Royal Albert Hall
Grade I listed concert hall on Kensington Gore, home of the BBC Proms, with a varied year round programme, daytime tours, exhibitions and afternoon tea.
About Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall on Kensington Gore is one of London's great concert halls, a Grade I listed building and a registered charity. Queen Victoria laid its foundation stone on 20 May 1867, and the hall sits at the heart of the cultural quarter of museums and colleges in South Kensington that grew from Prince Albert's vision.
The programme is broad. The BBC Proms are its best-known season, but the stage has hosted boxing for close to a century, the first British indoor marathon in 1909 and Europe's first indoor beach volleyball event in 1991, alongside rock and pop, classical music, comedy and film screenings with live orchestra. Inside, look up for the acoustic diffusers that hang from the dome and are known as the mushrooms, and look for the Henry Willis organ. Outside, the terracotta frieze, the mosaic tympanum and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Steps all reward a slow walk around the building.
Even without a ticket for a show, the hall opens in the daytime for guided tours, exhibitions and afternoon tea, which makes it an easy addition to a day at the nearby museums or in Kensington Gardens. It suits music lovers, architecture fans and visitors who want to see the auditorium up close. Tickets and tours are booked through the hall's box office.