Henry VIII's Hampton Court from EUR 33.87: two adults and two children pay EUR 101.62 midweek, EUR 10.50 more at a weekend when the kitchen fire is lit

People flying from Amsterdam to London for two days usually spend all of it in the centre, which is why they miss the red-brick palace upriver on the Thames. Hampton Court was the seat of Henry VIII's court, and this Tiqets ticket covers the palace, the gardens and the famous hedge maze, with a free audio guide included; the supplier is Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that runs the place. It is rated 4.7 from 398 reviews on Tiqets, the admission slot reads 10:00, and it can still be cancelled up to 24 hours before the date.

The reason to make the journey is Henry VIII's Kitchens. They are a whole working complex, which the palace says had to serve 450 people twice a day; on every weekend from 5 September to 18 October, 10:00 to 16:00, the Experimental Historians of Historic Royal Palaces follow original recipes with replica tools and light a real fire, and the official page states plainly that the kitchen fire and the charcoal stoves are real and hot. That programme is included in admission, with nothing extra to pay. Two other rooms nobody else has are the Great Hall hung with Henry VIII's tapestries and the Chocolate Kitchens, restored and reopened after almost three hundred years. The palace recommends allowing at least three hours.

Two sums are worth doing before you book. The first is the date: the same adult ticket is EUR 33.87 from Wednesday to Friday and EUR 37.37 on Saturday and Sunday, children of 5 to 15 and youths of 16 to 17 are EUR 16.94 against EUR 18.69, and over-65s and full-time students over 18 are EUR 27.45 against EUR 29.78. So the total is adults x adult price + people aged 5 to 17 x child price + seniors and students x concession price; two adults and two children pay EUR 101.62 midweek and EUR 112.12 at a weekend, a difference of EUR 10.50, and that difference falls on exactly the two days when the kitchen fire is lit. The second sum is membership: Historic Royal Palaces lists an annual Individual at GBP 65, Joint at GBP 105, one adult plus up to six children aged 5 to 15 at GBP 80 and two adults plus up to six children at GBP 125, each GBP 10 higher when you join by debit or credit card, valid until 28 February 2027, and covering unlimited entry to Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace and Hillsborough Castle. Visits to break even = membership price divided by what your group pays for one visit: a family of four at GBP 135, about EUR 157.75 at the European Central Bank rate of 15 September 2026 of EUR 1 = GBP 0.8558, divided by EUR 101.62 is 1.55, so it pays for itself on the second visit.

• Getting there: Hampton Court station is a five-minute walk, sits in London zone 6 and accepts Oyster, with trains from London Waterloo every half hour; on-site parking is GBP 1.80 an hour, card only, and the palace warns that spaces are scarce at busy times. (source 3)
• Temporary closures this autumn: from 16 to 18 September the Privy Garden, Knot Garden, Pond Garden and the Great Vine are closed for maintenance; from 23 to 25 September the Queen's route in the Georgian Story between the Privy Chamber and the Queen's Gallery is closed; on 26 September the Privy Garden shuts at 16:00; and the Mantegna Gallery is closed until spring 2027, with two of The Triumphs of Caesar shown in The Georgian Story instead. (source 2)
• If you only want the gardens: the palace publishes free garden days on 10 and 11 October and 21 and 22 November, with no ticket and no booking needed, though the palace, the maze and the Magic Garden still require one; bikes are not allowed on those days and dogs are not permitted at all except trained assistance dogs. (source 2)

Where

Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU

When

16 September 10:00-17:30, last admission 16:30; Magic Garden 10:00-17:45, last admission 17:00

Price

Adults EUR 33.87 Wednesday to Friday and EUR 37.37 at weekends; ages 5 to 17 EUR 16.94 against EUR 18.69; over-65s and students EUR 27.45 against EUR 29.78 (Tiqets, checked 16 September 2026)

Ages

No minimum age published; the palace advises at least three hours

Note

The booking calendar releases Wednesday to Sunday only・cancellable up to 24 hours before・on-site parking GBP 1.80 an hour, card only・no dogs except trained assistance dogs

Hokimi field note: if you are going once, Wednesday to Friday is the cheapest day; if you want the fire lit in the kitchens, take a weekend and treat the EUR 10.50 as the price of the performance. Whether membership is worth it depends on whether this UK trip also takes in the Tower of London or Kensington Palace, so list the palaces you actually intend to enter, add up their single tickets and compare that with the annual price. Note too that Historic Royal Palaces states joining by debit or credit card costs GBP 10 more than the Direct Debit price, and a Direct Debit is a UK bank mandate, so check whether your own account can set one up before you join. The Tiqets link on this page is an affiliate link: Hokimi may earn a commission if you book through it, at no extra cost to you.