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Changing of the Guard, London

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Changing of the Guard

Buckingham Palace, London, England (Mayfair / St James's / Piccadilly / Green Park )
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As featured in London for free and 1 other guide
Buckingham Palace
163 visitor photos
Ranked #255 of 890 attractions in London
4.0 of 5 stars 334 Reviews
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Type: Performances
Fee: No
Recommended length of visit: 1-2 hours
Description: A must see in London, outside Buckingham Palace, but check out the schedule as it only happens daily from May to July, otherwise on alternate days
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334 reviews from our community

Visitor rating
    106
    114
    74
    26
    14
Date Rating
Anon
Contributor
17 reviews 17 reviews
14 attraction reviews
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Contemporary yet traditional”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 14 May 2013 NEW

Turn up early to get a good spot. I was lucky and got a spot right by the gates- I liked how the band played tunes from "The Lion King" for the young people... a nice touch to a traditional ritual.

Was this review helpful? Yes 2
See 16 more reviews by AnonAnon116 for London
Lincoln, United Kingdom
Reviewer
4 reviews 4 reviews
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Get there in good time”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 May 2013 NEW

We got to Buckm Palace just ahead of the Horseguards, so at about 10.45 we started to walk alongside them. There was already a crowd at the Palace. The roads get shut off so make sure you're in the right place for getting where you want to be afterwards or during if you need to move on - eg: for... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 2
See 3 more reviews by Helen_R867_13 for London
Columbus, Ohio
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
Reviews in 6 cities Reviews in 6 cities
4 helpful votes 4 helpful votes
“Changing of the Guards - waste of time”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 May 2013 NEW

We decided to check out the changing of the guards on Sunday. There were TONS of people so we couldn't really see anything. You'd have to arrive 2+ hours before the changing to hold a spot, but you have to decide if you want to be close to the street to watch the guards arrive, or close to the palace... More

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See 3 more reviews by Ameliamarie269 for London
Southampton, England, United Kingdom
Contributor
20 reviews 20 reviews
9 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Quite the ceremony, if you can see it”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 May 2013 NEW

I went with my family to see the Changing of the Guard, and at first, I was very excited to see the ceremony for the first time. Unfortunately, for a shorter person (I'm 5'4''), for the majority of the event all I could see were the backs of people's heads. Some of the guards are on horses, but most are... More

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See 9 more reviews by Kassie C for London
Salem, NH
Senior Contributor
43 reviews 43 reviews
24 attraction reviews
Reviews in 11 cities Reviews in 11 cities
11 helpful votes 11 helpful votes
“Check it off the list”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed 12 May 2013 NEW

My wife and I are very glad we had an opportunity to see the changing of the guard, but we will not have to ever do it again. We really wouldn't recommend it though. We got there about 45 minutes early and it started around 11:15. There was so much nonsense of one single man walking back and forth 3... More

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See 4 more reviews by Jim T for London
Wakefield
Senior Reviewer
8 reviews 8 reviews
3 attraction reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“Palace”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2013

Stumbled upon it!! great to see the whole pomp and ceremony of the changing of the guard. Well worth checking the timing of this and making a point to see it

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See 2 more reviews by Susanf123 for London
London
Top Contributor
81 reviews 81 reviews
36 attraction reviews
Reviews in 26 cities Reviews in 26 cities
27 helpful votes 27 helpful votes
“Tourist must do”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2013

Absolutely great experience to see the Changing of the Guard. You will not see this in any other country.

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See 29 more reviews by KJVLondon for London
Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Contributor
13 reviews 13 reviews
6 attraction reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
10 helpful votes 10 helpful votes
“Changing of the Guard”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2013

We went to see this at the weekend and we really enjoyed it! We really didnt expect it to be as busy as it was though. We got there for what we thought was early however; it was clearly not early enough. There was people everywhere so finding a spot to see was difficult. We were there at 10am ish... More

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See 5 more reviews by Lucyandscott25052012 for London
Cardiff
Top Contributor
51 reviews 51 reviews
19 attraction reviews
Reviews in 18 cities Reviews in 18 cities
29 helpful votes 29 helpful votes
“Great Traditional to see.”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 May 2013

The changing of the guard is a great British traditional to see. The music is brilliant as is the precision & timing of the soilders. Really enjoyed it!

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See 17 more reviews by Thomase77 for London
Victoria, Canada
Top Contributor
75 reviews 75 reviews
36 attraction reviews
Reviews in 34 cities Reviews in 34 cities
23 helpful votes 23 helpful votes
“So disappointed!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 6 May 2013

I've seen the changing of the guard before and this time around took my parents, who were really excited based on my pictures from 2008! It was nothing like I saw last time, there were barely any guards and the horse guards appeared just for seconds before riding off into the distance. There were so many people I could barely... More

Was this review helpful? Yes 1
See 2 more reviews by lkelsey for London

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