Buckingham Palace: What Most Visitors Miss
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms, and for exactly 12 weeks a year you can walk through about 19 of them. The State Rooms open for public tours only from 9 July to 27 September 2026, GBP 33 for an adult ticket, and the palace goes back to being closed to visitors (forecourt and Changing of the Guard only) the other 40 weeks. Miss the summer window and there’s no year-round backup tour of the interior, whatever a rushed itinerary might assume.
Key facts
| Detail | Facts |
|---|---|
| Price | GBP 33 adult (25+), GBP 21.50 young person (18-24), GBP 16.50 child (5+), under 5 free |
| Hours | 9 Jul-31 Aug: daily 09:30-19:30; 1-27 Sep: Thursday-Monday 09:30-18:30 |
| Time needed | 2-3 hours for the State Rooms and gardens |
| Booking lead | Book online ahead; day-of tickets exist, subject to availability, and cost GBP 2-4 more |
| Getting there | Green Park or Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly, Jubilee lines), 10 minute walk |
Can you visit Buckingham Palace outside of summer?
Only the outside. The forecourt, the gates, and the Changing of the Guard ceremony are viewable free year-round, but the State Rooms interior is a strictly dated summer product tied to the royal family’s move to Balmoral. Plan an October or December trip around the exterior and the free Changing of the Guard, not the rooms.
Is the Changing of the Guard worth the early alarm?
Yes, provisionally. The ceremony runs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday around 11:00, plus a Sunday parade at 10:00, but the published schedule is subject to short-notice weather cancellation, so check the Household Division’s calendar the week you’re going rather than locking in a date months out. Arrive 30-45 minutes early for a sightline that isn’t three rows of raised phones deep. Combine the ceremony with the walk to Westminster Abbey or Big Ben while the crowd’s already out.
How much of the palace do you actually see?
About 19 rooms out of 775, all on the State floor: the Throne Room, the White Drawing Room, the State Dining Room, and the Picture Gallery, which holds Rembrandts, Rubenses, and Van Dycks from the Royal Collection. The other 756 rooms are working royal and government space, and no ticket gets you into them.
Book the State Rooms entry ticket as soon as your dates are fixed, since the 12-week run sells through fast. Confirm the exact price tier and current opening days on the Royal Collection Trust’s own page before you commit, and check the guard schedule for the specific week you land.