Banqueting House Entrance Ticket in London
Description
Witness 400 years of royal extravagance, revolutionary drama, and architectural genius—right in the heart of London. Once the largest palace in Europe—surpassing even Versailles and the Vatican—the legendary Palace of Whitehall was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1698. Only one magnificent structure survived: Banqueting House. Designed by Inigo Jones in 1622, this Jacobean masterpiece transformed English architecture forever. Stand beneath the breathtaking, Baroque ceiling canvases painted by Sir Peter Paul Rubens—commissioned by King Charles I and one of the only Rubens installations in the world still in its original home. Then, step into the darker side of British history: this very hall was the backdrop for the most shocking moment in the English Civil War. On a chilly January morning in 1649, King Charles I walked beneath his own glorified ceiling, stepped out of a first-floor window onto a wooden scaffold, and was executed before a stunned London crowd.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Admission to Banqueting House, the only remaining building from the old Palace of Whitehall
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(17)
The place is absolutely magnificent. Rubens’ paintings are breathtakingly beautiful, and the whole setting is filled with history, elegance, and artistic charm.
The ceiling is lovely and this place is steaming with history. We completed our tour in less than an hour. We stopped in on a rainy day in July 2019 and we are glad we did BUT it is not worth paying for.
WHAT IT IS. ☞ Charles I’s palladian ceremonial hall originally standing awkwardly in the midst of Tudorian houses. ARTISTIC VALUE. ☞ The ceiling is a foreign commission, made by the one and only, Peter Paul Rubens. HISTORIC VALUE. ☞ The last house standing from the Whitehall Palace - the fire of 1698 destroyed the entire palace except this. Charles I was executed right outside the house. WHAT TO DO. ☞ G/F: Watch an educational video in the chamber here. 1/F: You’ll find these tablets mounted in the middle of the hall, and there you can find all the information you need. The screen keeps returning to the homepage. Which is annoying. Move the cursor constantly to avoid it. FUN FACT. ☞ Turn left as you enter the main hall and you’ll see the problem of oval frames: a character’s head is cut off due to mismeasurement. The figure happens to be Ignorance and in the scene he’s being overcome by Minerva.
We enjoyed our time here. We watched a short DVD, then headed to the main room to see the ceiling frescos. This room was small, but amazing. Mirrors and beanbags were supplied in order to view the ceiling for a longer period of time. The kids lay in the beanbags for a while. My 10 year old tells me it needed more ' kid interactive stuff', but she was okay. They had dressing up clothes she could have used.
It was only a short walk from Westminster tube station to this place. The security guard was very thorough in looking through my handbag and the bag. The woman then offered me a free audio guide and asked me what language I wanted. She then told me to go left and watch a video before going upstairs. The video showed the history of it and upstairs was only the one room. Every in the room was thoroughly described by the man's voice on the audio. When I finished, I had it back to the woman and was asked if I had any questions. I found it to be good for money, but only if you have the audio guide.
Banqueting House is a marvel. Full of history with an included audio guide that lasts 45 minutes or so. The Rubens on the ceiling is truly breathtaking and was much more inspiring than I thought. You need to see it in person to appreciate it. However, you need to understand that there is effectively only the one room to see and the ceiling. That is effectively it. If you are expecting a museum or place to walk about in then you will be very disappointed. But if you have managed your expectations and take a seat on a bean bag and look up at the majestic ceiling whilst listening to the audio guide then you will spend a pleasant hour here. It is well done with mirrors, bean bags and the audio guide to make the most of one space.
This house consists of a very tiny gift shop, a room with some chairs and the video playing, toilets and then the main room with the lovely ceiling. The ceiling is nice but not so sure its worth £7 to see it. Glad I got in for free with corporate membership. The bean bags to look up at the ceiling was a nice touch as were the costumes, staff were nice especially the costume lady. You will not need very long here.
Probably one of the slightly lesser known parts of Whitehall history, Banqueting Hall is an amazing space with some magnificent decorations. One of the staff members talked to us at length, giving a glimpse into the past including the connection to Charles I. If you have a problem with steps, let them know in advance and they can arrange for you to use the lift in the building next door.
I visited Banqueting House today. I knew very little about the house beforehand and from my visit have improved my knowledge of history and the area. I would like to read up more on the history related to this in response to the visit. There is really only the hall to look around (aside from the undercroft of which you can watch a brief documentary on the history), so don’t expect a great deal of exploring (hence just the average rating). There are beautiful paintings on the ceiling which would greatly appeal to art lovers. It has a quiet, peaceful atmosphere.
The room in the photo is it really, that's the most amazing paint job, beautiful, you go into a room downstairs and watch a programme on a tv about the house then go upstairs to this room I'm glad I saw it so I could tick the box and say I've been there.
