Kensington Palace Palace

Address: Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, London W8 4PX, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/

Hours: Hours vary seasonally - check website (Historic Royal Palaces opening times)

Admission: Admission to State Rooms charged (see official site); palace grounds/park free to enter

Kensington Palace is a royal residence and public historic site in Kensington Gardens, London, long associated with members of the British royal family. The palace contains formal State Rooms opened as museum spaces alongside private apartments still used by current royals.

Visitors commonly tour the State Apartments, view portraits and period furnishings, and visit temporary exhibitions about past occupants such as Victoria and Diana. The palace grounds include the Sunken Garden and connect directly to the open spaces of Kensington Gardens.

The building evolved from a 17th-century house into a royal palace through additions and refurbishments and has been the birthplace and home of several monarchs. Management balances public access to historic rooms with the privacy needs of current residents.

Located in west London within Kensington Gardens, the palace is a short walk from High Street Kensington and Notting Hill and is served by multiple Underground stations.

• Residence and Museum: The palace is both a working royal residence and a public historic site; some apartments are occupied by members of the royal family while State Rooms and exhibitions are open to visitors for a fee.
• Administration: The palace is administered by an independent public trust that runs exhibitions, guided tours and special displays about the lives of former royal residents.

What to See#

• State Apartments: The State Apartments, a sequence of formal rooms used for public display and museum exhibitions that include period furniture, portraits and decorative arts associated with the palace’s royal occupants.
• Sunken Garden: The Sunken Garden, a formal walled garden to the palace’s south restored and associated in recent years with public floral displays and commemorative plantings.

Kensington Palace is in Kensington Gardens, west London. The nearest London Underground station is High Street Kensington (Circle and District lines), about a 5-10 minute walk along Kensington High Street or through the gardens; Gloucester Road (Circle, District, Piccadilly) and Queensway (Central) are also within a 10-15 minute walk.

Numerous London buses run along Kensington High Street and the surrounding roads; if driving use the A315 (Kensington High Street) but be aware of congestion and limited parking.

• Prebook timed tickets for the State Rooms and major exhibitions, then arrive early; the palace grounds and Kensington Gardens are free so arriving before the ticketed rooms opens lets you enjoy the gardens without extra entry lines.
• Make time for the Sunken Garden and Diana memorial area-the gardens and exterior spaces are often quieter than the State Rooms and are an important part of the visit, especially in spring and summer.
• Use nearby tube stations (High Street Kensington or Queensway) and enter via the gardens rather than the main road to enjoy a calmer approach and avoid heavier pedestrian flows from Kensington High Street.