Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Palace, Tube: Victoria, St. James's Park, or Green Park. Or hop into a big black taxi and
say, “Buck House, please.”
Sightseeing Strategies:
Most tourists just show up and get lost in the crowds, but
those who know the drill will enjoy the event more. The action takes place in stages over
the course of an hour, at several different locations. The main event is in the forecourt right
in front of Buckingham Palace (between Buckingham Palace and the fence) from 11:30 to
12:00. To see it close up, you'll need to get here no later than 10:30 to get a place front
and center, next to the fence.
But there's plenty of pageantry elsewhere. Get out your map and strategize. You could
see the guards mobilizing at Wellington Barracks or St. James's Palace (11:00-11:15). Or
watch them parade with bands down The Mall and Spur Road (11:15-11:30). After the
ceremony at Buckingham Palace is over (and many tourists have gotten bored and gone
home), the parades march back along those same streets (12:10).
Pick one event and find a good, unobstructed place from which to view it. The key is
to get either right up front along the road or fence, or find some raised elevation to stand
or sit on—a balustrade or a curb—so you can see over people's heads.
If you get there too late to score a premium spot right along the fence, head for
the high ground on the circular Victoria Memorial, which provides the best overall view
(come before 11:00 to get a place). From the memorial, you have good (if more distant)
views of the palace as well as the arriving and departing parades along The Mall and Spur
Road. The actual Changing of the Guard in front of the palace is a nonevent. It is interest-
ing, however, to see nearly every tourist in London gathered in one place at the same time.
If you arrive too late to get any good spot at all, or you just don't feel like jostling
for a view, stroll down to St. James's Palace and wait near the corner for a great photo-
op. At about 12:15, the parade marches up The Mall to the palace and performs a smaller
changing ceremony—with almost no crowds. Afterward, stroll through nearby St. James's
Park.
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Simply put, this is the greatest chronicle of civilization...anywhere. A visit here is like
taking a long hike through
Encyclopedia Britannica
National Park. The vast British Mu-
seum wraps around its Great Court (the huge entrance hall), with the most popular sections
filling the ground floor: Egyptian, Assyrian, and ancient Greek, with the famous frieze
sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens. The museum's stately Reading Room—famous
