to schedule your tour so that you can see the ceremony first and then get in line to enter the palace. To do that, try to book the noon, 12:15 or 12:30 tour. However, it does not work well to do the tour and then see the Changing of the Guard as you will exit the garden on the opposite side of the palace and won’t have time to walk back, even if you book the earliest tour.
Quick Tips for Touring Buckingham Palace
- Check the Royal Collection Trust website to find out when tours are available (usually the end of July through September and during the Christmas Season)
- Book well in advance to get the time you want
- Wear comfy shoes – The walk through the garden is roughly half a mile.
- Don’t rush – Though your ticket has a start time, there isn’t a time limit on your visit
- Visit the toilet prior to arriving – The queen isn’t opening up her guest loo, so there’s no bathroom facilities until you get to the garden.
- Skip the café – The garden café is lackluster and pricey. All the cakes are prepackaged (think Starbucks treats at higher prices), the tea is a bag in a paper cup and seating is limited. Instead, wait until you exit the garden to get a meal or snack, or plan for a swanky afternoon tea to complete a very British day.
- Travel light – Don’t bring anything you don’t absolutely need. There is an extensive bag check and large bags are not allowed.
- No need to bring camera gear – There is no photography inside the palace, through you can take photos in the garden
- Time your tour so that you can see the Changing of the Guard first.
- On the audio guide, be sure to listen to the bonus / extras for each room in addition to the main commentary. The bonuses were the most interesting bits and were often presented by members of the royal family.
- If taking the subway, get off at either Victoria Station or St. James Place for the shortest walks to Buckingham Palace.
- When leaving the garden, you’ll exit onto Grosvenor Place roughly halfway between the Victoria Station and Hyde Park Corner subway stations. Heading to the Hyde Park Corner station lets you visit the Wellington Arch on the way.
