Gardens with royal history
Discover Kensington And Chelsea through its royal heritage, garden design and culture. The Kensington Gardens offer a particularly vivid way to explore: originally part of Kensington Palace, they are now open to everyone. Historic tree-lined avenues, sweeping views and flower-filled paths shape the parkland. In the Italian Gardens, symmetrical design meets cascading fountains. The Albert Memorial is also a significant landmark in the gardens.
The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Playground offers a different highlight: one of its striking features is a sturdy wooden pirate ship. The garden’s many details show how historical associations, landscaped grounds and individual attractions come together in one park.
Palace and concert history
At Kensington Palace, visitors can tour the King’s State Apartments. Queen Victoria was born here and spent her childhood here. In the Jewel Room, you can see gemstones that Queen Victoria commissioned from Albert. Kensington Palace also offers afternoon tea as a royally inspired dining experience. Check before your trip to see whether this is available.
At the Royal Albert Hall, a precisely dated historical moment can be set against a recurring concert tradition: the official opening ceremony took place on 29 March 1871; events held every summer include the annual Henry Wood Promenade Concerts. The Royal Albert Hall archive preserves and makes accessible the performance history of the hall and its Grade 1 listed building. Here, a specific date meets a summer event that continues to take place every year.
Museums and creative discoveries
V&A South Kensington presents exhibitions and collections covering art, design and performance. The Design Museum offers a different focus, with iconic designs spanning fields from product to transport design. It also offers learning workshops for adults and young people, as well as inspiring talks. Together, the two institutions offer distinct perspectives: art, design and performance at one; designs and their wide-ranging scope at the other.
Leighton House was the former home and studio of the Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton. The house contains a collection of around 700 sheets of the artist’s drawings. The home and workplace, together with the drawings, offer insights into different aspects of Leighton’s artistic work.
At the Natural History Museum, you can take an audio-guided tour of the outstanding exhibits in Hintze Hall. The museum’s family attractions also include the Dinosaur Gallery and an earthquake simulator. The Science Museum focuses on different subjects: a free gallery explores the past, present and future of human spaceflight, featuring iconic spacecraft and other remarkable objects. An interactive family gallery combines hands-on experiments with more than 50 exhibits. You can shape your discoveries around your interests, from natural history and hands-on activities to design and spaceflight.
Discover more destinations: Kensington, Bexley, Sutton, Barnet, Southwark, Westminster, Redbridge, Islington.
Go to the main travel overview: Greater London.
