Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A small sampling of Queen Elizabeth's personal collection of art is on display in five
rooms in a wing adjoining the palace. Her 7,000 paintings, one of the largest private art
collections in the world, are actually a series of collections built upon by each successive
monarch since the 16th century. The Queen rotates the paintings, enjoying some privately
in her many palatial residences while sharing others with her subjects in public galleries
in Edinburgh and London. The exhibits change two or three times a year and are lovingly
described by the included audioguide.
Because the gallery is small and security is tight (involving lines), I'd suggest visiting
this gallery only if you're a patient art lover interested in the current exhibit.
Cost and Hours:
£
9.75 but can change depending on exhibit,
£
16.75 combo-ticket
with Royal Mews, daily 10:00-17:30, opens at 9:30 Aug-Sept, last entry one hour before
closing, Tube: Victoria, tel. 020/7766-7301—but Her Majesty rarely answers. Men
shouldn't miss the mahogany-trimmed urinals.
A visit to the Queen's working stables is likely to be disappointing unless you follow the
included audioguide or the hourly guided tour (April-Oct only, 45 minutes), in which case
it's fairly entertaining—especially if you're interested in horses and/or royalty. You'll see
a few of the Queen's 30 horses (most active between 10:00 and 12:00), a fancy car, and
a bunch of old carriages, finishing with the Gold State Coach (c. 1760, 4 tons, 4 mph).
Queen Victoria said absolutely no cars. When she died, in 1901, the mews got its first
Daimler. Today, along with the hay-eating transport, the stable is home to five Bentleys
and Rolls-Royce Phantoms, with one on display.
Cost and Hours:
£
8.75,
£
16.75 combo-ticket with Queen's Gallery, April-Oct daily
10:00-17:00, Nov-March Mon-Sat 10:00-16:00, closed Sun, last entry 45 minutes before
closing, guided tours on the hour in summer, Buckingham Palace Road, Tube: Victoria,
tel. 020/7766-7302.
This is the spectacle every visitor to London has to see at least once: stone-faced, red-
coated (or in winter, gray-coated), bearskin-hatted guards changing posts with much fan-
fare, in an hour-long ceremony accompanied by a brass band.
It's 11:00 at Buckingham Palace, and the on-duty guards (the “Queen's Guard”) are
ready to finish their shift. Nearby at St. James's Palace (a half-mile northeast), a second
set of guards is also ready for a break. Meanwhile, fresh replacement guards (the “New
