The private tour of Blenheim Palace

Why it is on the list

Blenheim has been home to the Dukes of Marlborough since 1705, is the house where Winston Churchill was born, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.¹² The private visits are made by the palace's own guides, curators and gardeners: tours into rooms not always open, among them the Duke's private apartments, visits after the gates have closed, and single-theme experiences on Churchill, the palace, the park and gardens or the working estate.¹³

It is the wrong choice at short notice or on a fixed date: the experiences are seasonal and run on a limited number of days each year.³ For a day built around one monument out of hours, take the Stone Circle Experience at Stonehenge instead.

How to get it

Ask through the Private Package Enquiries form on the palace's private experiences page, which reaches the special tours team; they plan the day and look after it from then on.¹ Customer service answers on +44 1993 810530 and at customerservice@blenheimpalace.com.⁴ Give the date, the size of the party and the occasion.¹

The shorter VIP Palace Experience starts at GBP 300 a person, the VIP Sir Winston Churchill Experience at GBP 350 and the VIP Estate Experience at GBP 600; the full Palace, Sir Winston Churchill and Park & Garden experiences start at GBP 1,000 a person, and the VIP Evening Experience is priced on application.¹ Morning and afternoon celebrations for a birthday, anniversary or proposal start at GBP 250 a person, and a day can be designed from scratch, from a curator's morning to dinner for two in a room not dined in for a generation.¹ The palace gives no lead time, deposit, cancellation rule or party limit for these tours: ask the special tours team, through the form, how far ahead to book for your date, what is paid when, and how many the tour you want takes.

The palace is about an hour and a half from central London by car; by train, Chiltern from Marylebone to Oxford Parkway, then the S7 bus, is quickest.⁵

Discretion

The private tours are arranged for individuals, couples and small parties, and the after-hours visits begin once the gates have closed to everyone else.¹ A bespoke day can open the palace at first light, before anyone else is there.¹ The palace is open to day visitors from 10.00 to 17.30.¹ The palace names no price for closing it to the public: ask the special tours team, through the enquiry form, whether it can be taken whole for your party and at what cost.