Kensington Palace

Tickets to Kensington Palace are shockingly expensive, but the tour started off well enough, with several rooms with large glass cases with wax figures getting prepared for a Royal event. After the first three rooms or so, though, it turned into "filler" material- Interesting and vaguely amusing exhibition, but not worth the price of the ticket. Things pick up when you go back upstairs into the Palace, but in all honesty, if you're planning to go to Windsor, skip this. The rooms are lovely, but many are unfurnished, and even the audio tour kind of peters out, like it really doesn't have much more to say. DO stop a moment and look at the staggeringly beautiful (and probably staggeringly heavy!) silver court gown at the end of the tour.

The actual highlight of Kensington Palace is it's Orangerie restaurant. You do not need a ticket to the Palace to go to the restaurant. This lovely building is just nice to sit in, even on a rainy day, with it's airy ceiling and large windows. The food was fantastic, especially the chicken pot pie, which is more a thick, rich soup with flaky chips of pastry on top. Prices weren't cafe cheap, but they were reasonable (no more than an inexpensive restaurant) and the food was superior. The Orangerie is also supposed to be known for it's tea selection. We are casual tea drinkers, but went with the waitresses recommendation, and it was the best tea we had in England.

A wonderful tour .The Diana dresses and Debutantes exhibition are superb!.You are transported back to the days when girls WERE girls!no LADETTES here!It is well laid out and gives a real feel to bygone days.The state rooms are also a joy to see as they are included in the admission.A really good day out for the whole family.

If you have some time, drop by Kensington Palace. I wasn't overwhelmed by it the way I was with Buckingham, but that's to be expected considering this was originally intended to be a private getaway for the royal family and not a big showpiece palace. The interior is rather underwhelming, but the outside is beautiful, the gardens are amazing and the Diana dress/photo exhibit is an enjoyable sight.