London
London
+ Central London
Sights
* Apsley House
* Banqueting House
* BBC Experience
* British Airways London Eye
* Buckingham Palace
* Cabinet War Rooms
* Chelsea
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* Design Museum
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* Docklands
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* Hampstead
* Harrods
* HMS Belfast
* Highgate
* Hyde Park
* Imperial War Museum
* Inns of Court
* Jermyn Street
* Jewel Tower
* Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens
* Kenwood House
* Leighton House
* Lloyd's Building
* London Aquarium
* London Dungeon
* London Planetarium
* London Transport Museum
* London Zoo
* Madame Tussaud's
* Monument
* Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green
* Museum of London
* National Army Museum
* National Portrait Gallery
* Oxo Tower
* Piccadilly Circus
* Regent's Park
* Royal Academy (of Arts)
* St Bartholomew-the-Great
* St Bride
* St James's Palace
* St James's Park
* St James's Piccadilly
* St James's Street
* St Katharine's Dock
* St Stephen Walbrook
* Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition
* Sir John Soane's Museum
* Soho
* Southwark Cathedral
* Spencer House
* Tate Britain and Tate Modern
* Theatre Museum
* Tower Bridge
* Trafalgar Square
* Wallace Collection
* Westminster Cathedral
* Whitehall
* Winston Churchill's Britain at War
Vicinity
+ Vicinity
Walk/Drive
Food&Drink
In The Know
Did You Know?
( Do not miss )
William III was the first monarch to set up home in Kensington Palace, in 1689, and it was here in 1819 that the future Queen Victoria was born. Royal patronage continues with several members of the present royal family having palace apartments and in September 1997 it was a focus of the country's grief as the last home of the late Princess Diana. Thousands upon thousands of floral tributes were piled up in front of the palace gates in an unforgettable outpouring of emotion.
The fabric of the present palace, which actually resembles a country house in both style and size, dates largely from the early 18th century. The parts which are open to the visitor divide broadly into two areas: the State Apartments and the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. The Apartments are striking for their magnificent ceiling paintings by William Kent and some impressive and curious trompe-l'œil effects. The Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection features a superb collection of court finery. Visitors are also guided through the elaborate process of what it was like to dress for court. Surrounding the palace are pretty sunken gardens and a red-brick orangery, now a restaurant.
Outside the palace gates is Kensington Gardens, which runs east into Hyde Park. This pretty lawned expanse boasts two famous statues. To the north is Peter Pan, and to the south is the amazingly intricate 53m-high Albert Memorial, dedicated to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's much-loved consort.
Address: Kensington Gardens
Phone: (020) 7937 9561 WEBSITE: www.hrp.org.uk
Open: Daily mid-Mar to mid-Oct 10-5 (last entry); mid-Oct to mid-Mar 10-4 (last entry)
Restaurant: The Orangery (Moderately priced)
Metro: High Street Kensington, Queensway
Accessible: Limited
Admission: Very expensive
Practical: Audio tours available
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