Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court is about 35 minutes from Waterloo by South Western Railway, and it’s one of those places that earns the trip every time. The palace is enormous, sprawling across centuries of royal use, and the grounds alone justify the entry fee.

Adult tickets cost £28.50, under-16s get in free. Historic Royal Palaces members get free entry, and if you visit more than once a year it’s worth the membership.

What to See

The State Apartments built for William III and Mary II are the obvious draw. They feel genuinely grand, not just dusty-museum grand, and the painted ceilings by Antonio Verrio in the King’s apartments are worth slowing down for. Most people rush through.

The Tudor Kitchens are among the best-preserved in Europe. You can walk through the rooms where hundreds of cooks worked to feed Henry VIII’s 600-strong court, and the scale of the operation — multiple fireplaces, enormous roasting spits — gives a better sense of Tudor court life than most exhibitions manage.

The Maze, planted around 1700, is the oldest surviving hedge maze in Britain. Honestly, it’s not that difficult. You’ll do it in 20 minutes. Children love it, adults mostly pretend they found it harder than it was.

The Baroque Gardens stretching to the east are free to enter and underrated. The Long Water canal runs for almost a kilometre through the Home Park. In spring, the flower gardens near the palace entrance are particularly good.

Food and Drink

The Tiltyard Café on the grounds is the practical choice for lunch, with reasonable hot food options. The Garden Café near the Privy Garden serves a similar menu with outdoor seating. For something better, the town of East Molesey just outside the main gates has several pubs, including the Mute Swan by the river, which does decent food and has a good terrace.

Getting There and Staying

Hampton Court itself is a small residential area with limited hotel options. Most people base themselves in Richmond (10 minutes by train), Kingston upon Thames (20 minutes on foot across the bridge), or central London. The Richmond Hill Hotel has good views and reasonable rates. Kingston has a wider range of mid-budget options including several chain hotels near the town centre.

If driving: there is a car park but it fills on weekends. The train is easier.

A Few Practical Points

The palace can take a full day if you’re going through everything properly. A half-day visit is possible if you stick to two or three areas. Audio guides are included in the entry price and are genuinely useful for context in the State Apartments.

Visitor numbers are highest from late July through August and during the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival (June), when evening concerts in the Base Court attract large crowds. The shoulder season (March through May, September through October) is noticeably more comfortable.