Kensington Palace

What makes it special

Start on the King's Staircase, whose walls William Kent painted as a crowded scene of the Georgian court. Look up before you climb: Kent put himself on the ceiling in a brown turban, holding a palette, with the actress Elizabeth Butler at his shoulder.

The King's State Apartments at the top look surprisingly bare. They were rooms for audiences and meetings, not for living in, so expect space rather than furniture. In the Presence Chamber, Grinling Gibbons carved the limewood frame of the fireplace, cherubs included.

The Cupola Room is the most richly decorated room in the palace, with an eighteenth-century musical clock, the Temple of the Four Great Monarchies of the World, at its centre. The suite ends in the King's Drawing Room, at Vasari's painting of Venus and Cupid.

Victoria: A Royal Childhood fills the rooms where the future queen was born and raised. Look for her doll house and the scrapbook of mementos kept by her governess, Baroness Lehzen. Next door, the Jewel Room shows gems Albert commissioned for her.

Outside, the bronze statue of Diana, Princess of Wales stands in the Sunken Garden, with three children around her. You see it through the arched openings of Cradle Walk, an arbour of red-twigged lime that surrounds the garden.

Visiting

This palace has no left-luggage or bag storage, so come with a small bag: suitcases, large bags and anything on wheels are refused at the door. Book ahead on the palace's official website where you can, because walk-up queues can be slow and busy daytime slots can sell out.

Inside, pick up the audio guide, which is included in admission, and follow the rooms from the staircase up. When you come out, walk round to Cradle Walk for the Sunken Garden, and in summer finish at the wildflower meadow south-east of the palace.

Guided or on your own

Short talks by palace guides are included in admission, Wednesday to Sunday. They move between rooms from day to day, and signs in the rooms give that day's places and times.

With the talks and the audio guide, you have no need to hire a guide of your own.

Tips

You can eat at the palace and browse its shop without a palace ticket, and the places to eat take cash or card. Lunch here works on a day you skip the rooms.

If you arrive by bike, lock it up outside the palace gardens, where cycling is not allowed.