Our verdict
Best overall
London: Westminster Abbey Skip-the-Line Entry & Guided Tour
Fast-track entry plus a licensed guide inside the Abbey — coronation chair, royal tombs, Poets’ Corner — with the rest of Westminster outside. 4.9★ from 500+ reviews.
4.9★ · 543from £75 GetYourGuide →
Best value
London: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben & Buckingham Guided Tour
A 3–4 hour walk past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace with a guided Abbey option. The cheapest ~£33 option is a city tour with entry to a service, not Abbey sightseeing — choose the option you want.
4.8★ · 4,016from £33 GetYourGuide →
Best with kids
London: The Original Changing of the Guard Experience
Two hours built around the Changing of the Guard, with a guide steering you along the route — easier with children than holding a spot at the railings. About £15, 4.8★.
4.8★ · 2,759from £15 GetYourGuide →
Skip it if
You're visiting on a Sunday
The Abbey is open for worship only on Sundays, so Abbey sightseeing and verger tours don’t run. Move the Abbey to Saturday and use Sunday for a river cruise and the parks.
Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Parliament at a glance
Three neighbours, three different sets of rules. The Abbey is a working church open to sightseers six days a week. Buckingham Palace is a working royal residence that opens its State Rooms only in late summer. Parliament is a working legislature that tours visitors when it isn’t sitting. Get the days right and the rest is easy.
| Westminster Abbey | Buckingham Palace State Rooms | Houses of Parliament | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Mon–Sat; 9.30am–3.30pm general admission on a typical weekday | Summer only: 9 Jul–31 Aug 2026 daily, 1–27 Sep Thu–Mon | Saturdays all year; Mon–Sat in recess |
| Adult price | £32 (65+ and students £29) | £33 in advance (aged 25+); £2–£4 more on the day | £40 guided (£43 on the day); £31 audio |
| Children | 6–17 £14; under 6 free | 5–17 about £16.50; under 5 free (ticket needed) | 5–15 £20 guided; under 5 free |
| Guide inside? | Multimedia guide included; verger tours +£10; licensed guides on platform tours | No — guiding not allowed; free multimedia guide | Parliament’s 90-min guided or audio tour; some platform tours include it |
| Off-season option | — | East Wing guided tour, £100, 6 Nov 2026–31 Jan 2027 | Big Ben tour £55 (age 11+) |
Westminster and royal tours, checked today
London: Westminster Abbey Entrance Ticket
from £32
See on GetYourGuide
London: Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard Experience
from £19
See on GetYourGuide
London: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben & Buckingham Guided Tour
from £33
See on GetYourGuide
London: The Original Changing of the Guard Experience
from £15
See on GetYourGuide
Westminster Abbey: Entry Ticket
from £32
See on Tiqets
London: Westminster Abbey Tour with a Royal Heritage Guide
from £70
See on GetYourGuide
London: Westminster Abbey Skip-the-Line Entry & Guided Tour
from £75
See on GetYourGuide
London: Houses of Parliament & Westminster Abbey Guided Tour
from £119
See on GetYourGuidePrices and ratings checked 21 Oct 2026; they change daily.
Westminster Abbey tours: ticket, verger or guide?
Ticket only (£32). Includes the multimedia guide and the Cloisters, College Garden, Chapter House and Pyx Chamber. The Abbey’s own site warns it can close at short notice for services and events. The GetYourGuide entrance ticket costs about the same and has 14,000+ reviews.
Verger tour (£42 in total). One of the Abbey’s vergers leads a tour of about 90 minutes, Monday to Saturday — entry price plus £10, and the best-value guided option in the building.
Guided tour with entry (£70–£80). Platform tours pair fast-track entry with a licensed guide and usually some of Westminster outside. The best-rated, at 4.9★, is about £75; Headout sells a similar guided tour for about £79.
| Platform | From | Rating | Check price & dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| GetYourGuideLondon: Westminster Abbey Skip-the-Line Entry & Guided Tour | £75 Lowest today | 4.9★ 543 | GetYourGuide → |
| HeadoutWestminster Abbey Guided Tour with Skip-the-Line Entry | £79 | 4.8★ 227 | Headout → |
Avoid Sundays entirely — the Abbey is open for worship only — and remember that general admission on a typical weekday runs 9.30am–3.30pm, so don’t leave the Abbey until late afternoon.
Buckingham Palace: inside in summer, outside all year
The State Rooms opened from 9 July to 27 September in 2026 — daily until 31 August, then Thursday to Monday — with tickets from £33 for adults booked in advance. Royal Collection Trust says guiding isn’t allowed inside, so the free multimedia guide is the tour. The 2027 dates haven’t been announced; the Royal Collection Trust’s email updates are the first place ticket releases appear.
Out of season, the East Wing Exclusive Guided Tour (6 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, Fridays to Mondays) is the only way in, at £100 per person. Next door, the King’s Gallery is open daily and the Royal Mews Thursday to Monday.
The Changing the Guard is free. In October and November 2026 the Household Division lists guard changes at 11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Sunday parades at 10:00. A guided “guard experience” walk mainly helps you follow the ceremony and understand what you’re watching, rather than seeing one moment of it over a crowd. Combined Abbey-and-guard tours exist too — a Blue Badge-led version rates 4.9★, though from only a handful of reviews so far.
Houses of Parliament tours
Parliament’s guided tour takes 90 minutes through Westminster Hall, Central Lobby and the Commons and Lords chambers. It runs on Saturdays all year and Monday to Saturday when Parliament is in recess, and can be cancelled at short notice. Prices from 1 September 2026: £40 adult in advance, £30 for 16–24s, £20 for children 5–15. The self-guided audio tour is £31, and the Big Ben tour £55 (age 11 and over).
If you want Parliament and the Abbey in one go, the combined guided tour on GetYourGuide (about £119, nearly four hours, 4.5★) covers both with a guide. It only runs on dates when Parliament is open to tours, so check the calendar early.
A Westminster day that works
- 10.30am — Buckingham Palace for the 11:00 guard change (Mon, Wed or Fri in autumn 2026).
- 11.45am — walk through St James’s Park to Westminster and grab lunch on the way.
- 12.30pm — Westminster Abbey. Allow about two hours; general admission ends at 3.30pm.
- Late afternoon — Parliament (Saturday or recess), the Churchill War Rooms, or a river cruise from Westminster Pier to the Tower of London.
Want someone to run the whole day for you? A private royal London guide can build it around your dates; our first-time itinerary fits it into a longer trip.
Questions people ask
How much is a Westminster Abbey ticket?
Can you go inside Buckingham Palace?
What time is the Changing of the Guard?
Can you tour the Houses of Parliament?
Can a guide take us inside Buckingham Palace?
Is a guided tour of Westminster Abbey worth it?
Sources
- Westminster Abbey — tickets and opening times (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Westminster Abbey — guided (verger) tours (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Westminster Abbey — FAQ (Sunday worship only) (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Royal Collection Trust — Buckingham Palace (East Wing tour, guiding policy) (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Visit London — Buckingham Palace summer opening 2026 dates and prices (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- Household Division — Changing the Guard calendar (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- UK Parliament — tour prices from 1 September 2026 (checked 21 Oct 2026)
- UK Parliament — guided tour booking page (days, duration) (checked 21 Oct 2026)
Written and checked by the Private Tours London desk