The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace

«Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse, under her chair.»
I found myself talking to a taxi driver in Brisbane, Australia, who was planning to visit London and clearly citing the Buckingham Palace State Apartments as real London tourist ‘must do’.
The State Apartments are only open to the public during the British summer. Not everyone gets to say they have really been to Buckingham Palace, other than those invited to garden parties, investitures or state events but the summer months enable anyone with a ticket to discover the rich history of one of the most famous city sights.
Opening dates this year are:
30 July — 31 August 2016 Open daily 09:15−19:45
(last admission 17:15)
1 – 25 September 2016 Open daily 09:15−18:45
(last admission 16:15)
I have taken my mother here annually for years and every year we learn something new and rediscover the amazing history of what was Buckingham House. A typical visit lasts between 2 hours and 2 hours 30 minutes.
I would highly recommend taking up the audio tour of the Palace as it enables you to tour the apartments at your own pace in addition to providing you with a rich and engaging full history narrative. There is quite a grand opening to the audio tour and I never fail to get goose bumps walking into the entrance of the Palace listening to Zadok the Priest.
There is always a special exhibition which makes each year unique and worth a new visit to discover a little more about UK Royal history. One year was the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, another The Queen’s dresses over the years.
You can up the value of your tickets by buying a bundle that gives you access to The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace, in addition to The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews (also well worth the visit). The website is super up to date so check out:
After finishing the State Apartments tour you can take a leisurely stroll through the rear gardens of Buckingham Palace and peruse the Royal gift shop to pick up some souvenirs to remind you of your visit, or to pass on a unique London gift on your return home.
Well hopefully I’ve wetted your appetite to ensure Buckingham Palace is firmly on your to do list this summer. I hope you enjoy visiting as much as I have over the years.

What a great day out this is when the state rooms are open! My mum and I spent three hours wondering around the palace and gawping at all the pretty things.
It’s lush, grand, beautiful, over the top, elegant… I think everyone should go and check it out.
The gift shop is also incredible! Something for EVERY price range. All made in the UK. Loads of different version of everything. I had at least 6 tea towels to choose from as a souvenir!
We booked our tickets through
which meant we sadly couldn’t validate our tickets to come back again over the next year — so if you do book it might be better going with Buck Palace direct.

Worth every penny (well pence I guess). The palace is extraordinary. There is nothing like this in the US. If you like history, works of art and beautiful things, you should check out this tour. The self-​guided tour gives a great deal of detail. I do wish you could take pictures but they have a reasonably priced guidebook. If you are going to London, you cannot miss this national treasure.

I was SO excited that our dates in London coincided with the weeks each summer that the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace are open. We booked in advance to gain a timed entry. Entry was easy –but do have airport style security — no camera’s allowed — my husband had his on a cross body strap and had to wrap it in a bag (which they provided) since he didn’t have a separate bag for it. Only hiccup for us of the day. Audio guide was good/​useful. Move at your own pace. Rooms are amazing! This summers special theme was «A Royal Welcome» — with exhibits on how the palace prepares for state visits. Facinating– 5 people who’s whole job is polishing silver! Coronation and state gowns and jewels. If only I could have sat in the throne… Ahhh.
Even my husband said one of the most amazing things we did on our vacation this year.
GO!

Take my advice and pay the extra cash for a skip the lines tour available from any of the local tour companies. Buckingham’s stateroom are only opened to the public for a short period each year and it’s absolutely packed most days, lines and crowds are standard.
Once inside you’ll see what all the hubbub is about. The interiors are absolutely breathtaking in an understated way.
Tip: be sure to use the loo before starting the tour as the only toilets available are after you have exited the palace building and entered the garden. The exhibition is quite lengthy and you won’t want to rush it because you forgot to go pee.

The first time I went to London I thought this was the most beautiful bank I had ever seen. Now that I am older and can appreciate what I was looking at, I understand that this is where the last vestiges of a far away past retain their power. Resultantly, I knew I had to go inside.
I bought tickets about six months in advance to enter the 19 staterooms that the British royals have used to entertain heads of state and negotiate treaties for the past few centuries. Many of these rooms contained vases my height and priceless Tudor and 19^th century art. As a result of at least a mile walk through the rooms I felt significance of this place, since if the royals who occupied these rooms had not existed America would have not come to pass in the same fashion.
That being said, I did not do the audio tour as these rooms were insanely massive. It felt like I was walking through a football stadium and after a while the massive curtains, gold leaf, genealogy graphs and exhibits of the royal children’s toys struck me as excessive and tacky.
I’m happy I went and while I thought the gold leaf and pastels were over the top I had to constantly keep in mind that I would never have a palace that size with that much gold and that many beautiful chandeliers. I’m okay with that as it seemed like a lot to clean and my mother would have just complained about my cleaning ability (as she asked a docent if she could speak to the Queen about her dirty curtains).

Took an audio tour. I was expecting to see fantastically done rooms worthy of royalty with a great historical background. Instead I got huge rooms dedicated to the toys used by William and Harry as children. I could give zero s**** about what someone my own age played with when they were young. I barely care about what I played with when I was young. Seriously??? Do Brits even care about them this much? Why would I pay for that? Total false advertising. They even had some kind of plastic ugly cake that one of the royals had at their christening. Who cares.
Disclaimer I did get to see a few pretty rooms but the audio explanation was so poor it took too long for them to get to anything interesting about the room I soon lost interest.

Too bad they don’t allow pictures taking inside. It is amazing how the «humble little» residence of the family of Dukes turns into a grand palace fit for generations of kings and queens.

We were so excited that our trip coincided with the opening of this exhibit! Our tour began at 9:30am and we got to the side gates at 9:15 and we were already the second group to go in, so plan to be there a little early if you don’t like being towards the end. But honestly, it doesn’t matter because after you go inside, it is all at your own pace. The entrance is on the left side of Buckingham Palace when facing it. It is hard to miss because they’ve added big white tents for the entrance. Don’t bother taking your cameras because there is absolutely no photography allowed once inside. You are only able to take photos of the garden at the end of the tour and the back of Buckingham Palace. We had to lug the camera around the whole day because it didn’t say it on the website. Luckily, it kind of helps because the tour would go so slow with everyone crowding everything to take a photo of everything in sight. After the airport like security at the entrance, you pick up your free audio guide and start the tour. This was a great experience to be able to see mostly everything important in the palace. Obviously you can’t see all 700+ rooms but you see the ones that are most important. They’ve roped off certain areas but you can still see the important parts of the building. Many of the staterooms have been left in tact, with minor adjustments made for public viewing as is Versailles in France. Everything is so well done and organized. The audio guide is very easy to use and is very detailed. It clearly tells you which number to input for each section. Also, there are placards inside with numbers if you want to learn more about a specific section. They’ve done a wonderful job modernizing the tour as well, by incorporating current royals such as Prince William and Harry as well as the lives of everyone who has lived in the palace. The tour lasts about 1.5 hours but could indeed last more if you view and hear everything. Overall, this tour was amazing and very well done. The tour ends at the back of the palace and you exit through the gardens which is nice because you get to take as many photos of that as possible and it truly is remarkable and vast. However, the exit is pretty far from where you began the tour/​front of Buckingham.
THIS IS ONLY HERE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 28!

The whole time I was thinking: Kings and queens have sat here, walked there and used that toilet. or should I say that ‘loo’?
Everything is beyond extravagant. If I lived here, I’d die of heartbreak from knocking over and breaking everything since I’m such a big klutz. But that’s beside the point.
You should definitely visit the palace if you can. It’s only open to the public during the summer. And for 19 pounds (there’s a discount for students and groups of 15+ people), it is something worth seeing. Make sure you come in before your scheduled time since there is a long wait especially at security. Large bags are not permitted but you can check them in and pick them up after you are done. Also, photography is not allowed.
You are given an audio tour so you go at your own pace. However, I believe most people finish within 2 – 3 hours. At the end, you walk through the garden and gift store. Then before you exit, you can stamp your ticket for free readmittance for a year.

I saved my best review for last. Yes this is better than all the Fish and Chips; Steak and Kidney pies; Bangers and Mash; that one usually Unilocal about. I’ve seen the outside of Buckingham palace many times. It doesn’t really look that special from the outside. Bill Maher recently joked that it looks like a Salt Lake City Women’s prison. So when I read that if you are lucky enough to visit London during August or September, they open up the 19 staterooms to a tour, I thought that’s amazing you can actually go inside — Sign me up.
This is the country that invented and perfected the queue. To say this tour was handled professionally was an understatement. Your ticket is a timed entry, so they don’t have too many people at one time entering the palace. The result was a nice relaxed self guided headphone tour through all the different rooms, without feeling rushed. Eventually leading out to the gardens to stroll before exiting. Having visited Versailles just a few days before and having to deal with the ridiculously long lines and crushed shoulder to shoulder mob going every which way, Buckingham Palace was the other end of the spectrum of class and organization. Plus Buckingham Palace is a real working palace. 10 months of the year these are the exact rooms and hallways that the world’s leaders are treated to. Everything on display here is the real deal…“this jade statue was give to Queen Victoria by… blah blah blah to commemorate blah blah blah…”
Since this year marked the 60^th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation, the ball room was used to showcase exhibits pertaining to that event. The queen’s coronation gown had so much detail to it, that photos don’t really do it justice, you just have to see it first hand. In fact that goes for the whole palace. Photography isn’t allowed inside, so I’ve just included some photos that I found on the web. This is a don’t miss tour if you are lucky to be visiting in August or September. You can also combine this ticket with a tour of the Royal Mews (which houses the coaches and stables) and the Queen’s gallery (which houses a changing display of artwork from the Royal Collection). If you get your tickets in advance you get can a discount on all 3. If not you have to buy individually. The State Room Tours do sell out, so I would recommend getting tickets at least a week ahead of time; but it seemed 3 days were enough. For sure don’t roll up the day of and expect to get in. Allow about 4 hours for all 3 tours. Or an hour and half to 2 hours for just the State Room tour.

Totally beyond awesome! A must do!
On the tour you go around thinking, «Damn in this palace all of the world’s movers and shakers have met and discussed only God knows what and now here I am standing were it all has went down.» This year makes the visit to b-​palace even that much more magical because it’s the Queen’s 60^th Coronation. Not to mention baby Prince George was born this year and if you live to see him reign as King well just how awesome is it to say, «Yep I went to the Palace when his grandmother celebrated her 60^th year.» I am so glad I will have this memory :) Oh you British royals!
As far as ticketing goes, best to buy online. Stand in the designated line to «pick up tickets» first head to the Queen’s Gallery, next the Mews, and then the Palace. The staff will direct you to do this. Also there aren’t any restrooms to use in the Palace so go before you enter that que/​line.
The garden café is where I first experienced clotted cream, strawberries and jam on scones, so amazing! It’s here where you are also allowed to take photos, no photos indoors :(
But again I’m so happy I took this tour!

One word: stunning

This is an absolute treat! It is so much fun walking through Buckingham Palace with the flag flying, know that the Queen is in residence. You also can’t help but imagine all of the people who have walked these halls and what fun events have taken place here. My friend and I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like for Kate to meet her future Grandmother in law for the first time. The rooms are beautiful with wonderful color and incredible art! There was a special exhibit of the Queen’s diamonds which is pretty spectacular, though they didn’t do a very good job managing the traffic through the room. It was such a fun way to spend 2 hours. I highly recommend it.

If I could go again I would. I have never, ever seen anything like this. Ever. And I have seen a lot. The opulance, the art, the high ceilings, the sheer square footage of the place… it is absolutely stunning. It would take a lifetime to get through all the rooms and enjoy them if one were to live there. Absolutely magnificent. Including the beautiful ballroom with the levels for seating and upper level for live orchestra. Absolutely amazing. Unlike anything most people will see in their lifetime.

If you want to visit Buckingham Palace, do it in the summer when the entire suite of State Rooms are open to the public. You’ll see more of the place than most official visitors do.
You’ll see rooms that you only get a glimpse of on TV. The state dinners in the ballroom. The arrivals at the portico. Concerts in the music room. And the audio tour has lots of curious little chatty bits you can hear as an option.
And there’s always a special exhibition for summer visitors. In 2012, it was an exhibition of diamond crowns and ceremonial jewels, so you can get up-​close and personal with priceless stuff.
My fave is the White Drawing Room. Someone laid it on with a trowel, lemme tellya.

We had purchased tickets in advance online so we were able to skip the normal ticket line. We had also purchases some of the guidebooks with our tickets and were surprised to see that they weren’t just pamphlets but full blown books, well worth the price, especially since you aren’t allowed to take photos inside the palace .
We started off the day by going to the Queens gallery and the Royal Mews, both well worth it.
The palace itself was outstanding, so much wonderful art and history to see. We also had the opportunity to see the Royal Fabrege and the Duchess’s Wedding Gown. It was a bit crowded with tourists but i can imagine it’s worse in the summer. My husband wants to go back again and walk through slower. I think we were a bit tired of walking and rushed through a bit. make sure to leave plenty of time to walk through the gardens and enjoy the area.

Un beau bâtiment
De l’extérieur, le bâtiment en impose ! Face à une magnifique statue, la vue donne sur Green Park. La relève de la garde n’a rien d’impressionnant. C’est le monument le plus typique donc un petit détour est quand même nécessaire quand on va à Londres.

Ahhh Ohhhhh

This palace has 775 rooms. On this tour you get to see what I assume are the grandest «living» rooms and reception areas. There is a small museum on this tour with paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer, etc. That was worth the price of admission alone! Some of the décor in the palace is also to die for. The audio tour is well done. You have to wonder how they heat the damn thing. The whole place and this tour has a theme park quality to it.
Of course, after seeing the inside of the Palace it was clear to me why America had to fight its Revolution. It was shocking that such wealth and governmental power could be controlled within families and passed through bloodlines for thousands of years. Who would want to be governed by a bunch of inbred people wearing tiaras and giant ermine coats? The current Queen has a great wardrobe, however.
We had teas and a scone with clotted cream and jam in the Garden Café afterward. The scone was good, but surprisingly generic. There was NOTHING royal about the brown sugar… It barely sweetened the tea! If the Queen has any power left she should at least stock better sugar in her backyard café. Hmmph!

Well worth visiting. The free audio guide is excellent and the arrangements for visitors are extremely good. It is worth booking in advance to avoid the ticket queues; tickets are timed but once in the palace there is no attempt to hurry visitors through. You can go at your own pace and spend all day there if you wish, although our stroll through the state rooms took just under two hours. Visitors can then enjoy tea, coffee and light snacks (sandwiches, cake etc.) on the terrace before taking a further stroll through part of the palace garden. To be honest, before visiting, I wasn’t entirely sure that I really wanted to go… but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would be very happy to go again.

When the Queen is away, Tourists can play.
If you are in London at any time during 27 July — 1 October 2010 you are in luck and can gain an inside peak into the life, home, and offices of the Queen!
Do not miss this if you are here during this time. The cost is somewhat pricey but once you buy a ticket you can come back as often as you like and since most other sites in London are FREE this one is definitely worth splurging on. The tour takes you through the 19 staterooms located in the Palace and allows you to see some of the finest French and English furnishings as well as paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, and Canaletto. It truly is a remarkable experience and one that is not to be missed.
Once done with the tour, you exit to the back of the palace where there is the Garden Café. You can grab a pricey bit to eat here, take some photos, and then head on to the gift shop. The gift shop has some great souvenirs and I found them to be reasonably priced. I even got a free book about the pets in the palace for spending 30.
Take Note: It is forbidden to take photos while inside the palace so unless you snag an invite to a reception when the Queen is in town, put your camera away. However, you can take as many photos as you like once you are outside in the Gardens where the tour ends.

Un peu déçue…
Certes, le palais est immense. c’est à voir, mais je m’attendais tout de même à mieux… Le principal intérêt reste sûrement la relève de la garde, mais là encore, elle a lieu à certaines heures et pas tous les jours…

A voir absolument
Je suis allé voir cette magnifique batisse, emblème incontestable de la monarchie britannique un samedi en tout début d’après midi et il y avait beaucoup, beaucoup de personnes. J’ai loupé la releve qui commence à 11h30, je suis arrivé à la fin. A savoir qu’en été les appartements sont à visiter, si vous avez la patience d’attendre allez y ça vaut le coup d’oeil.

Lieu inoubliable
A voir absolument ! C’est un peu le plus grand monument à voir de Londres. La façade est très impressionante et les gardes de même. Il faut regarder les horaires de la «relève de la garde» pour y aller car sinon il n’y a pas grand chose à voir. La relève de la garde est un moment mémorable mais que je trouve un peu long… malheureusement avec la foule on né voit pas grand chose et il faut réussir à bien se placer et à arriver tôt.

Ce lieu est symbolique
Je né suis pas en extase devant le palais proprement dit, c’est un imposant (et un tantinet lourdingue) édifice bien gris qui né respire pas la joie de vivre. Mais je trouve l’endroit très intimidant car il est symbolique de la puissance anglaise. Du coup, je trouve totalement décalés et parfaitement ridicules les passants qui tentent de déconcentrer les gardes avec leur pitreries… J’ai fait la ballade depuis Queensway (Nord de Hyde Park) jusqu’à Buckingham à pied, puis à travers St Jame’s Park, c’est reposant (sauf pour mes pieds) et ça permet de méditer.

Superbe !
En arrivant devant cet énorme château on se demande où on est ! La place devant Buckingham Palace est immense, moitié piétons, moitié voitures, avec la statue et ces jets d’eau, tout est magnifique ! On a même la vue sur un parc, à voir ! Les dorures sur les portes sont magnifiques et tellement il y a de personnes pour veiller à la bonne sécurité de la reine, on a peur de s’approcher ! Malheureusement, lorsque j’y suis allé, je n’ai pas pu voir la relève de la garde mais ce n’est que partie remise !

L’emblême de Londres !
Assister à la relève est toujours un moment fort, surtout en été avec ces uniformes rouges flamboyants ! Le palais est également grandieux. La monarchie britannique dans toute sa splendeur.

Icôné de la monarchie anglaise
Qui n’est pas allé à Londres sans «voir» Buckingham Palace et sa relève de la garde??? La place regorge toujours de touristes, mais c’est normal ! La relève de la Garde quant à elle, est à voir. Par contre, je trouve lamentable qu’on laisse passer les gens devant les grilles, car ceux qui sont un peu plus loin né voient absolument rien aux Gardes qui sont derrière les grilles ! Enfin bon c’est juste un détail… pas besoin d’en faire des tonnes pour comprendre que c’est un endroit à voir absolument lorsqu’on est à Londres !

La résidence de la reine
Le château est impressionnant, je vous conseille de faire la visite au moment de la relève de la garde (impressionnant lorsqu’il y a la garde montée), les jardins (st james parc) sont aussi très bien entretenus et il est agréable de s’y poser un peu (vous verrez même des écureuils).

Joli
Juste un petit tour rapide au milieu d’une ballade entre Green Park et St James Park et cela suffira. C’est joli mais rien de transcendant. Peut être pour la relevée de la garde.

A voir mais pas absolument !
Je vais peut-​être en décevoir certains mais Buckingham né me laisse pas un souvenir impérissable ! (je né l’ai vu que de l’extérieur). Une fois qu’on a vu la relève de la garde, pas la peine de rester là à s’extasier ! Ce qui est sympa c’est la calèche qui y passé, complètement déroutant en plein Londres !

Lieu touristique
C’est un lieu qu’il faut voir absolument quand on visite Londres, mais à part cela il n’y a rien d’extraordinaire, la relève de la garde est impressionnante, mais fait plus figure de spectacle que d’une réelle tradition. Le lieu est magnifique, malgré l’architecture Victorienne imposante et même un peu lourde. L’avenue est superbe comme la place et surtout les jardins et parcs aux alentours, mais attention à la météo, cela peut gâcher tout le spectacle.

Un beau souvenir
C’était vraiment chouette: le palais est magnifique et en plus, j’ai pu assister au défilé de la garde royale, c’était vraiment magnifique. J’ai essayé de faire rire la garde: impossible, je sais pas comment ils tiennent ! On a beau dire mais Londres c’est quand même une des plus belles villes du monde !

Froid et lourd…
Le palais est un peu décevant, le style victorien est décidément très lourd, et manqué de couleur… Heureusement, la place est belle et c’est agréable de se promener en se dirigeant vers Picadilly-​circus à travers les parcs.

Bof…
Rien de transcendant dans ce palais, quelques gardes qui né bougent pas, les pauvres… une bâtisse imposante au style lourd… Il vaut mieux laisser le palais dans le dos et remonter le long de Saint Jame’s Parc, un pur plaisir de tranquilité et de calme.

Buckingham palace
Qui n’a jamais entendu parler de Buckingham Palace??? Lieu typique de Londres, il est innondé de monde, venant de tout pays… c’est hallucinant de voir le nombre d’ethnies rassemblées… formidables!

100% touristique!
Quel monde autour de ce palais! J’ai halluciné! La relève de la garde est plus une attraction touristique qu’autre chose et le look des gardes est quand même bien marrant avec leur fourrure sur la tête …et dire qu’ils né doivent pas bouger pendant des heures… ils sont fous ces anglais!