Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is London’s royal front door, with a broad ceremonial façade and the gilded Victoria Memorial facing the gates. The view is familiar, but standing at the railings makes the scale of the palace and its place at the end of The Mall much easier to appreciate.

Allow half an hour at the public forecourt for the palace exterior and memorial. Stand back from the railings as well as looking through them: the scale of the forecourt is part of the spectacle.

The outside visit is free. Changing the Guard follows its own calendar and can be cancelled, so a ceremony is not part of this stop. The State Rooms are a separate paid experience, mainly offered in summer with other limited tours at selected times; an exterior visit does not include admission through the gates.