Buckingham Palace

As far as superlatives go, this takes the cake: the largest palace in the world, the largest private gardens in London, and is the most obvious target in the UK. It's found at St James Park and Green Park, at the Hyde Park tube stop, and was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1703. Queen Victoria was the first to live there and, since then, it has been home to the English royals.

The changing of the guard is a daily happening where 20 senior guards with tall fur hats march(11:00 h)and it's recommended to go an hour early if you want to have a good look.

Buckingham Palace is still the official residence of Britain's monarchy, as it has been since Queen Victoria's designation in 1837. Much of the Buckingham Palace was constructed as early as 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham House (as it was then known) was purchased in 1762 by George III, who used it as a private residence. Over the following 75 years, the house was expanded to form three wings around a central courtyard. When Queen Victoria discovered Buckingham Palace lacked several 'necessary' rooms - such as a formal ballroom, a nursery, visitor's bedrooms and others - major additions were undertaken, including adding an entire wing to form a quadrangle. Buckingham Palace is the home of the Changing Guard Ceremony in London. The Changing of the Guard has been a tradition for hundreds of years whereby the Household Regiment, the Queen’s Guards at Buckingham Palace, change shift in a fascinating show of pomp and ceremony.

The Buckingham Palace Square is dominated by the palace itself, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II, and the monument to Queen Victoria. Surrounded by gardens, in the southwest, the gardens of Buckingham Palace, on the north by Green Park and on the east by St. James Park, which has a lake you can see from this square.

Not a lot to really do but some nice ways to walk around and it's a must see if you're in London