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Bucket list experience:

View of the palace behind the gate

Last updated: 06 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Sarah Barrell

With a Hyde Park backdrop, this handsome red-brick palace has been modernised over the centuries, but dates back to the 1700s. Much has happened in these hallowed apartments: Queen Victoria was born here and the late Princess Diana lived here; now William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have made it their London home.

The latest big renovation project finished in summer 2012, with newly landscaped gardens, revamped state rooms and exhibitions like Victoria Revealed, an exploration of Victoria’s reign in her own words.

The highlights here are a collection of Queen Victoria’s jewellery, an interactive display where you can step into Victorian garb and a statue of Diana, Princess of Wales in the Sunken Garden. The palace’s rotating programme of temporary exhibitions is well worth checking out, previously including a display of Princess Diana’s dresses and a look back at Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

While you’re there

Take afternoon tea in the Pavilion – the only place in London where you can take tea in the grounds of a royal palace.

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Price from: £17
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The nearest Underground stations are High Street Kensington (Circle and District Lines) and Queensway (Central Line).

You need to buy tickets in advance from the website and for afternoon tea in the Pavilion. There are no tours or audio guides, but a series of self-guided exhibitions.

When to do it

The palace is open year-round, Wednesday to Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

The Kensington Palace Gardens Royal High Tea

The Kensington Palace Gardens Royal High Tea

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VIP Tour: Royal High Tea At Kensington Palace Gardens

VIP Tour: Royal High Tea At Kensington Palace Gardens

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As a VIP, you will receive the option between a glass of English Sparkling Wine or Pimm's cocktail & priority seating. Experience the origi...

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

Portobello Hotel

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Dazzling design and local colour abound at this intimate, under-the-radar bolthole in a convenient, upmarket location.

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Sydney House

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A value-for-money Georgian townhouse hotel that offers a pleasingly tranquil feel, set on a refined residential street in the heart of Chelsea.

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Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

London, United Kingdom (UK)

A gloriously opulent Edwardian hotel, with Michelin-starred dining, a subterranean spa and a wonderful location overlooking Hyde Park – one of the capital’s most expensive, most luxurious addresses.

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Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

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Round-ups that include this experience

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