Buckingham Palace is Britain’s most famous palace, the luxurious residence and workplace of Queen Elizabeth II, which only allows tourists to visit in the summer each year. In 2019, there will be special activities to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria.
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This is the official residence of the British royal family since 1837, the center of the British constitutional monarchy. The walls of the palace have witnessed countless national decisions, sumptuous feasts and ceremonies to welcome foreign officials. Today, this is one of the mostmost visited places in London and in the world.
Inside Buckingham Palace there are many interesting attractions you should not miss. This royal residence has 775 rooms, including 19 State Room and 78 bathrooms. The Ceremony Room is a splendid community room decorated with precious artworks, where the royal family entertained or welcomed dignitaries to visit, and was once used as a royal wedding venue of Prince William and Princess Catherine Middleton.
In addition, do not forget to admire the luxurious beauty of the curved staircase of marble decorated with portraits of Queen Victoria hanging on the wall. Decorated with lampposts with red and gold accents of power. The Throne Room was used as the royal meeting and reception place. This is the room that leads to the East Balcony, where Prince William and Lady Catherine Middleton exchanged a kiss in front of the world at their wedding in April 2011.
Buckingham Palace is also famous for its large collection of art works, although it is not an art gallery or museum, comparable to many national collections, including paintings and sculptures, ceramics, furniture … During the tour around the palace, you will also have an audio guide with the voice of Prince of Wales, Charles.
Buckingham Palace is located in the city of Westminster. Visitors can catch buses from London and St. James’s Park is the nearest subway station, or you can take the subway to the parks, all just two stops away. Because it is only open in the summer when the queen is not at the palace, you are required to book tickets in advance at the palace’s website.
Another interesting little thing is that if the queen has returned, the royal flag on the roof of the palace will be raised.
If you’ve visited Buckingham Palace, don’t miss the Changing the Guard ceremony here, usually starting at 11AM on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, and attracts a lot of visitors to see the dignity of the soldiers. Check in advance for the change schedule and come a little earlier to get a good position.
Address: Westminster, London SW1A 1AA, United Kingdom
Construction started: 1703
Opened: 1703
Floor space: 77,000 m²
Hours: 9:30AM – 5:15PM, closing time 7PM
Admission fee: £24 ($29.66)/adult, or if you go with many people, you can buy a family combo of 2 adults and 3 children for £61.5 ($76.01).
Url: https://www.royal.uk/buckingham-palace
Where to go in London? Museums and art galleries
Like France and most other European countries, the UK has many excellent museums and art galleries. London as the capital of England, of course, has many such places of national stature, moreover there are many places with free admission as a way to encourage tourists to visit. These places are rich in information and history (this is very valuable because as shared above, tickets prices to visit tourist attractions in London are quite expensive).
Museums are divided into topics that are different fields of life to suit each type of visitor, including:
- The British Museum exhibits many works of humankind from ancient times to modern times from around the world.
- Design Museum is a famous museum in the top of this field, from interior decoration to architecture and industrial design.
- Imperial War Museums helps us to visualize the traumatic history of World War I and the role of world organizations helping to fight war and genocide Jews (Holocaust) of Nazi.
- The Science Museum records the history of the past 300 years.
- The Natural History Museum displays the largest and most rare collection of specimens of animals that have existed in the world.
- Bank of England Museum
The above museums are free admission. In addition, you can also spend a little money (£16 ~ $19.73) to visit the London Transport Museum, where you can firsthand explore the means of transport in the last 200 years of London, and of course there is a double-decker bus has been a reputation icon the world of this Three Lions country.
Besides the museum, the galleries are also a specialty of London culture in particular and British culture in general. London has many splendid and beautiful galleries such as:
- National Gallery displays paintings from Europe from the 13th century to the 19th century from painting masters like Van Gogh, da Vinci, Renoir.
- National Portrait Gallery is the largest collection of portraits from the Tudor era (the era of UK ruled from 1485 to 1603) to this day.
- Royal Academy of Arts is the oldest art institution in the UK, established in 1768.
- Saatchi Gallery displays contemporary art works by young artists with many different perspectives … and many other galleries.
Like museums, most galleries are free admission. And trust me, you will feel overwhelmed and never be disappointed once you set foot in the museums or galleries here, because of the scale and logic, the interesting and the amount of useful information that they bring. It is easy to understand, because UK have a long history of developing culture, art, technology for a long time.
Best places to visit in London: The London Eye
What could be more romantic than sitting on a giant ferris wheel known as the “London Eye” to see the city lights up, splendidly beautiful. Coca-Cola London Eye can be considered a prime location right in the city center, located on the south bank of the gentle Thames river, surrounded by ancient buildings interspersed with high-rise buildings.
Economy class tickets allow you to hover in the sky for about 30 minutes, a complete spin. With the clear weather days, your vision can extend to Windsor Castle (40 km away). In addition, you will see all the iconic architectural works of England such as the royal palace, Big Ben clock tower, the National Assembly building and especially watching the beautiful sunset dyed purple sky.
Coca-Cola London Eye with a height of about 135m, welcoming about 3.5 million visitors each year, this is still considered the largest ferris wheel in Europe.
Address: Lambeth, London SE1 7PB, United Kingdom
Height: 135 m
Construction started: 1998
Hours: 11AM–6PM / Saturday, Sunday: 10AM–8:30PM
Admission: £21 ($25.84) for children, £26 ($31.99) for adults, free for children under 4 years old. If go with a groups of 15 or more people will receive a 10% discount. Book online to enjoy a discount rather than buying at the entrance.
Offers are not available on weekends, July and August. Before visiting Coca-Cola London Eye, you should check in advance the operating hours because it may vary seasonally or major holidays.
Interesting places to visit in London: SEA LIFE Centre London Aquarium
SEA LIFE will be an interesting destination for families with children. Here, a miniature ocean is opened, the roof of more than 400 species of sea creatures from around the world. Follow the giant glass tunnels, you will see first-hand the most abundant creature world in Europe at SEA LIFE Aquarium.
The aquarium is located right in the heart of London and plays an important role in the study, conservation and education of environmental and marine life.
Address: Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 7PB, United Kingdom
Opened: March 1997
Hours: 10AM–6PM / Saturda: 9:30AM–7PM (Last entry at 5PM). Summer will close later at 7PM (Last entry at 6PM)
Admission: £17 ($20.97) for children; £21 ($25.91) for adults, free for children under 3 years old.
Url: https://www.visitsealife.com/london/
Best places to visit in London: St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral is considered a magnificent cathedral in the heart of the city, located on Ludgate hill, the highest place in London. The building was designed in the 17th century by the knighted architect Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723). The church bearing bold style of Baroque architecture and is the second largest cathedral in the UK, behind the Liverpool cathedral. In addition, the dome of this church (Dome height (outer): 278ft (85m); Dome height (inner): 225ft (68m)) recorded the 2nd largest record in the world but the highest in the world.
St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most famous tourist attractions in London and in the UK, one of the must see places in London and is also the venue for many important ceremonies such as the funeral of Sir Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Prime Minister Winston Churchill or the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana Spencer.
Don’t forget to take the best photos at the old church, watch the sunset from a beautiful spot or enjoy an afternoon tea in the cafes near the church.
Address: St. Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD, United Kingdom
Hours: 8:30AM – 4:30PM / Sunday: Closed. (Last entry at 4PM, you should refer to the schedule in advance because it may vary depending on the seasons or holidays in year)
Admission: £7 ($8.64) for children and £16 ($19.75) for adults, free for children under 5 years old.
Url: https://www.stpauls.co.uk/
Must see places in London: Chelsea Physic Garden
This famous tourist destination in the UK is one of London top places to visit and is home to the world’s largest garden festival every year, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists, especially gathering many artisans in the field of ornamental plants, gardeners from all over the UK.
The garden was inaugurated in 1673. Inside the solid walls surrounding more than 5000 kinds of plants including precious flowers and herbs worldwide gathered. A lively botanical world of naturally grown flowers and lots of bonsai trees is meticulously trimmed by artisans. Speaking of here, you known the garden in Chelsea is truly a beautiful virtual living mecca to forget the way back. Chelsea Physic Garden is both a beautiful sight-seeing place and a large green area with a fresh climate for walking on sunny days.
Address: 66 Royal Hospital Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS, United Kingdom
Hours: 11AM–6PM
Saturday: Closed
Phone: +44 20 7352 5646
Species: 5,000
Admission: £4 ($4.94) for children and £7 ($8.65) for adults.
Url: https://www.chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk/
Must visit places in London: Big Ben Clock Tower
Big Ben is considered one of the symbols of England and an important historical witness of this country. This clock tower has passed 5 Kings, 23 Prime Ministers and 2 world wars, still standing in the middle of the sky.
The clock tower is part of the Palace of Westminster, rebuilt after the great fire in 1834. Up to now, the world has not been surprised and expressed admiration for the mechanical technology of this clock . Because it is only slower than 1 second during all time operation. Coming to London without a check in photo with Big Ben clock in the background a far is not to come London yet.
Address: Westminster, London SW1A 0AA, United Kingdom
Height: 96 m
Opened: May 31, 1859
Floors: 11
Architects: Augustus Pugin, Charles Barry
Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to London you can refer to
- Shared London Airports (LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, LCY) Transfers to/from Central London
- Private London Heathrow Airport (LHR) Transfers for London
- Tower of London Ticket
- London Pass with 1 Day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
- London Eye Ticket
- Madame Tussauds London Ticket
- Westminster Abbey Ticket
- London Visitor Oyster Card
- London Travelcard
- London Explorer Pass
- London Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off Tours (Open-Top)
What are you waiting for without saving these famous tourist destinations in England and planning a trip to London right away? Have a good trip! Are you looking for more top things to do in London: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Let’s check it out here. And London travel blog — The fullest London travel guide blog & suggested London itinerary 4 days.