Buckingham Palace Tickets: A Complete 2026 Guide for Discerning Travellers — State Rooms, Royal Day Out and the Changing of the Guard

Key Highlights

• The State Rooms inside the palace open for ten weeks only — 9 July to 27 September 2026.
• There are four ways in: the State Rooms, the Royal Mews, The King's Gallery, or the combined Royal Day Out ticket.
• The Royal Day Out (from £65.70 / about $83 per adult) is the best-value route if you want all three venues in one day.
• The Changing of the Guard, watched from outside the gates, is free and runs on set days.
• Summer slots sell out weeks ahead, so secure your tickets before you fly.

Buckingham Palace tickets for the State Rooms cost £33 (about $42) per adult in 2026, and the palace interior is open to the public only from 9 July to 27 September. To add the Royal Mews and The King's Gallery on the same day, the Royal Day Out ticket runs from £65.70 (about $83) per adult. The Changing of the Guard, watched from outside the railings, is free and needs no ticket at all.

From the gates, Buckingham Palace gives up very little. You get the famous facade, the balcony, a flag, and a wall of other visitors angling for the same photograph. What most people never see is the inside — and for good reason. This is a working royal residence, not a museum, so the State Rooms open to the public for only about ten weeks each summer, while the King is away from London.

That narrow window is exactly why planning matters here more than at almost any other London landmark. Turn up in October expecting to walk the Throne Room and you will be turning around at the railings. Arrive in late July with the wrong ticket and you may miss the Royal Mews or The King's Gallery entirely.

This guide lays out every route inside for the 2026 season — what each ticket includes, what it costs in pounds and dollars, when the palace is actually open, and which option suits which kind of traveller. By the end you will know precisely which of the Buckingham Palace tickets to book, and how to build a half-day or full day around it.

Can You Actually Go Inside Buckingham Palace?

Yes — but only in summer, and only with a ticket. The 19 State Rooms inside Buckingham Palace open to visitors for roughly ten weeks a year, while the working palace pauses its official calendar. For 2026 the dates are 9 July to 27 September. Outside that window the interior is closed to general visitors, apart from a small number of pricier guided tours on selected dates.

What "working palace" actually means

Buckingham Palace has around 775 rooms and remains the official London residence and headquarters of the monarch. The 19 State Rooms you tour are the ceremonial core — used through the year for state banquets, investitures and receptions — which is why public access is squeezed into the weeks the King is at Balmoral. You are walking through rooms that go back to official use the moment the season ends.

2026 opening dates and hours

• State Rooms season: 9 July – 27 September 2026.
• 9 July – 31 August: open daily, 9.30am – 7.30pm (last entry 5.30pm).
• 1 – 27 September: open Thursday to Monday only, 9.30am – 6.30pm (last entry 4.30pm).
• Tour length: allow 2 to 3 hours for the self-guided State Rooms route and garden walk.

Buckingham Palace Tickets: The Four Routes Inside

There are four core ways to visit, and choosing the right one is the whole game. You can do the State Rooms alone, the Royal Mews alone, The King's Gallery alone, or combine all three on a single Royal Day Out ticket. Two seasonal add-ons — a Garden Highlights walk and an East Wing tour — sit on top of the State Rooms route.

The four options at a glance

All prices below are 2026-season advance rates; on-the-day tickets cost a few pounds more and often sell out. Children aged 5–17 and disabled visitors pay reduced rates, under-5s are free but still need a booked ticket, and a free access companion ticket is available.

Ticket	What you see	Time needed	Adult price (advance)	Best for
State Rooms	19 State Rooms, Throne Room, Grand Staircase, Picture Gallery, garden walk	2–3 hours	£33 (~$42)	First-time visitors who want the headline experience
The King's Gallery	Rotating Royal Collection exhibition (2026: Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style)	1–1.5 hours	£22 (~$28)	Art-led visitors; anyone here outside the summer window
Royal Mews	Working stables, Gold State Coach, Diamond Jubilee State Coach, royal cars	About 1 hour	£18 (~$23)	Families and anyone drawn to the coaches and horses
Royal Day Out	All three above on one day, with a 10% saving versus separate tickets	About 4.5 hours	£65.70 (~$83)	Returning visitors who want the full estate in one go

The two add-ons worth knowing about

• Garden Highlights walk — a guided tour of the 39-acre garden beyond the standard lawn stroll, around £15 (~$19) on top of your State Rooms ticket. Worth it if you care about the planting, the lake and the history rather than just the building.
• East Wing tour — opened to visitors only since 2025, this guided route reaches the front rooms behind the famous balcony. It runs about £93 (~$118) advance and sells out fast; it does not replace the State Rooms, it extends them.

The four ticket types on Travjoy are researched and approved by local experts, so you can match the route to your trip without second-guessing what each one actually includes.

Is the Royal Day Out Worth It?

For most visitors who want more than a quick look, yes — the Royal Day Out is the best-value way to see the palace estate, bundling the State Rooms, Royal Mews and The King's Gallery with a 10% saving over buying them separately. The trade-off is time and pace: it is a structured, timed sequence that takes most of a day.

Worth it if…

• You want to see all three venues and would otherwise buy them individually anyway.
• You are a returning visitor who has done the State Rooms before and wants the coaches and the gallery too.
• You enjoy a full, paced day at one site rather than dashing between landmarks.

Not ideal if…

• You only really want the State Rooms — the standalone ticket is cheaper and faster.
• You are travelling with young children who may flag over a 4.5-hour sequence.
• Your London time is tight and you would rather spread the royal sights across the city.

The Changing of the Guard, Done Properly

The Changing of the Guard is the one part of a Buckingham Palace visit that costs nothing, and for many travellers it is the highlight. Watched from outside the gates, it needs no ticket — just the right day, the right time, and a sense of where to stand. Get those three right and you have the pageantry without the crush.

When it happens in 2026

• Days: currently Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (subject to change and weather — check before you go).
• Timing: the ceremony builds from around 10.45am, with the handover on the forecourt at about 11am.
• Cost: free to watch from the public areas around the palace.
• Duration: the full ceremony runs roughly 45 minutes.

Where to actually stand

The railings directly in front of the palace fill first and give you the most obstructed view. The smarter positions are slightly back, where you can see the soldiers move rather than just the backs of other visitors' heads. Try the steps of the Victoria Memorial for height, or the edge of St James's Park along Birdcage Walk, where the New Guard marches through from Wellington Barracks.

Which Buckingham Palace Ticket Should You Choose?

Choosing the right Buckingham Palace tickets depends entirely on who you are travelling as and how much time you have. Use this as a quick decision filter before you book.

Match the ticket to your trip

• Choose the State Rooms alone if this is your first visit and you want the defining experience — Throne Room, Grand Staircase, the Picture Gallery — without committing a whole day.
• Choose the Royal Day Out if you are a returning visitor or simply want the complete estate: coaches, gallery and State Rooms, with the 10% saving built in.
• Choose The King's Gallery if you are art-led, or if you are in London outside the July–September window when the State Rooms are shut — the gallery stays open far longer into the year.
• Choose the Royal Mews if you are travelling with children, who tend to respond to the Gold State Coach and the working stables more than to a sequence of formal rooms.
• Add the East Wing tour if you have already done the standard route and want the rooms behind the balcony — book well ahead, as it sells out.

Whichever route you pick, the options on Travjoy are researched and approved by local experts and spell out exactly what is included, so you are choosing the right version rather than guessing at the ticket window.

Planning Your Visit: Timing, Getting There and What's Nearby

A little logistics planning turns a good palace visit into a smooth one. The essentials: book ahead, leave time for security, and decide in advance what you are pairing it with.

Getting there

• Green Park (Jubilee, Piccadilly, Victoria lines) — closest for the front of the palace and a short walk through the park.
• Victoria (Circle, District, Victoria lines) — closest to the ticket office and the Royal Mews entrance.
• Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line) — an easy approach from the west.

Where to eat and what to pair it with

The Garden Café at the end of the State Rooms route does drinks, cakes and sandwiches with a view over the palace lawn and lake — handy, but not a destination in itself. For something with more occasion, afternoon tea at The Rubens, overlooking the Royal Mews, turns the visit into a proper afternoon.

To extend the day around a royal theme, two pairings work best:

• Stay central: walk on to Westminster Abbey, the coronation church, about 15 minutes away through St James's Park — a natural second act to the palace.
• Go bigger: give a full day to Windsor Castle, the oldest occupied castle in the world and the other working royal residence, an easy trip west of the city.

For more of the city's defining sights, the London icons collection is a useful place to see what else sits within a short hop of the palace.

Plan Your Royal Day in London

Buckingham Palace rewards a little forethought more than almost any landmark in the city. Remember the three things that matter most: the State Rooms open only from 9 July to 27 September 2026, the Royal Day Out is the best-value way to see all three venues, and the Changing of the Guard is free if you pick the right day and stand in the right place. Match the ticket to your trip, book before the summer slots vanish, and you will walk in with a plan rather than a queue. Start planning your royal day out in London on Travjoy.