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Buckingham Palace State Rooms and Garden: Everything You Need to Know Before You Visit
Updated July 2026
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of His Majesty The King and one of the few working royal palaces left in the world. For most of the year, the closest visitors get is the railings. But for roughly ten weeks each summer, while the King is away, the palace opens its 19 State Rooms to the public, along with a walk through the famous 39-acre garden. For 2026, the summer opening runs from 9 July to 27 September.
This is one of the most in-demand attractions in Europe: if you miss the window you will be waiting a year. It is also more layered than most visitors realise. Beyond the State Rooms themselves, the palace complex includes the Royal Mews (home of the Gold State Coach), The King's Gallery (rotating exhibitions from the Royal Collection), an optional guided garden tour, and of course the free Changing of the Guard ceremony outside the gates. This guide covers how to book each one, what they cost, and how to fit them together.
At a Glance
How Early to Book:
Prebook all tour types 2-3 months ahead of time if aiming for a July visit right when tours begin. 1-2 months ahead is typically sufficient for a tour later in the summer.
Tickets for the full summer season go on sale around April.
Best Times to Visit:
First time-slots of the day will have the fewest crowds, while mid to late September feature less tourists overall across the season.
Ticket price:
Starting at £33.00 for State Room tours and £48.00 for State Room and Garden Highlights tours.
Where to Book:
Landmark Address:
Do You Need to Book Buckingham Palace Tickets in Advance?
Yes, booking ahead is strongly recommended, and it saves money. Tickets are sold with timed entry slots, and the most popular dates and times, weekends and mid-morning slots in July and August especially, sell out days or weeks ahead. A limited number of on-the-day tickets are sold when available, but they cost about £4 more per adult and are frequently sold out.
Where to book: The official ticketing platform is rct.uk (Royal Collection Trust), which manages public access to the palace. Book directly there for the lowest prices and the full range of ticket types.
Standard admission covers the 19 State Rooms with a free multimedia guide, followed by the walk out through the south side of the garden, with views of the lake and the west front of the palace. It does not allow free roaming of the grounds; the garden portion follows a set route to the exit on Grosvenor Place.
£1 tickets: Visitors on Universal Credit and other named UK benefits can book £1 tickets through a dedicated page on rct.uk. This is one of the best-value schemes at any major UK attraction and is worth knowing about if you qualify.
1-Year Pass: Any standard ticket can be converted into a 1-Year Pass for unlimited return visits at no extra cost (a £2 transaction fee applies when pre-booking each return). If there is any chance you will be in London again within the year while the palace is open, convert your ticket before you leave.
How far ahead to book: If you want a wide range of time-slots available, book all tour types 2-3 months ahead of your visit if aiming for a July visit when tours begin. However, booking 1-2 months ahead is typically sufficient for a tour later in the summer. There are usually random slots available closer to the date, but these slots are less reliable and unpredictable.
Buckingham Palace Opening Hours and Dates
The State Rooms are open only during the annual summer opening.
9 July to 31 August: Open daily, 9:30am to 7:30pm (last entry 5:30pm).
1 to 27 September: Open Thursday to Monday, 9:30am to 6:30pm (last entry 4:30pm). Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays in September.
Outside these dates, the State Rooms are closed to standard visitors, though small-group Exclusive Guided Tours run on selected dates (2 September to 4 October in 2026, £100 per person, maximum 30 places per tour, when the palace is otherwise closed).
Entry is by timed slot, and you should arrive no later than 15 minutes before the time on your ticket. Once inside, you can take as long as you like.
Address: Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA. The visitor entrance for the State Rooms is on the south side of the palace; follow signage from the ticket office on Buckingham Palace Road.
What is the Best Way to Get to Buckingham Palace?
The palace sits at the west end of The Mall, between St James's Park and Green Park, and is easy to reach from anywhere in central London.
By tube: Three stations are within a 10-minute walk: Victoria (Victoria, Circle, and District lines), Green Park (Jubilee, Piccadilly, and Victoria lines), and St James's Park (Circle and District lines). Green Park offers the most scenic way to get there, a short walk down through the park to the palace. Victoria is most convenient for the ticket office, the Royal Mews, and The King's Gallery, all of which sit on the Buckingham Palace Road side.
By bus: Routes 11, 211, and C1 stop on Buckingham Palace Road.
On foot: The palace is a 10 to 15 minute walk from Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, and about 15 minutes from Trafalgar Square straight down The Mall. Walking The Mall towards the palace is one of the great walks in all of London and worth doing at least once.
By car: Do not drive. There is no visitor parking at the palace, and the area sits inside London's Congestion Charge zone. Passenger coaches drop off and pick up on Grosvenor Place after the palace exit.
How Much Time Should I Spend at Buckingham Palace?
Plan on 2 to 2.5 hours for the standard State Rooms visit. The State Rooms themselves take 60 to 90 minutes with the multimedia guide, and the walk out through the garden, with stops at the Garden Café, the shop, and the lawn views, comfortably adds another 30 to 60 minutes. The garden exit route is a long gravel path, around ten minutes of walking even without stops.
A lot of people expect the palace interior to take longer than it does. The multimedia guide keeps everyone moving at a steady pace, and the interior portion can feel brisker than the two-hour figure suggests. The garden and café are where the extra time goes, so do not book anything tight immediately afterwards.
If you are doing a Royal Day Out (State Rooms, King's Gallery, and Royal Mews combined), allow 4 to 5 hours for the full circuit. The three venues are all within a few minutes' walk of each other on the Buckingham Palace Road side.

Buckingham Palace has 19 official State Rooms used by the monarch to receive and entertain guests. These extravagant spaces are furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection, including priceless paintings, Canova sculptures, and stunning French and English furniture.
What is the Best Time to Visit Buckingham Palace?
The first slots of the day, from 9:30am, are the quietest, with more space in the State Rooms and shorter security queues. Late afternoon slots are the next best option.
Midweek in September is the calmest period of the whole season. The summer holiday crowds have thinned, and the palace is open Thursday to Monday with the same experience at a gentler pace. If your travel dates are flexible, a Thursday or Friday morning in September is the sweet spot.
Avoid combining a mid-morning State Rooms slot with the Changing of the Guard. The ceremony (typically 10:30am to 11:45am on its scheduled days) floods the area around the palace with crowds, and moving between the forecourt and the visitor entrance during that window is slow. Either watch the ceremony first and book an afternoon palace slot, or visit the State Rooms on a day when the ceremony is not scheduled.
One last thing: the State Rooms can get very hot inside during the summer opening. Dress light, and carry water for the garden walk.
What is Inside the Buckingham Palace State Rooms?
The 19 State Rooms are the working heart of the palace, used through the year for state banquets, investitures, receptions, and official entertaining. They are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection: paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Dyck, sculpture by Canova, Sèvres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture anywhere.
The Grand Staircase: The visit opens with John Nash's gilt-bronze staircase, lined with royal portraits and lit from a domed ceiling. Around 7,000 guests a year climb it for official events; during the summer opening, so do you.
The Throne Room: The ceremonial centrepiece, with its pair of thrones beneath a dramatic proscenium arch. This is the room used for official wedding photographs and where the State Portraits of Their Majesties now hang.
The Picture Gallery: A 47-metre skylit hall running through the centre of the palace, hung with Old Master paintings from the Royal Collection. The works rotate, but the density of world-class art in a single room rivals many national galleries.
The Ballroom: The largest of the State Rooms, used for state banquets and investiture ceremonies. Displays here often recreate elements of a state banquet table setting.
The White Drawing Room: The most theatrical of the drawing rooms, famous for its concealed door, disguised as a mirror and cabinet, through which the Royal Family enters the State Rooms from their private apartments.
The Blue and Green Drawing Rooms: Two of Nash's most lavish interiors, all silk walls, gilding, and monumental chandeliers, forming the processional route guests follow to the Throne Room.
The garden: Your visit ends with a walk along the south side of the 39-acre garden, past the lake, with the classic view back to the west front of the palace, the side the public never sees from the street. The Garden Café is here, serving sandwiches, cakes, and an afternoon tea served in a keepsake tin, with tables overlooking the famous lawn. Prices are on the high side, as you would expect, but the setting is unrepeatable. The garden shop near the exit stocks the official royal gifts range, including the much-searched-for Buckingham Palace gin, made with botanicals cut from this garden.
Photography is not permitted inside the State Rooms. You can photograph freely in the garden, which is where everyone gets their palace picture, with the west front behind the lawn.
Garden Highlights Tour, East Wing Tour, and Exclusive Tours
Standard admission includes the garden exit walk, but three optional upgrades go further. All are bookable on rct.uk and sell out well before standard admission does.
State Rooms plus Garden Highlights Tour (11 July to 27 September 2026): Adds a guided walking tour of the garden's most remarkable features, including the Herbaceous Border, the Rose Garden, the Waterloo Vase, and the palace tennis court, led by a warden. Adult £48, Young Person £31.20, Child £24. The garden tour is a walking tour with no seating along the route, so factor that in. For garden lovers this is the single best upgrade the palace offers; the standard route shows you perhaps a fifth of what the guided tour covers.
State Rooms plus East Wing Tour (11 July to 27 September 2026, not Tuesdays or Wednesdays in September): A guided, limited-capacity tour of the East Wing, the palace's famous front façade, including the Centre Room and the corridor behind the balcony itself. Adult £93 in advance (£97 on the day), Young Person £81.50, Child £76.50. This is the premium ticket of the summer opening and books out fastest of all. If standing in the room behind the most famous balcony in the world appeals to you, book the moment tickets are released.
Buckingham Palace Exclusive Guided Tour (2 September to 4 October 2026): A £100-per-person expert-guided tour of the State Rooms on dates when the palace is closed to other visitors, capped at 30 people per tour. This is the quietest way to see the State Rooms all year and the only option that extends past the main summer opening.
Changing of the Guard: Times, Days, and Where to Stand
The Changing of the Guard is completely free, requires no ticket, and takes place on the palace forecourt, visible from the railings and surrounding areas. It is a separate experience from the State Rooms visit, and for many visitors it is the reason they come to the palace at all.
When it happens: The full ceremony typically takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11am, with a separate Sunday parade pattern, but the schedule varies with operational and ceremonial commitments and is confirmed month by month. Some days feature a smaller Captain's Inspection at 3pm instead, which is not the same thing but it's still nice to see. Always check the confirmed schedule on the Household Division website before building your morning around it; the ceremony is cancelled or altered more often than most visitors realize, including in heavy rain.
Timings on the day: The wider sequence runs from roughly 10:30am, with the new guard marching from Wellington Barracks with a band, the old guard stepping off from St James's Palace, and the forecourt handover happening around 11am. The whole event lasts about 45 minutes.
Where to stand: The raised steps of the Victoria Memorial directly in front of the palace give the best elevated view of the forecourt. The palace railings offer the closest view of the ceremony itself but fill earliest. The Mall and Spur Road are the spots to watch the bands and guards march past at close range, and are usually less crushed than the railings. On peak summer days, arrive 60 to 90 minutes early for a front-row position at the railings or Memorial; 30 minutes is usually enough for a decent view along The Mall.
Combining with a palace visit: Do not book a State Rooms slot between 10am and noon on a ceremony day unless you are happy to skip the ceremony. The crowds around the forecourt make the area slow to move through. Ceremony first, palace in the afternoon, is the combination that works best.
The Royal Mews: The Gold State Coach and Working Stables
The Royal Mews, a few minutes' walk from the State Rooms entrance on Buckingham Palace Road, is one of the finest working stables in existence and handles all road travel for the Royal Family, from horse-drawn carriage to car. Unlike the State Rooms, it is open for most of the year, not just the summer.
The star exhibit is the Gold State Coach, the 260-year-old gilded coach used at every coronation since William IV, most recently for King Charles III in 2023. Also on display are the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, the Australian State Coach, and, depending on their working schedule, the Windsor Grey and Cleveland Bay horses that pull them. A free multimedia tour is included, and the Mews is the most family-friendly part of the palace complex: children can get close to the carriages, photography is allowed throughout (no flash around the horses), and the visit takes a manageable 45 minutes to an hour.
Standard adult tickets for the Royal Mews cost around £18, with the usual concessions, and £1 tickets for those on named UK benefits apply here too. The Mews is fully accessible, though the flooring is cobbled and uneven in places, and the route is mostly outdoors with some cover.
Now just to set some expectations: the Mews is a working stables and carriage collection, not a palace interior. Visitors who love the coaches and horses will love it; those expecting grandeur on the scale of the State Rooms sometimes find it underwhelming as a standalone visit. It works best bundled into a Royal Day Out rather than as the main event.
The King's Gallery: Royal Collection Exhibitions Year-Round
The King's Gallery (formerly The Queen's Gallery) sits beside the palace on Buckingham Palace Road and hosts rotating exhibitions drawn from the Royal Collection, one of the great art collections of the world. Crucially, it is open daily for most of the year, making it the one way to engage with the palace's treasures outside the ten-week summer window.
The 2026 headline exhibition is Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, the largest exhibition of the late Queen's fashion ever mounted, marking the centenary of her birth with clothing from every decade of her life.
The Royal Day Out: Is the Combined Ticket Worth It?
The Royal Day Out ticket combines all three venues, the State Rooms, The King's Gallery, and the Royal Mews, at a 10% discount on the combined prices, and is available daily through the summer opening (9 July to 27 September 2026).
Prices: Adult £65.70 in advance (£69.30 on the day), Young Person £42.70, Child £32.80, Disabled Person £32.80, under 5 and access companions free.
Is it worth it? If you were planning to visit all three anyway, yes, it certainly is: the discount is real and the logistics are easy, since the three venues sit within a few minutes' walk of each other and your entry times are sequenced. Budget 4 to 5 hours for the full circuit, typically starting at the Royal Mews, then The King's Gallery, then the State Rooms. If you only care about the palace interior, standard State Rooms admission is the better buy; the Mews and Gallery are best for those with interest in carriages and art respectively rather than adding more palace.
Is Buckingham Palace Worth Visiting?
Yeah, I'd say the State Rooms are definitely worth visiting if you're in London, with one caveat about expectations. The interiors are as opulent as any palace in Europe, the art on the walls is world-class, and the multimedia guide, which comes free and includes an excellent children's version narrated by a footman and a corgi, is one of the better audio experiences at any major attraction. The fact that these are working rooms, used for actual state banquets and investitures weeks before and after your visit, gives the tour a charge that museum-piece palaces lack. Walking out across the garden to the view of the west front is a proper finish.
The caveat: the visit is shorter and more controlled than the ticket price might suggest. You see 19 rooms on a fixed route, no photography, roughly an hour to ninety minutes inside, and some visitors leave feeling the interior portion was over quickly for the money. The people that most consistently find the ticket worth it are those interested in royal history, art, or the sheer theatre of the setting; those ticking off a landmark sometimes wish they had settled for the (free) exterior and the Changing of the Guard. If budget is tight, the ceremony, the railings, and the Victoria Memorial cost nothing and deliver the iconic photographs.
Families do better here than the palace's formality may suggest: the children's multimedia guide is excellent, and a Family Pavilion in the garden, for under-12s, with games and activities, runs through the summer opening after the State Rooms tour. UK taxpayers should also note the 1-Year Pass conversion, which effectively turns one visit into unlimited visits for a year.
Where Should I Eat Near Buckingham Palace?
Inside the palace grounds:
The Garden Café, at the end of the State Rooms route, serves sandwiches, salads, cakes, and a boxed afternoon tea in a keepsake tin, with covered tables overlooking the palace lawn and lake. Prices are high for what it is, but you are eating on the King's back lawn, and the setting justifies one indulgence. There is also an ice cream kiosk along the garden exit path.
A short walk away:
The Thomas Cubitt (Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, a 15-minute walk) is the neighbourhood's standout gastropub, with floor-to-ceiling French doors, seasonal British cooking, and a ground-floor bar that fills with locals. Book ahead for the upstairs dining room; the bar takes walk-ins.
Peggy Porschen (Elizabeth Street, 12 minutes' walk) is the famously pink cake shop and café that has become an attraction in its own right. Afternoon tea needs booking; walk in for coffee and a slice of cake at the counter. It is the natural sweet stop between the palace and Victoria.
Chez Antoinette Victoria (near Victoria Station, 10 minutes' walk) is a small Parisian-style café-bistro that does an excellent brunch and lunch, a good option before a morning palace slot.
Market Halls Victoria (opposite Victoria Station, 10 minutes' walk) is the practical choice for groups who cannot agree: a food hall with multiple vendors under one roof, fast, varied, and better quality than the station options. (You can read our Blog Post about London Food halls here.)
The Rubens at the Palace (Buckingham Palace Road, directly opposite the Royal Mews) serves a traditional royal-themed afternoon tea in its Palace Lounge, the closest full afternoon tea experience to the palace itself. Book ahead.
What Else is There to Do Near Buckingham Palace?
St James's Park, immediately east of the palace, is the oldest of London's royal parks and arguably its prettiest, with the lake, the pelicans (fed at 2:30pm most days), and the classic view of the palace framed by trees from the Blue Bridge. It is the natural place to decompress after a palace visit and costs nothing.
Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament are a 10 to 15 minute walk through St James's Park or along Birdcage Walk. The Abbey needs advance booking in summer and pairs naturally with a palace afternoon; see our Westminster Abbey guide for booking details.
Green Park and the walk to Piccadilly takes you from the palace's north side up to the Ritz and Piccadilly in about ten minutes, with Fortnum & Mason and the Royal Academy just beyond.
Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery sit at the far end of The Mall, a 15-minute walk from the palace gates through Admiralty Arch. The National Gallery is free, making it the best-value pairing in the area.
Churchill War Rooms, on the edge of St James's Park towards Westminster, is a 10-minute walk and one of London's best museums, though it books out in summer and needs advance tickets.
Rules, Bags, and Security
Security: Entry to the State Rooms involves airport-style security screening. Arrive 15 minutes before your slot to allow for it.
Bags: Large bags, backpacks, and suitcases are not permitted and there are no storage facilities for oversized luggage, so travel light. Smaller bags go through security screening. A cloakroom along the route holds pushchairs and permitted items during the State Rooms tour.
Photography: Not permitted anywhere inside the State Rooms. Allowed freely in the garden and at the Royal Mews (no flash near the horses). The official guidebook, sold in the shop, is the way to take the interiors home.
Children: Very welcome. The family multimedia guide, the garden Family Pavilion (under-12s), and a dedicated under-5s play area make this more child-friendly than its reputation. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and under-5s enter free but still need a booked ticket.
Re-entry: Not permitted on standard tickets; once you exit onto Grosvenor Place, the visit is complete. Converting your ticket to a 1-Year Pass is the route to coming back.
Weather and clothing: The State Rooms get very hot in summer, and the garden exit is a long outdoor gravel path. Comfortable shoes and light layers are the right call.
Accessibility at Buckingham Palace
The standard admission route into the State Rooms is not step-free. Step-free access exists but must be pre-booked through the Royal Collection Trust's Specialist Sales team ahead of time, who can also arrange accessible parking, subject to availability, with at least three full working days' notice.
A free access companion ticket is available for disabled visitors and can be booked online. Concessionary rates apply for disabled visitors across all palace venues. Accessible toilets and limited seating are available along the route, and the terrace café and garden shop are accessible.
The multimedia guide is available in British Sign Language with subtitles, and an audio-descriptive guide is available for blind and partially sighted visitors. A number of wardens are trained Dementia Friends. The Royal Collection Trust publishes a detailed Access Guide and Photo Journey covering the full route, worth reviewing before booking if mobility is a consideration, since the tour covers several large rooms over two floors and exits via the long gravel garden path with limited respite seating.
The Royal Mews is accessible throughout, though with cobbled and uneven flooring in places, and The King's Gallery is fully accessible.
Final Tips for Visiting Buckingham Palace
Book in advance on rct.uk. You save £4 per adult against on-the-day prices, and peak-season slots sell out. If you want the East Wing or Garden Highlights tours, book the moment your dates are fixed; they go far faster than standard admission.
Convert your ticket to a free 1-Year Pass before you leave. One visit becomes unlimited visits for a year at no extra cost, one of the best-value quirks of any London attraction.
Do not stack a mid-morning palace slot on a Changing of the Guard day. Watch the ceremony first (arrive at the Victoria Memorial 60 to 90 minutes early) and book the State Rooms for the afternoon, or pick a non-ceremony day and walk straight in through calm streets.
Check the Household Division schedule on the morning of your visit if the Changing of the Guard matters to you. It runs on selected days, not daily, and is cancelled more often than visitors expect.
Pick a midweek September slot if your dates are flexible. Same palace, a fraction of the crowds, and the Exclusive Guided Tour option opens up from 2 September.
Allow real time for the garden, not just the rooms. The interior takes about an hour; the garden walk, café, lawn photographs, and shop are half the experience, and the exit path to Grosvenor Place is a ten-minute walk on its own.
If you are on Universal Credit or other named UK benefits, book the £1 tickets. The offer covers the State Rooms, the Royal Mews, and The King's Gallery.
Pair the visit with St James's Park and Westminster Abbey for the definitive royal London day: ceremony, palace, park, Abbey, all within a 15-minute walking radius.
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