Buckingham Palace behind beds of spring tulips
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Royal London

Palaces, pageantry and the Crown Jewels.

  • 7 stops
  • About 8 miles (12.9 km) in a straight line

The trail

7 stops, in order

A west-to-east trail through the capital of the monarchy.

Westminster Abbey 1Westminster Westminster Abbey Coronation church
Directions
Horse Guards 2Whitehall Horse Guards Mounted sentries
Directions
St James's Palace 3St James's St James's Palace Senior royal palace
Directions
Buckingham Palace 4Westminster Buckingham Palace Official London residence
Directions
Changing of the Guard 5Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard Red tunics, bearskins Selected days only (Buckingham Palace: Mon, Wed, Fri at 11am in Nov 2026); check the Household Division calendar
Directions
Kensington Palace 6Kensington Kensington Palace State rooms, gardens (check opening dates)
Directions
Tower of London 7Tower Hill Tower of London Crown Jewels, ravens
Directions

Getting between stops

The route at a glance

  1. 1Westminster Abbey
  2. 9 min walk
  3. 2Horse Guards
  4. 11 min walk
  5. 3St James's Palace
  6. 7 min walk
  7. 4Buckingham Palace
  8. 2 min walk
  9. 5Changing of the Guard
  10. 2.1 miles (3.3 km), Tube or bus
  11. 6Kensington Palace
  12. 4.8 miles (7.7 km), Tube or bus
  13. 7Tower of London

Times are rough estimates from straight-line distance. Check live journey times on the day.

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Photos: Diliff (CC BY-SA 3.0); Phillip Perry (CC BY-SA 2.0); Colin Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Other images are credited on the pages where they first appear. This trail is independent and unofficial.