Buckingham Palace is the most recognised building in London and one of the most visited in the world. Most people photograph the front gates and leave. The visitors who plan correctly see considerably more, the State Rooms in summer, the Changing of the Guard at the right time of day, the Queen’s Gallery, and the Royal Mews, without standing in the wrong queue at the wrong hour. Here is everything you need to know before you go.
What Buckingham Palace Actually Is
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and administrative headquarters of the British monarch. It has served this function since 1837, when Queen Victoria moved in following her accession to the throne. The building itself dates to 1703, originally built as Buckingham House for the Duke of Buckingham, purchased by George III in 1761, and progressively enlarged through the 19th century.
The palace has 775 rooms, of which 19 State Rooms are open to the public for a limited period each year. It is not a museum, it is a working royal residence, which is precisely what makes the summer opening significant. You are walking through rooms that are in active use by the monarch for official functions for most of the year, not a preserved historic property with rope barriers around the furniture.
The Royal Standard, the monarch’s personal flag, flies from the flagpole above the central balcony when the King is in residence. The Union Flag flies when he is not. This is not a detail for enthusiasts only: if the Standard is flying, you are visiting a building with the King inside, which is a different experience in atmosphere to any other palace visit you will ever make.
The Best Time to Visit, Honest Breakdown by Season
State Rooms open
The only time of year when the public can enter the palace itself. The State Rooms open for approximately eight weeks from late July when the Royal Family moves to Balmoral in Scotland. The route takes you through the Grand Staircase, the Throne Room, the Picture Gallery (containing works by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Vermeer), the Blue and White Drawing Rooms, the State Dining Room, and the Ballroom, the largest room in the palace, used for state banquets and investitures.
The summer garden opening runs concurrently, access to the palace gardens, normally completely private, with the famous herbaceous border and the lake. This is the one time of year that justifies planning your London trip around Buckingham Palace specifically.
Ticket prices 2026: State Rooms approximately £35 adult, £20 child. Garden entry approximately £20. Combined tickets available. Book in advance, tickets sell out, especially August weekends. Exact 2026 dates confirmed by the Royal Collection Trust at rct.uk from around May.
Exterior only
The palace exterior, the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of it, and St James’s Park behind it are all accessible year-round. Spring brings the best Changing of the Guard schedule, daily at 11:00 from April through July. The gardens of St James’s Park are at their best in May and early June: the lake, the pelicans, the flowerbeds, and the view from the bridge across the lake toward Buckingham Palace and Westminster is one of the finest urban views in London at any time of year.
The Queen’s Gallery and Royal Mews (see below) are open year-round and represent the best options for a substantive palace visit in any month outside the summer opening.
Quieter crowds
The summer opening has ended, the peak tourist crowds have thinned, and the Changing of the Guard returns to its alternate-day schedule. Autumn light on the palace facade in October is excellent for photography. The surrounding area, Green Park, St James’s Park, and the Mall, is genuinely beautiful in October when the leaves turn. If your trip includes a range of London sights rather than a specific focus on the palace interior, autumn is often the best time to visit London overall.
Fewest crowds
No State Room access. The Changing of the Guard happens on alternate days (check the schedule before visiting, it is cancelled in bad weather). The Queen’s Gallery and Royal Mews remain open. Winter is the time for the palace as a backdrop, the gates, the Victoria Memorial, and the Mall illuminated for Christmas are genuinely impressive. Crowds are lighter than any other season. For visitors with a broader London itinerary who will see the palace as one item among many, winter is perfectly adequate.
The Changing of the Guard, What It Actually Is
The Changing of the Guard is the formal handover of responsibility for guarding Buckingham Palace from one regiment of Foot Guards to another. It happens at the palace forecourt, takes approximately 45 minutes, and includes a military band. It is free to watch from outside the gates.
| Period | Schedule | Time |
|---|---|---|
| April to July | Daily | 11:00 |
| August to March | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday | 11:00 |
| Any season | Cancelled in heavy rain | Check army.mod.uk day before |
Arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a position at the gates with a clear view. The ceremony attracts significant crowds in summer and the forecourt fills quickly. Standing on the Queen Victoria Memorial behind the crowd gives you an elevated view over the heads of the people at the gates, less detailed but more panoramic. The Victoria Memorial is free to stand on.
One detail worth knowing: the Changing of the Guard also takes place at Windsor Castle and at Horse Guards Parade on Whitehall, where the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment change guard at 11:00 daily (10:00 on Sundays). The Horse Guards ceremony involves mounted cavalry rather than marching foot guards and is considerably more accessible, the viewing area is open and the crowds are typically lighter than at Buckingham Palace. For visitors who miss the palace ceremony or find the crowds prohibitive, Horse Guards is the correct alternative.
What to See Beyond the Gates
Open year-round · ~£20
Built on the site of the palace chapel, the King’s Gallery hosts rotating exhibitions from the Royal Collection, one of the finest art collections in the world, with over one million objects including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Vermeer, and Canaletto. The exhibition changes annually. Unlike the State Rooms, the gallery is open year-round and does not require advance booking in most periods. For visitors with a genuine interest in art and royal history rather than simply the palace as a backdrop, the King’s Gallery is the most rewarding option at any time of year.
Open year-round (closed Fri/Sat) · ~£17
The working stables and coach house of the Royal Household, open to visitors year-round. The Gold State Coach, used for every coronation since George IV in 1821, is here, alongside the Glass Coach (used for royal weddings, including Diana Spencer’s in 1981), the Irish State Coach, and the working carriages and cars of the current Royal Household. The horses that pull the carriages in state processions are stabled here and visible to visitors. For families with children, the Royal Mews is consistently the most engaging of the palace’s visitor attractions.
Free · Open daily
The two royal parks flanking Buckingham Palace require no tickets and no planning. St James’s Park runs from the palace gates to Horse Guards Parade, with a lake, pelicans (fed daily at 15:00), and the bridge view toward Buckingham Palace that has been photographed from every possible angle. Green Park is quieter and less formal, simply grass and trees, with no flowerbeds or water features, which makes it the least visited of the central royal parks and paradoxically the most pleasant on a warm afternoon when the others are crowded.
Where to Buy Tickets
All official Buckingham Palace tickets, State Rooms, King’s Gallery, Royal Mews, and combined tickets, are sold directly through the Royal Collection Trust at rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace. There is no benefit to buying through a third-party platform and several reasons not to, prices are higher, cancellation terms are less clear, and some third-party resellers sell tickets that have already sold out on the official site at inflated prices.
For the State Rooms in summer, book as early as possible. August weekend dates sell out within days of the booking window opening, typically in May. If your London trip dates are fixed and Buckingham Palace State Rooms are a priority, set a calendar reminder for when the Royal Collection Trust announces the 2026 opening schedule and buy immediately.
The King’s Gallery and Royal Mews can usually be booked with a few days’ notice outside the summer peak, but same-day tickets are not always available. Buy a day or two ahead to avoid disappointment.
Planning tip: Welcome2.London/see keeps an updated guide to London attractions with booking links, current opening hours, and practical visitor information for international visitors, a useful first stop when planning which royal sites to include in your trip.
Including Buckingham Palace in a London Day Tour
Buckingham Palace sits at the southwestern corner of St James’s, adjacent to Westminster, Mayfair, and the South Bank. A well-planned London day can take in the palace, the Changing of the Guard, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and Tower Bridge without significant backtracking, all within roughly a three-mile radius.
The Chauffeurz London Highlights Tour covers exactly this circuit. Your chauffeur picks you up from your hotel at 10:00, drives past every major central London landmark with stops at Westminster, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, Kensington, and Buckingham Palace, available in 4, 6, or 8-hour formats depending on how much time you want at each stop. From £295 per vehicle. The Changing of the Guard timing at 11:00 works naturally into a 10:00 departure from a central London hotel.
London Highlights Tour, from £295 per vehicle
Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, Kensington. 10:00 pickup from your hotel. 4, 6, or 8 hours. Your own private Mercedes, no coach group.
Practical Information for 2026
Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London SW1A 1AA. Nearest Tube: Victoria (District, Circle, Victoria lines), St James’s Park (District, Circle), or Green Park (Jubilee, Victoria, Piccadilly).
Approximately late July to late September. Exact dates published by Royal Collection Trust at rct.uk, typically confirmed in May. Tickets from approximately £35 adult.
Open year-round, Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:30. Closed Mondays except bank holidays. Tickets approximately £20 adult, book in advance at rct.uk.
Open year-round, Sunday to Thursday, 10:00 to 16:00 (extended hours in summer). Closed Friday and Saturday. Tickets approximately £17 adult.
11:00 daily April to July, alternate days August to March. Free to watch from outside the gates. Cancelled in heavy rain, check army.mod.uk the evening before.
15 minutes on foot from Victoria station. 10 minutes from St James’s Park Tube. Private chauffeur from your hotel: 10 to 25 minutes depending on hotel location, no parking required. Part of the London Highlights tour from £295.
Buckingham Palace is worth more than the photograph at the gates. The State Rooms in summer, the King’s Gallery year-round, and the Royal Mews for families, taken together, they represent a half-day that gives you a genuine understanding of the British monarchy as a working institution rather than a tourist backdrop. Plan the timing around the Changing of the Guard if you can, book the State Rooms the moment the summer window opens, and give yourself enough time to walk through St James’s Park on the way back. It is one of the best free hours in London.
