Kensington Palace tickets: prices, opening times and tours

Kensington Palace is one of the easiest royal palaces in London to visit, and one of the most changeable. Ticket prices go up and down with the seasons and the exhibitions, rooms close for restoration, and the opening days shrink in winter. This guide sets out what you’ll pay this winter, what your ticket includes, and what you can enjoy for free.

Kensington Palace ticket prices this winter

Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that runs the palace, sets prices by period. The prices below are without the optional donation. If you add it, which the booking page offers by default, the price is about 10% higher.

Concessions cover seniors (65+), full-time students and disabled visitors. Children under 5 go free, and children aged 5 to 15 must be with an adult. A disabled visitor can bring a carer or companion free. Groups of 15 or more get a reduced rate.

For comparison, until early November 2026, when the palace was fully open with the exhibition The Last Princesses of Punjab, an adult ticket cost £24.70. Expect prices to rise again when the closed rooms reopen in spring 2027. Check the price for your date on the official website.

What your ticket includes

• The King’s State Apartments. Climb William Kent’s painted King’s Staircase, crowded with Georgian courtiers, and see the Cupola Room, where Queen Victoria was christened in 1819.
• Victoria: A Royal Childhood. The rooms where Victoria was born and grew up, and where she was woken on 20 June 1837 to be told she was queen.
• Seasonal displays. From 25 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, Victoria’s Countryside Christmas imagines the young princess spending Christmas in the country with her mother.
• A free audio guide, plus free Wi-Fi.

Allow about an hour and a half for the palace in winter, and longer when everything is open. There is a security scanner at the entrance, so leave large bags at your hotel if you can.

What’s closed until spring 2027

This winter is a good time for a short, cheap visit, but not for seeing everything. The Queen’s State Apartments, the rooms built for Mary II, are closed until spring 2027 while they are re-presented. The King’s Gallery, with its paintings from the Royal Collection, closes from 18 November 2026 until spring 2027 for roof repairs. That’s why ticket prices are lower. If those rooms are the reason you’re going, wait until spring. Read our story of William and Mary to see why the Queen’s rooms matter.

Opening times

In winter Kensington Palace is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with last entry at about 3pm. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. The palace gardens and the Sunken Garden keep the same days, from 10am to 4pm. In summer the palace usually opens every day with longer hours. Opening days can change at short notice for royal events and maintenance, so check the calendar on the official website before you travel.

What you can see for free

You don’t need a ticket to enjoy much of Kensington Palace:

• The palace gardens and the Sunken Garden, home to the statue of Diana, Princess of Wales. They are free to visit during opening hours.
• The Orangery, built for Queen Anne in 1704, is now a restaurant serving lunch and afternoon tea. It and the palace café are open to anyone, with or without a palace ticket.
• Kensington Gardens, the royal park around the palace, open from early morning until dusk every day. See our guide to Kensington Gardens.
• The outside of the palace, including Christopher Wren’s south front and the statue of Queen Victoria carved by her daughter, Princess Louise.

Ways to save

Visit in winter

From January to March 2027 an adult ticket costs £13. That’s barely half the summer price, because some rooms are closed.

Become a member

Historic Royal Palaces membership starts at £55 a year. It covers Kensington Palace, the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle. A Tower and a Hampton Court ticket alone come to more than that.

Use an Art Fund pass

National Art Pass holders get half-price entry while a temporary exhibition is on, and free entry at other times. Book online and collect at the ticket office.

£1 tickets

Anyone receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit and certain other benefits can buy £1 tickets for up to four people in a household.

A plan for your visit

Kensington Palace is compact, so it’s easy to fit into half a day. Here’s how we’d do it:

1. Arrive at 10am, when the palace opens and before the tour groups. The visitor entrance is on the east side, facing the Broad Walk and the Round Pond.
2. Start with the King’s Staircase and the King’s State Apartments, then follow the route into Victoria’s rooms. Allow about 90 minutes.
3. Step out to the Sunken Garden to see the statue of Diana, then walk round the outside of the palace to Queen Victoria’s statue and the south front.
4. Have lunch or afternoon tea at the Orangery, or a quicker bite at the palace café.
5. Finish in Kensington Gardens: the Round Pond, Peter Pan and the Italian Gardens are all within a 20-minute stroll.

Getting there: the nearest Tube stations are High Street Kensington (Circle and District lines) and Queensway (Central line), each about 10 minutes’ walk through the park. Notting Hill Gate and Lancaster Gate are a little further. There is no public car park at the palace, though Blue Badge holders can book a space in advance. Our visitor guide has every route, plus hotels nearby.

Best time to visit: weekday mornings are the quietest. In summer, school holidays and weekends are busy, so book a timed ticket in advance. In winter, the palace is calm and cheap, but remember it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Tours and afternoon tea

A guide adds a great deal to Kensington, where so much of the story is about the people who lived here rather than the rooms themselves. These are the tours we recommend:

• Kensington Palace entrance ticket, which you can book in your own currency alongside the rest of a London trip.
• A guided walk through royal Kensington, finished with afternoon tea. It’s ideal if you’d like to hear the stories of Diana, Victoria and the Stuarts as you walk.

We earn a commission if you book a partner tour, at no extra cost to you.

For afternoon tea at the palace itself, the Orangery is open daily from 10am to 4pm in winter and serves afternoon tea overlooking the gardens. It’s popular at weekends, so book ahead. We’re also planning our own small-group tours with a Blue Badge guide: register your interest.

Planning a wedding or a private event? See our guide to weddings and events at Kensington Palace, with this year’s hire fees.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to go into Kensington Palace?

This winter an adult ticket costs between £13 and £19 depending on the date, or £16 over Christmas. Children pay half and under-5s go free. Prices rise in spring when all the rooms reopen.

Is Kensington Palace worth visiting?

Yes, especially if you’re interested in Queen Victoria or Diana, Princess of Wales. It’s smaller than Hampton Court or the Tower, so you can see it in a couple of hours and spend the rest of the day in Kensington Gardens.

Can you go inside Kensington Palace for free?

Not the state apartments, but the palace gardens, the Sunken Garden, the Orangery and the café are free to visit.

Do the royal family live at Kensington Palace?

Yes, in private apartments away from the public rooms. Read who lives at Kensington Palace today.

How do I get to Kensington Palace?

High Street Kensington and Queensway Tube stations are both about 10 minutes’ walk away. See our visitor guide for every route.

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