General Information
The most famous of buildings associated with the UK monarchy and seen as the home of the Queen, Buckingham Palace is one of the most visited sights in the UK and seen as a must-see by many. The Palace was opened in 1703 and was made the home of the Queen of the United Kingdom at the time in 1761. It was enlarged in the 19th century and has had many refurbishments in its time. The Palace has 775 rooms. These include 19 staterooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms.
The Palace is still used as a royal residence and is used to host invited guests, seeing some 50,000 a year invited to garden parties, receptions and banquets. The Palace forecourt hosts a changing of the guard ceremony during the summer months, which attracts many tourists who watch from the other side of the fence.
Getting there
The Palace is served by four local tube stations and other transport facilities and is local to many other sights in Westminster.
Opening Times and Admission
The palace opens up its staterooms during different periods of the year for visitors to be shown around. The palace is largely closed off to the public though due to the importance of the people it houses. The palace does have its own royal shop selling items that relate to the British Monarchy.
This is the UK, what a beautiful building that is steeped in UK history. The Queen was in on our visit, with the flag raised. We visited as they were changing the guard and that was an experience to see. We got a couple of goodies from the royal shop which were reasonably priced.