Buckingham Palace Reviews (London, England)

Getting all Regal

Rotherham, United Kingdom

August 8, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo The past couple of years have been a period of great pomp and circumstance in the UK. 2011 saw the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and 2012 saw the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrating 60 years on the throne. Naturally, the centre of ...Read more The past couple of years have been a period of great pomp and circumstance in the UK. 2011 saw the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton and 2012 saw the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrating 60 years on the throne. Naturally, the centre of this splendor has been Buckingham palace. The nation and the world witnessed the royal couple on the balcony at the front of the palace echoing the Prince’s parents just less than 30 years before. Because of the recent Royal renaissance and the history in which the palace is steeped, my girlfriend and I decided it would certainly be worth a visit during our trip to London.

We made our way to Buckingham palace via Victoria underground station and Buckingham Palace Road. Because of this we approached from the rear. Therefore, our initial view was not so impressive. We passed lots of high walls and intense security before we were able to turn a corner and be greeted by the giant façade of Britain’s most regal building. As part of this approach we were able to pass the royal stables, but these lacked the overt splendor we were in search of.

A far more dramatic approach is to walk along the Mall, the road that leads from Trafalgar square to the Palace. This was originally constructed for monarchs to make the journey from the Place to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The Mall is surrounded by lush parks and allows the palace to gradually hone into view, which makes it one of the most spectacular strolls in the world. The mall is also well known as being part of the course for the London Marathon. Sadly, as we visited London just before the Olympics, it was closed as part of the preparations.

As you might expect, the façade of Buckingham palace looks impressed on first glance. Not only does it look bigger than it might on TV, the red courtyard at front seems to extend for miles to create a wonderful sense of perspective. The building really is stunning. Despite the scale it is possible to appreciate the detail in the way it was crafted. I also very much enjoyed seeing the guards who were resplendent in the bearskin hats and red tunics (not real bearskin) patrolling outside. We spent a good hour taking hundreds of photos.

After quite a bit of walking during the day – we had visited the museum district in Kensington in the morning - I was pretty tired. Therefore, I appreciated the statue and fountain that sits outside the palace and is often circled by the cars of various royals when they are televised at public events. It was great to dip my feet into the cool – although slightly dirty – water to relax whilst gazing at the palace. It is also possible to take a tour of Bucking ham palace. This costs 16GBP and is apparently well worth it. However, as we were on a strict schedule we did not have the time.
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From journal More from London

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by Judibo

Rockville, Maryland

January 3, 2012

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The palace is beautiful!the best part is to have fun with guards, trying to make them move or even have a little smile! ahahahathere you can see people doing weird thing to try achieve that, but the guys are really serious!!The day that i went was ...Read more

From journal Europe

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by garymarsh6

Gravesend, United Kingdom

August 26, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Come with me as I walk you around the palace.Entry is via the ambassadors entrance, up a few stairs and along a corridor around the perimeter of the quadrangle. You are not rushed and can stop and take your time at your leisure to look at and admire ...Read more

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by eilidhcatriona

London, United Kingdom

September 7, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen. It is in full use and a busy place most of the year, but in summertime she moves to Balmoral Castle, and so the State Rooms of the Palace are opened to the public. Generally this summer ...Read more

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by catsholiday

ashbourne, United Kingdom

September 6, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo We booked this visit on lastminute.com. and paid £17 for me and a concession was £15. Just be aware though if you buy your ticket on line or through an agent then you can only use the ticket once. If you buy it from the ticket office at Buckingham ...Read more

From journal Our London breaks

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by Sonia3

London, United Kingdom

August 11, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo This is a review of the state rooms at Buckingham Palace. -Arrival and Admission- When we arrived at the palace we soon discovered that commoners such as ourselves were not admitted through the front of the palace so we followed the signs to the ...Read more

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I'm Off to See the Queen

by katykicker

Harlow, Essex, United Kingdom

July 15, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo Buckingham Palace is one attraction in London which is often high on many tourists list when coming to visit London and I had walked past a few times and found myself in awe of the beauty of the building. On a trip to London last year I decided that ...Read more

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by amber02

chicago, Illinois

July 30, 2006

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I think everybody is familiar with the Queen's residence in England, also better known as the Buckingham Palace. No matter how many photos you have seen of this place, seeing it in person is amazing. It's a beautiful architectural structure, and the ...Read more

From journal A Trip to London

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by SOleson

Huntington Beach, California

March 2, 2006

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Though everyone wants to go and see it, once you get there it's crowded and surrounding by large gates. When I visited, we couldn't take a tour through the palace. Visiting the palace is mostly like seeing a large building surround by gates, with ...Read more

From journal Across the Pond

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by ReachForAStar

Meridian, Idaho

August 5, 2005

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Besides being the official London residence of the Queen, Buckingham Palace is also the busy administrative headquarters of the monarchy and has probably the most famous and easily recognisable façade of any building in the world. Although ...Read more

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Getting all Regal

God Save the Queen

The Majestic Buckingham Palace.

Tea at the Palace

Cat visits Buckingham Palace but sees no Queen

I Went to London to Visit the Queen

I'm Off to See the Queen

Buckingham Palace

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