Planning a London trip and wondering if a tour of Buckingham Palace is worth it? Short answer: yes, mostly because these are some of the hardest tickets in the city to get your hands on. The State Rooms open for just a few weeks each summer, entry is timed, capacity is capped, and slots disappear fast. Book a guided tour and you get more than a secured place: a walking tour through St. James’s Park and up The Mall, plus a guide who puts you in position for the Changing of the Guard.
Below I break down what a solo visit costs and gets you, where a guide earns their fee, and which tours are worth booking.
Pro Tip: Planning your trip to London? Bookmark this post so you can find it when you’re in the city. Check out our guide to London for planning resources, and our Buckingham Palace guide for tickets, hours, and what to see.
What Is Buckingham Palace?
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch and a working royal headquarters, not a museum that happens to have a king. It hosts state banquets and investitures year-round, which is why public access is so tightly controlled.
The site started as Buckingham House in 1698, home of the Duke of Buckingham, which is where the name comes from. George IV turned it into a palace in the 1820s, and Queen Victoria became the first sovereign to live there in 1837.
The numbers: 775 rooms in total, of which 19 State Rooms open to the public.
The part everyone pictures: the front facade and balcony, built in 1913, with the Queen Victoria Memorial standing 82 feet tall out front and The Mall running toward Trafalgar Square.
One thing to clear up early: you cannot walk up and buy your way inside on any given day. The State Rooms open to visitors each summer, and the rest of the year the palace opens only on selected dates. Check current dates, hours, and entry rules on the official Royal Collection Trust website.
Not ready to book a tour? Read our full guide on how to visit Buckingham Palace.
The State Rooms
The interior route takes in the Grand Staircase, the Picture Gallery hung with Rembrandt and Van Dyck, the Throne Room, and the Ballroom, the largest State Room in the palace. Visits are timed and self-guided with a multimedia guide, and they finish with a walk out through the garden.
The Changing of the Guard
The ceremony takes place in the forecourt, inside the gates, and needs no ticket at all. It dates back to 1689, runs about an hour, and draws a crowd that forms well before anything starts.
Is a Tour of Buckingham Palace Worth It?
Short answer: Yes, though the value sits outside the palace walls as much as inside them. A State Rooms ticket runs £33 for an adult booked in advance, and £37 on the day, and it buys you a self-guided visit. A tour adds entry that is already secured, plus a guide who walks you through royal London first and puts you in the right place at the right time for the Changing of the Guard.
Let’s be upfront about two things. We’re a tour company, so of course we lean toward a tour. And the palace does not allow guiding inside, so nobody’s live commentary follows you into the Throne Room. You get a free multimedia guide in nine languages instead, and it is genuinely good.
So the honest comparison looks like this:
- Going solo: cheapest route, entirely workable if you book your timed slot early and are happy reading a screen as you walk.
- Taking a tour: your slot is handled, and the hour beforehand turns The Mall and St. James’s Park from scenery into story.
Anyone visiting outside the summer season faces a different question, since the interior is mostly closed. Here is where a guide earns their keep.
Not ready to book a tour? See the top things to see at Buckingham Palace.
Guaranteed Entry in a Short Season
Tickets are the pressure point at Buckingham Palace. The State Rooms open for only a few weeks each summer, capacity is capped, and slots are timed. Book a tour and your entry is secured rather than left to whatever is still available. Security screening still applies on arrival.
The Right Spot for the Changing of the Guard
Watching the ceremony costs nothing, which makes the viewing position the entire game. Show up at the wrong time or the wrong railing and you’ll spend an hour looking at the back of someone’s head. Our guides know which vantage points work and when to arrive, so you actually see the handover instead of hearing it.
Royal Context Before You Walk In
The palace makes more sense once you’ve crossed St. James’s Park, originally Henry VIII’s hunting ground, and walked up The Mall, the processional road built for the exact moments you’ve watched on television. A guide ties it all into one thread before the self-guided portion begins.
Inside the Palace, or Just the Ceremony?
Short answer: Both if your dates allow, the ceremony alone if they don’t. The State Rooms are a summer proposition and deserve around two and a half hours. The Changing of the Guard is free, runs year-round on a set schedule, and pairs easily with Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London. If crowds put you off, Horse Guards Parade is quieter.
Most Popular Buckingham Palace Tours
Which tour suits you comes down to your dates, your budget, and whether you want the palace on its own or folded into a bigger day across royal London.
Not ready to book a tour? See the top things to see at Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace Tour FAQs
Yes, provided you book your timed State Rooms slot as soon as the summer season opens. You’ll get the same rooms and the same multimedia guide that tour guests use inside. What you give up is the royal London context beforehand and a guaranteed place when slots run short.
Budget around two and a half hours for the State Rooms, and roughly four and a half for the wider Royal Day Out. Tours pairing the palace with a walk through St. James’s Park and The Mall add about an hour on the front end.
They do, and regularly. The State Rooms open for only a few weeks each summer with timed entry and capped numbers, so on-the-day availability is never something to count on. Book well ahead, whether a ticket or a tour.
Summer is the only window for the interior, so that decides itself. For the Changing of the Guard, arrive well before the ceremony starts and aim for a spot with a clear sightline to the forecourt gates.
Mostly no. The State Rooms open each summer, and outside that season the palace opens only on selected dates for exclusive guided tours with very limited places. The ceremony out front runs year-round and costs nothing to watch.
Final Verdict
A tour of Buckingham Palace is worth it, as long as you know what you’re buying. Your entry slot is locked down in a season where slots vanish, the royal quarter gets explained by someone who knows it, and the Changing of the Guard stops being a guessing game about where to stand.
Who can skip it: confident independent travelers visiting in summer who book the moment the season opens, and anyone whose only goal is the ceremony out front, which is free and open to all.
Who should book: first-time visitors, anyone traveling outside the summer window, and anyone who wants the palace folded into a full day across royal London.
Either way, don’t leave London without at least standing at those gates. Browse our Buckingham Palace tours and lock in your dates before the season fills.
Not ready to book a tour? Read our full guide on how to visit Buckingham Palace.
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