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Photo: Yair-haklai, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The oldest of the Royal Parks of London.
St James's Park is a 23-hectare (57-acre) urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the site of St James's Palace. The area was initially enclosed for a deer park near the Palace of Whitehall for King Henry VIII in the 1530s. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of public parks that includes Green Park, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens.
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A branch of the Imperial War Museum, the Cabinet War Rooms preserves the underground corridors and rooms from which Churchill and the cabinet directed the war against Hitler and the Nazis, maintained almost exactly as they were left in 1945. In 1984, IWM opened the rooms to the public for the first time. In 2005, the attached Churchill Museum was opened as the world's first permanent museum dedicated to the life and wartime achievements of Sir Winston Churchill. Audio guides are included in your admission. No cloakroom, no rucksacks, no suitcases. Café is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Hot food is served until 3pm.
Each morning between May and July at 11:30AM the guard changes outside Buckingham Palace. The rest of the year, the guard changes on alternate days, weather permitting. A board is placed outside the palace in the morning to say whether the Changing of the Guard ceremony will take place or not. There is no charge to view the Changing of the Guard—simply turn up and stand at the fence in front of the Palace, but it is worth getting there early to ensure a good view, particularly when the weather is fine.
The King's Birthday Parade
A ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies to mark the official birthday of the King. The King and his family travel by carriage down The Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade, where they inspect the troops and then the entire Household Division performs a march past the King as he receives their salute. Tickets to Horse Guards Parade are awarded by ballot but the parade along the rest of the route can be watched for free. Up to three tickets can be requested by sending a letter (this is by post only), enclosing a self-addressed envelope, to the Brigade Major of the Headquarters Household Division, in January or February; these will be entered into the ballot and those chosen will be sent offer letters which contain payment details. Those without a ticket can get their best view by standing on The Mall, along the edge of the parade, or on the edge of St James's Park by Horse Guards Parade. Arriving before 09:00 is recommended.
Site of the London residences for the Prime Minister (No. 10) and the Chancellor (No. 11).