The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace Summer Opening

July - September 2009 (annual)
Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, SW1A 1AA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7766 7300
It is that point in the year again when visitors have the chance to walk around rooms in Buckingham Palace, which are normally closed to the public and gain some better impression of how the Royal Family and their entourage live Buckingham Palace - officially the Queen's main royal palace.

This is an almost irresistible chance to look in detail behind and beyond the doors of one of the world's best known and most private buildings. The summer openings have occurred for just a few years and thousands have taken the chance since then to sink into the atmosphere of this luxurious palace, where the Royal Family have lived for the last few centuries. The tour includes the chance to view some of the exquisite gifts given to the Royal Family in that time, including the well known Faberge Eggs, as well as a walk through the Royal Mews adjoining Buckingham Palace, where the royal carriages are still kept and which still functions as a stable.

Your visit will include access to the impressive State Rooms, which are still used today by HM The Queen to receive visiting heads of state on state visits as well as for ceremonial occasions. Lavishly decorated, the State Rooms also contain a superb collection of paintings by some of the best known artists - Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto included - as well as Sevres porcelain and fine examples of some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

This is an all too rare and exciting chance to view the rich and colourful taste of the huge historical characters that make up the British Royal Family over the years along with one of the most remarkable and extensive private art and antiques collections collected over 500 years.

Visiting Buckingham Palace Summer Opening:

Cost: £15; seniors & students £13.50;
family ticket £38.50; under 5s free
Time: Admission every 15 mins 9.30am-6.30pm;
last admission 6.15pm

Nearest Underground Stations:
Victoria Tube (8 minutes)
St James's Park Tube (8 minutes)

Nearest Hotels: Stay at our Quality Crown Hotel Hyde Park or Quality Crown Hotel Paddington and travel direct by Circle Line from Paddington to St. James' Park for the short walk to Buckingham Palace.

For more information on The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace Summer Opening, please visit: www.royal.gov.uk