Lady’s Guide to the Buckingham Palace Summer Tour

The Buckingham Palace summer opening is one of the highlights of visiting London in the warmer months. I’ve taken the Buckingham Palace summer tour as a guest of the Royal Collection Trust, and I love it. If you want a preview, read on to see what you’ll discover there.

Buckingham Palace Summer Tour Dates

The State Rooms are open to the public to visit throughout the annual summer opening each year. This year, tours run from mid-July to late September. It’s a good idea to purchase tickets online in advance if you want to go. You can book tickets here. They sell out, so make sure to plan well in advance.

The Palace Tour

The Buckingham Palace summer tour is done by audio guide, and it’s the one I previewed.

This tour takes visitors through the State Rooms and annual exhibition before leading them out to walk on a path through the private grounds and gardens.

The guide is available in multiple languages and lets visitors go at their own pace. It’s a good way to get an overview of the palace and take in the impressive art and furniture along the way.

At the end of the tour, there’s a cafe, ice cream shop, gift shop, and visitor feedback center in the gardens.

The State Rooms

There are 19 State Rooms in Buckingham Palace. They’re designed for public view and are used by the royal family to welcome guests on official state and ceremonial visits.

The rooms are lavishly decorated with treasures from the Royal Collection, including paintings and sculptures by renowned artists.

Everything from the Throne Room to the Ballroom can be seen on the Buckingham Palace summer tour.

I particularly liked the crimson silk damask chairs in the Throne Room, the incredible paintings in the Picture Gallery, and the sumptuous furniture in the Blue Drawing Room.

The Buckingham Palace Summer Exhibition

Each year the Buckingham Palace summer tour includes a different exhibition, so you can see something new every summer.

The exhibition fills several rooms in Buckingham Palace. They tell a story of that year’s theme and display a number of paintings and other objects from the Royal Collection.

For example, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s birth, one exhibition was called Queen Victoria’s Palace.

The exhibits told how the young queen transformed Buckingham Palace from an empty royal house into one of the most impressive European courts. She was responsible for making the building the palace we know today.

Queen Victoria’s Palace continued in The Ballroom, where waltzing couples from the Ball of 1856 were projected onto screens and the walls were cleverly lit to restore them to how they looked in Queen Victoria’s time.

It then took visitors into The State Dining Room, where a table full of decadent food looked fit for a royal feast. The ‘Victoria’ pattern dessert service was out in force, and the Alhambra table fountain served as a centerpiece.

This delicious spread was my favorite part of the Buckingham Palace summer tour.

The theme of each year’s exhibition is announced in the months preceding the Buckingham Palace summer tour dates, so you can check before you book tickets if you want to know what the current year’s will be.

The Grounds and Gardens

After the exhibition and State Rooms, visitors can enjoy exploring the grounds. There’s a cafe right outside the palace, and a gift shop nearby.

The shop is full of commemorative items from the exhibition and the full range of Buckingham Palace souvenirs.

A bit farther down the path, there’s an ice cream shop with a pretty blue-and-white striped awning. It’s a good place to get a sweet treat before leaving.

After that the path curves around the lake. I wished there were more color, but the grounds are mostly green. There are a few flowers around, though.

At the end, visitors are guided to the exit at the back of the gardens. It takes people out to a street in Belgravia, from where it’s an easy walk to Victoria station, Hyde Park, and other destinations.

The Buckingham Palace summer tour is a great way to see the interior of the monarch’s London residence and take in the incredible collections on display. If you’re in town between mid-July and the end of September, I highly recommend it.

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