Changing of the Guard
- Address: London, England
- Hours: Ceremony held at 11:30am (daily May - July, on alternate days rest of year)
- Admission: Free
ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience,
Must-Do Experience,
Palace
Changing of the Guard Reviews
We've found 28 Changing of the Guard reviews from Viator.com travelers and members: what they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved. It's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Review by Elizabeth W, USA, November 2006
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
I enjoyed the tour. I was disappointed that so little time was spent at the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We didn't actually see the changing - just the marching of the soldiers in the street leading to the palace. The tour guide was good and informative.
Review by Jo B, October 2012
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
I was looking forward to this tour but was disappointed about not seeing Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard because of the Para-olympics parade. We were taken there anyway and walked along a road closed for the parade, but were unable to view the Palace. I anticipated going inside as well and learned after getting there this wasn't part of the tour anyway. We felt we should have been given an opportunity to see something else, or given a refund for this part of the tour and shortened the tour so we had the rest of our day to do something else. We really enjoyed the boat ride down the river Seine and the Tower of London tour was great.
Review by Jamie L, October 2012
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
The morning of this tour included a drive around London to get acquainted with the city. Unfortunately there was heavy traffic due to construction and our tour needed to detour to reach our final destination. Also, there was no changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace during our tour. In all it was a very uneventful (and in my opinion a waste of half the day.)
The afternoon picked up with a tour of St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London. (Both sights are definitely worth a visit.) You board the river cruise on your own time, so our tour concluded at the Tower of London.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, but incredibly boring!
Review by Wendels, June 2012
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
We were a little disappointed that we were unable to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace or the horse display, no fault of the tour organizers as the queens jubilee did disrupt a lot of things. Otherwise it was a good day.
Review by Croatiagirl, Croatia, November 2010
Nice to see, but nth special. You don`t need to watch the whole show, 5 to15 minutes is enough :-)
Review by Andrew M, USA, March 2010
Doing what: London Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
Overall, the tour was an excellent way to see most of the sights in London win 8 hrs or so. Our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. Kudos to him. I'd say the highlight was viewing London from the London Eye. The Tower of London was interesting, but we spent far too much time there. It could've been covered in about an hour. The boat ride down the Thames was too brief, although it was informative re the sights along the river. St. Paul's Cathedral was beautiful and worth checking out do the "Whispering Walk" - it'sworth it. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham palace isn't really worth seeing, though it seems to be a "must" for some people tho I'm not sure why. So, overall, I give it a thumbs-up. Definitely the most efficient way to take in the sights. Afterwards, don't forget to hike over to Covent Garden and take in the shops and people. Cheers!
Review by Veronica M, August 2011
Doing what: Royal London Sightseeing Tour with Changing of the Guard Ceremony
My 7 year old daughter and I went on this tour and I was really disappointed. Often times, we were so far away from the point of interest, i.e. Kensington or Buckingham Palace that trying to get a good photo was difficult. We ended up getting off the bus at Buckingham Palace and not finishing the remainder of the tour. Also, the Changing of the Guard didn't take place that day. Honestly, I would not do this tour and I love to do tours. Put your money towards purchasing an entry ticket to Buckingham Palace or something else and skip this tour...you will thank me later :-)
Review by Anonymous, August 2008
Doing what: London Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
Our guide left us at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We and 7 other people spent an anxious half hour trying to find the bus before our guide returned. Otherwise tour fine.
Review by MICHAEL H, USA, November 2007
Doing what: London Full-Day Sightseeing Tour
The tour description said we would see either the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace or the horse guards parade, we didn't see either! The cruise on the Thames was totally unnecessary. The best part was our tour guide, the tour of the Tower of London and the tour of Westminster Abbey.
Review by John Ellis B, May 2012
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
Terrible. Chose this tour as it included changing of the guard at buckingham palace but due to a fun run that day it was cancelled, tour guide was not aware of this so was very disappointing! would have gone on another day if we had been told before hand. Also said it included a tour of st pauls cathedral but being a sunday we could not visit. Please, please have better communiction in your tour descriptions
Review by The Girls, Australia, August 2011
Doing what: London in One Day Sightseeing Tour
we were very disappointed with this tour, there was no changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and the the tour guide, was not very helpful, she didnt seem very interestede in her job, and we certainly wouldnt go on any tour with them again, they werte never on tim e for anything
Review by Gabriele J, July 2011
Doing what: Royal London Sightseeing Tour with Changing of the Guard Ceremony
In general it was a delightful tour with a knowledgable and witty tour guide (Trudy). However, as far as the "Changing of the Guard Ceremony" goes the tour was a hoax. We were led to a place were we could witness a couple of guards marching to Buckingham Palace but we did see nothing of the ceremony nor had the opportunity to enjoy the musical aspects of the event. Since for us this had been the main reason for chosing this tour it was clearly a waste of time and money.
Review by Joan C, October 2010
Doing what: Royal London Sightseeing Tour with Changing of the Guard Ceremony
This was a joke. Our guide ran us all over, no time to even keep up. Going to Buckingham Palace was a joke, 5 minutes for pictures and run back to bus. We were informed that the "Changing of the Guard Ceremony" only goes every two days and that it was not going to happen that day. Instead we watched the changing of the horses. The horse thing was interesting but what a waste of a morning, so fast and furious we could not enjoy it.
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