Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace: What You Actually Get For the Ticket Price

Buckingham Palace is closed to visitors for most of the year. The State Rooms open for eight weeks in summer (9 July to 27 September in 2026), and the ticket – 33 pounds for adults as of 2026, with lower rates for younger adults and children – covers 19 of the palace’s 775 rooms. This is not the backstage tour of a working royal residence you might imagine. It is a careful, well-curated public presentation of some of the finest decorative art in Britain, and it is worth doing once.

The palace was built on the site of a mulberry garden planted for James I’s failed attempt to establish an English silk industry in 1609. John Nash began the transformation into a royal residence in 1825 under George IV; the east wing facing the Mall, which everyone recognises from photographs, was added in 1850 and refaced in 1913. The building most tourists photograph did not exist during most of the Victorian era it supposedly represents.

The State Rooms

The 19 accessible rooms include the Throne Room, the White Drawing Room, the Picture Gallery (running 47 metres along the centre of the palace), and the Ballroom, which at 36 metres long is the largest room in the palace and the venue for state banquets. The Picture Gallery holds works by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck from the Royal Collection, which is among the largest art collections in the world and is not fully seen anywhere.

The gardens are included in the summer ticket. The palace garden – 39 acres behind the building, with a lake and mature trees – is private for most of the year and is one of the more unexpectedly serene spaces in central London.

Tickets are timed entry and need to be booked in advance. On-the-day tickets are available but cost a small premium and the popular slots sell out by mid-morning.

Changing of the Guard

The Changing of the Guard takes place at the palace forecourt, with the ceremony starting at 11am. It runs daily from April through July and on alternate days the rest of the year. The footpath along the palace front and Birdcage Walk behind St James’s Park are the standard viewing positions. Arrive 20 minutes early for a clear view. The ceremony involves two guards units exchanging duty with marching and band music; the full sequence takes about 45 minutes.

The Royal Mews, adjacent to the palace on Buckingham Palace Road, are open year-round and house the royal vehicles including the Gold State Coach (used at coronations, built in 1762, and described by George IV as “the most uncomfortable carriage he had ever travelled in”). The State Sleigh, carriages, and current fleet of royal cars are all here.

The King’s Gallery, also open year-round in the former private chapel, mounts rotating exhibitions from the Royal Collection. Past shows have covered Vermeer, Raphael, and specific historical periods. Check the current programme before visiting.

Around the Palace

St James’s Park immediately east is one of the finest royal parks in London. The lake and bridge provide the classic view back toward the palace. Pelicans have been resident in the park since 1664 when the Russian ambassador gave Charles II a gift; there are currently six. The view from the bridge toward Buckingham Palace on one side and toward Horse Guards on the other is the best urban vista in central London.

For eating near the palace: The Goring hotel on Beeston Place has a dining room that is worth the cost for a special occasion and is quieter than most tourist-area restaurants. The Vincent Rooms inside Westminster Kingsway College on Vincent Square, a 12-minute walk south, is a working restaurant staffed by catering students and charges significantly less than anywhere in the immediate area while serving food of genuine quality.

Getting There

Green Park and St James’s Park Underground stations are each a 5-minute walk. Victoria is slightly further but serves more lines and more of London.