Royal London

Adopted as the British monarch’s official London residence on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837, the world’s most famous – if architecturally bland – royal palace is viewed by most visitors from the outside only. Walk up the Mall to get the most impressive view, and once you’ve mingled with the crowds, dip into leafy St James’ Park for coffee with the squirrels, who eat out of the hands of passersby.

In the summer months, the State Rooms and gardens open up to visitors; you can take your own picnic if visiting the gardens, and there are pre-bookable Gardener’s Tours for green-fingered visitors.

A Tudor royal pleasure palace set in 60 acres of gorgeous formal gardens and 750 acres of parkland. Anyone with the remotest interest in English history will get a kick out of exploring this sprawling Tudor and Baroque estate, where the infamous Henry VIII lived, loved and held lavish banquets.

Navigating the UK’s oldest surviving hedge maze, commissioned around 1700, is something of a rite of passage for British kids, with families often opting to visit the gardens alone (maze-only tickets are available). But don’t miss the Great Hall and royal apartments, the elaborate dome in the Chapel Royal or the gallery – reputedly haunted by Henry’s fated fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

You can also play Mary Poppins with a walk on the palace roof, on guided summertime tours that take in the intricate brickwork and chimneys and give VIP views of the estate.

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.

Few capital cities can match London for the number of elegant parks that stretch out alongside the busy streets, great swathes of tree-lined green, spanning over 5,000 acres. There are eight Royal Parks to explore,  originally created as hunting and pleasure grounds for the royal family, each one a different experience.

The oldest park, St James, dates back to 1532, when Henry VIII purchased the land for a deer park. Surrounded by palaces on three sides – Westminster, St James’ and Buckingham – this is the heart of royal London, and where Elizabeth I held all manner of pageants and fetes during her reign.

The other main parks in central London are Hyde, Regents, St James and Green Park, while Richmond and Greenwich sit to the west and east respectively. All of the parks are dotted with cafes, and can be a wonderful place to sit with a picnic and watch Londoners slowing the pace for an hour or two.

The Royal Mews house an impressive collection of Royal State Coaches and Carriages, including the instantly recognisable Gold State Coach, commissioned in 1760 and used at the coronation of every British monarch since George IV.

Designed by John Nash, the architect responsible for redesigning Buckingham Palace, the Mews takes in the pre-existing riding school (constructed in 1760s), a grand clock tower, quadrangle, coach houses and two sets of state stables.

As a working branch of the Royal House, the Mews is responsible for all royal road travel, by car, horse and carriage plus the care and training of the Queen’s Windsor Greys and Cleveland bays horses.

The Tower of London is one of the UK’s most iconic and impressive historical attractions. Yes, it’s stuffed with tourists but for good reason: inside, you’ll get up close to the Crown Jewels, including the Queen’s crown and the armour of the great Tudor King, Henry VIII. Its White Tower is the oldest intact building in London, built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century.

The resident Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters) give excellent free tours of the various wings, uncovering some gruesome stories from the Tower’s role as a prison in the Middle Ages. This is where ‘traitors’ were executed – the water gate entrance, built by Edward I, witnessed a stream of prisoners enter the Tower for execution, including Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More and Catherine Howard. The unfortunate’s head would be displayed on a spike at London Bridge afterwards.

Look out for the resident ravens – legend has it that if they desert the tower, the kingdom will fall.

The pomp and ceremony surrounding the British Monarchy is globally revered, and this, the annual parade in celebration of The Queen’s ‘official’ birthday (not on the actual date), is the tour-de-force of British tradition. Tracing its origins back to the 17th century, the event conveys the valour and pride that still lingers in one of the few remaining monarchical nations.

Regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies perform this traditional ceremony on a Saturday in June, when over 1400 officers and men are on parade in full regalia, together with two hundred horses. Over four hundred musicians from ten bands and corps of drums march and play. The Queen arrives to carry out an inspection of the troops, greeted by a Royal salute.

After around 2.5 hours, the event concludes with a fly-over by the RAF.