With so many palaces to see in Europe, it can be hard to decide which ones are worth visiting. Blenheim Palace is a manageable day trip from London via public transport, or on a guided bus tour… but is it worth visiting? 

This is not a sponsored post. I paid for everything myself and I’m not being compensated for writing this post.

What is there to see?

• Look inside the palace – especially the great hall and the library
• The formal gardens (15 minutes)
• The walled garden
• Exhibitions (these vary, at the time of my visit the exhibition was about Winston Churchill’s connection to Blenheim Palace – expect to spend about 20 minutes)
• Optional paid extra – downstairs tour (40 minutes)
• Optional paid extra – upstairs tour (50 minutes)
• Harry Potter filming location (allow 30 minutes to walk there and back)
• Wander the grounds (1.5 hours – you will walk these if you go from the palace to the pleasure gardens)
• Pleasure gardens (butterfly garden, hedge maze)
• Food festival (only at the end of May, 30 – 45 minutes, depends how crowded / how long queues take)
• Walled gardens – not worth it – was literally just grass with a wall around it

There are suggested itineraries on the Blenheim Palace website depending on what you’re interested in seeing. There is also a map on the palace website: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/map/

Image credit: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/map/

I visited in May 2023 – there were a lot of plaques and information relating to Queen Elizabeth’s coronation and Bridgerton (Blenheim Palace is a filming location for the show). I’m not sure if these are temporary or permanent exhibits.

Day trip from London: 1 day itinerary

This is how I structured my day:

• 10am – Arrive at Blenheim Palace
• 10am – 11am – get photos with nobody in them in the main courtyard, visit the walled garden, stables and the Winston Churchill exhibition
• 11am – 12pm – Downstairs tour
• 12pm – 1pm – Food Festival
• 1pm – 2pm – visit the Harry Potter Tree
• 2pm – 5pm – Wander the gardens

There was a bit of doubling back with this itinerary, but I wanted to visit the food festival around lunchtime. There was a cafe at the palace but it didn’t have much so I just got some snacks from the food festival stalls. It was quite expensive – $7 AUD for 1 cookie!

Get the printable version of this itinerary, plus the rest of my London itinerary here.

Opening Hours

Visit the official Blenheim Palace website for opening hours: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/opening-times/

Opening hours vary depending on the time of year, and for each of the attractions listed above.

For example, the website currently states the palace is open daily from 10:30am – 4:45pm, while the formal gardens are open from 10am – 4pm.

Double check the opening hours before you go and plan your route around the castle & gardens accordingly

Good to know

• You must purchase tickets for Blenheim Palace in advance
• You must also purchase your tickets for the upstairs and / or downstairs tour in advance (they do sell out)
• I did the downstairs tour and recommend it
• Try and get there right on opening time so you can take exterior photos of the palace without anyone (or very few) people in them
• There isn’t much to see in the gardens and along the riverfront, it’s mostly just grass so if you’re short on time you could skip these
• I visited on 27th May which was also the same day as the food festival

Entry fee

Current entry fees are on the official Blenheim Palace website. You must purchase a ticket in advance from the website. Your entry ticket includes an annual pass. Unfortunately there is no discounted ticket option if you just want to visit once.

Audio guides cost extra – I don’t think you need one, there are plenty of plaques in English in each room as you go through the palace and the exhibits.

There is a discounted entry fee if you arrive via public transport.

Additional tours

Downstairs tour

If you want a closer look at the servant’s quarters, kitchens and ‘back of house’ rooms that the family who live in Bleheim Palace still use today, then consider taking the downstairs tour.

Probably because it’s been continuously inhabited and the family still live there, there were more stories than other palaces I’ve been too. Everything was kept in good condition too – there wasn’t much of a ‘musty’ or damp smell that some other palace basements have.

The tour guide was an employee that had worked for the family for years and she also provided stories of the producers of Downtown Abbey wanting to film in the quarters and taking inspiration from the downstairs part of Blenheim Palace for the set used for the show.

I sometimes find guided tours to be quite boring and typically prefer to go at my own place and read (or not read) plaques in each room of my choosing. But this was one of the best guided palace tours I’ve done – there was plenty of information, could ask heaps of questions and there was lots to look at down there.

• Book via the Blenheim Palace website: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/what-to-do/downstairs-tour.html
• Tour cost £5
• Available mid February – September
• A valid Palace Park and Gardens, Annual Pass or Privilege Pass must also be shown to take this tour
• Unfortunately photos aren’t allowed during the tour
• Places are limited and you’ll be fully escorted for the entire duration of the tour

I highly recommend booking the downstairs tour. It’s only offered at certain times of the day and you will need to pre-book in advance!

Upstairs tour

There is time to do both the downstairs and upstairs tours on the same day if you carefully plan your itinerary!

After doing the downstairs tour I was wishing I’d also booked the upstairs tour. Unfortunately I couldn’t join the tour on the day as it was already sold out.

Some of the gardens on the palace grounds

Blenheim palace stables

Food festival

When I was planning my 3 week London itinerary I wasn’t too fussed about doing things on specific days but with the food festival on, I decided if I’m going to go all the way to the palace I may as well make it worthwhile and make it the same day as the food festival.

The food festival wasn’t that great.. there weren’t many stalls and everything was very expensive. Still, I’d rather food from there than a cafe at a tourist attraction. The Wicked Cookies very good. There were lots of stalls with handmade dog treats, but I wasn’t sure they would make it through Australian customs!

This is near the tree where they filmed the Snape bullying scene in one of the Harry Potter movies. The tree is nothing much too look at but there is a nice view looking back at the palace.

How to get there

There is information on how to get to the palace on the official Blenheim Palace website: https://www.blenheimpalace.com/visitus/getting-here/

Travel from London Marylebone by Chiltern Trains to Oxford Parkway (then connect to Blenheim by Bus 7). This is the quickest route from London to Blenheim.

Travel from London Paddington or Reading by GWR to Oxford (then connect to Blenheim by Bus S3).

Travel by GWR from London Paddington, Reading, or Worcester to Hanborough (then connect to Blenheim by Bus 233).

• There is a 20% discount on the entry fee if you arrive via public transport. Discount code is on the Blenheim Palace website
• You will need to first get a train from London, then get a bus to the palace – refer to the above options. I chose to travel from Paddington station as that was closer to where my accommodation was
• Off peak trains are cheaper in the UK. I opted to pay for an off peak service train (it was £31.80 return and I booked 6 weeks in advance)
• If you travel on a weekend during peak hours you can do so, as all weekend is considered off peak

I’m not good with buses and I will avoid taking them wherever possible. Unfortunately you will need to get a bus to get to the palace. After exiting the train station it wasn’t very clear where the bus stop was. I asked someone at the train station but they weren’t very helpful and just vaguely pointed. I thought I got to the bus stop a few minutes early and checked the timetable. It was a few minutes different to my iPhone. I thought my iPhone must be wrong… But no – I was on the wrong side of the road! Make sure the sign at the bus stop sign says ‘towards Woodstock’. Being a weekend, I had to wait 30 min for the next bus. Lucky I had gotten a super early train to factor in potential oopsies like this so it was all good.

I finished at the palace at 5pm. I legged it to the bus station and got there at 5:10pm for a bus that was due at 5:11pm. There were many people already waiting at the bus stop. The bus didn’t end up arriving until 5:35pm and then took 35 min to get to Oxford railway station. The bus was ‘packed in like sardines’ and couldn’t even fit everyone that was waiting… and this is why I never take the bus if I can avoid it. Anyway, factor this travel time in, if you choose to book a train ticket for a specific time.

Because I visited on a Saturday I could take any train I wanted as Saturday’s are off peak. So instead of the 7pm which I’d booked, I got an earlier 6:45pm train (I did check with a staff member at the train station that this was ok before boarding and they said yes). I did have to pay to make my own way from Marylebone station back to Bayswater station (where I was staying) as there is no QR reader in the ticket machine and no underground station at Marylebone. It was the same ticket price as if I’d taken a train to Paddington. So I could’ve waited for a train going to Paddington and saved a few pounds but never mind.

Blenheim versus other palaces

Many people visit Hampton Court palace as it’s closer to London and easier to get to via public transport but I think Blenheim is much better. With how many castles and palaces there are in the UK, I don’t think Hampton Court is even worth a visit. It’s dark and dreary, you don’t get to see much, the rooms are basically empty. All it has it some tapestries and plaques about Henry the 8 and his wives (information which you can find online anyway). I like to see palaces how they are set up.

My recommendations are:

1. Windsor Castle
2. Blenheim palace
3. Highclere castle (visit it as part of a Downtown Abbey filming locations tour)
4. Hampton court

Warwick Castle is another option I considered but it was going to take a long time to get there so I ended up cutting it from the itinerary.

Could you combine a visit to Blenheim palace with something else?

There are tours to the Cotswolds and Blenheim, I took a relaxed pace and took my time visiting. If you have a car and aren’t relying on public transport you could easily visit in half a day on the way to the Cotswolds.

Just think about your priorities as some of those tours that combine the Cotswolds and Blenheim Palace provide 2 hours for Blenheim Palace which won’t be enough to do an add on tour of upstairs or downstairs or fully explore the gardens. To be honest the gardens weren’t that amazing though. If you only have time to walk to the river and the lawn in front of the palace – that’s enough. The rest you’re not missing much. The gardens are mostly green lawn, not sculpted gardens like a chateau.

In having said that, I think the Cotswold’s deserve their own day tour and shouldn’t be combined with Blenheim Palace, then everything will be too rushed!

Read more: Day trip from London: Visiting the Cotswolds

What about doing a day trip to other places using public transport?

I wouldn’t recommend this because you need to take a bus to and from Blenheim Palace. Doesn’t matter where in the world I travel, buses always seem to be unreliable!

I think it would be too much to try and do Oxford and Blenheim palace on your own in the one day and do both of them properly.

How much time do you need to visit?

If the food festival wasn’t on, I would’ve been finished in half a day. Keep in mind the palace usually doesn’t open until 10am, then you might have some dead time waiting around for either the upstairs or downstairs tour, so I would say you need 3/4 of a day to not feel rushed, and if you want to wander the gardens.

Best time of year to visit?

My visit at the end of May (27th May) was perfect weather – blue sky and sunshine. Definitely recommend visiting at the end of May / during spring. The wisteria will also be in bloom in May.

Is this a ‘must do’ day trip from London?

No. I had been to London for 7 days back in 2018, and visited London again for 3 weeks (solo) in 2023. So the second time I had more time to see less touristy places – one of which was Blenheim Palace. I consider these as the must do day trips from London:

1. Cotswolds
2. Windsor Castle
3. York
4. Bath
5. Oxford
6. Highclere castle & Downtown Abbey filming locations tour
7. Brighton
8. Richmond

I would only do Blenheim Palace if you want to see a Bridgerton filming location, are interested in Winston Churchill history, or just really like palaces.

My rating for this day trip: 3/5 stars (5 being the highest)

More London day trips

• 50 Things you must see and do when visiting London 
• Day Trip from London: Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour
• Day trip from London: Visiting the Cotswolds
• London Day Trip to Windsor Castle

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