Banqueting House review (Jul 2011)

This is out-of-date!   I have been here again since I wrote this review
You can read my most recent Banqueting House review here

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Address:

Banqueting House, Whitehall (opposite Horse Guards), Westminster

Opening times:

Usually 10 AM to 5 PM (Mon-Sun), but it sometimes closes at 1 PM if there is a special event going on – check their website to be sure; Last entry 45 mins before closing

Cost:

Adults £6.60; Children free (under-16)

Time required:

1 hour (approx)

Banqueting House is the kind of place that I'd never normally bother visiting if I didn't have to do it for this blog, but once I got there I was happy I went. For an attraction that has only got two rooms (literally), it's pretty decent.
The whole place is staffed by doddery old ladies, who look like they could be friends with the Queen with their posh voices and flowery dresses and perm-white hairdos, everyone that is, except the gruff Russian lady behind the till who looks like she could be the next baddie in a James Bond movie. I couldn't even understand what she was saying when she shooed me away down a long hall, but she was just pointing me towards the first bit of the tour. This is basically just a long walk down an impressive hallway, which ends with twenty school chairs arranged around a TV on the wall. You then have to sit there for 10 mins watching a history of the house. Once you've dutifully twiddled your thumbs for 10 mins watching the video, you have to go back to the scary Russian lady to pick up an audio guide, and then she sends you up the stairs. To be honest, at this stage of the tour I thought it was rubbish. But then you step through that door and see the famous ceiling and everything changes...

I don't normally get bowled over when I see a bit of art, but this room is huge. It is absolutely massive, it's probably about four or five times the height of a normal room, and right at the far end is the king's throne hung over by a big red canopy. When you look up at the Rubens on the roof it really is impressive.
I always thought that Rubens painted the picture lying flat on his back on some scaffolding, like they did with the Sistine Chapel, but apparently he did it all in Italy and shipped it over, and then nailed it up on the roof. They've got some seats around the side so you can sit and listen to the audio guide, and if you don't want a cricked neck they've got a few mirrored tables dotted around which reflect the painting above.
I probably spent the best part of an hour sitting in there listening to the guide, which goes on forever and forever. It tells you everything from the life history of Inigo Jones, to the history of James I and his dopey kid Charles I, to a bit about Oliver Cromwell and what they use the hall for today.

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I’ve been here more than once…
Banqueting House  (12 Apr '16)