London House Hotel is one of the best budget hotels near Kensington Palace.

Still occupied by members of the Royal Family, Kensington Palace is one of a group of historic Royal Palaces.

Parts of the Palace are open to the public, enabling visitors to see historic rooms such as those in which Queen Victoria lived as a child.

Kensington Palace was the favourite home of seventeenth-century monarchs, William & Mary.  They transformed a small manor house into a glamorous palace complete with extensive gardens.  It remained a popular royal residence for over a century.  Queen Victoria lived here for many years, until she inherited the throne and moved to Buckingham Palace. She held her first Privy Council meeting at Kensington Palace. Since then it has been the home of varying members of the Royal family including Diana, Princess of Wales and Princess Margaret. It is now the home of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

What to see and do at Kensington Palace and Kensington Gardens

Kensington Palace has retained its original seventeenth-century architecture, although some rooms were later remodelled.   Among the rooms open to the public are the elaborately painted State Rooms and the Kings Staircase complete with painted interiors showing members of the court of King George I.  Rotating displays of clothes from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection are also on show.

Victoria Revealed

Kensington Palace was the childhood home of Queen Victoria. Visitors can see the rooms in which she lived, and discover more about her life and character as a wife & mother, queen and stateswoman. On display are many personal items and jewellery relating to Queen Victoria.

Kensington Palace Ticket prices

Adults (18+ years)             £19.50 (Peak time)   £16.00 (off peak)

Child (under 16 years old)  £9.70 (Peak Time)  £8.00 (off peak)

Peak times relates to weekends and weekday bookings before 2pm

Off peak relates to all weekday bookings from 2pm onwards

You can buy tickets online at www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/visit/tickets-and-prices

Tickets can be purchased on the door, but are charged at a higher rate.

Holders of a London Pass can use them at Kensington Palace but they will need scanning on arrival. No pre-booking is needed for London Pass holders.

Opening Hours

10.00 am – 4.00 pm   Last admission 3 pm

The Palace is open daily apart from 24-26 December

Kensington Palace Gardens

Kensington Palace Gardens are a very relaxing location and are pleasant places to explore at any time of the year.  They form one of the most popular gardens in London, linking into Hyde Park and very easy to reach from our hotels near Kensington Gardens.

There are three main areas: the Sunken Garden, Cradle Walk and Kensington Gardens.

The Sunken Garden forms a tranquil flowering area reflecting eighteenth-century gardening styles.  At the centre is an ornamental pond with fountains, and terraced walkways.  The ornamental flowerbeds are filled with changing displays in spring and summer.  Colourful tulips, daffodils, wallflowers and pansies adorn the garden during the spring, before being transformed into a vivid mix of geraniums, begonia and other summer bedding.

Cradle Walk is a long arched walkway created by carefully trained lime trees offering pretty viewpoints of the Sunken Garden.

Kensington Gardens comprise a large area of carefully laid out flowerbeds, and box hedges. These were designed to match the seventeenth century Palace exterior.  Later additions to the gardens included an Orangery, extensive lawns, the Serpentine Boating Lake, Long Water, Broad Walk and Round Pond. Close to the Long Water is the bronze statue of Peter Pan and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground for children complete with a wooden pirate ship.

Entry to the Kensington Palace Gardens is free of charge.  The Gardens are open daily.

How to get there from the London House Hotel

Bayswater is the nearest Underground station to the London House Hotel. The nearest tube station to Kensington Palace is High Street Kensington – just two stops south on the District or Circle lines. You can also take bus number 70 which is direct from the London House Hotel and takes only around 15 mins. Stay at our Kensington Gardens hotel where you can feel relaxed once you enter the building.