Alexandra Park and Palace
In 1873 the Alexandra Palace was opened as a venue for sports and entertainment in London. The concert hall has been popularized by performances from The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Blur, Björk, and a lot more popular artists. Not only that it also has an ice skating rink inside. A huge park to explore and a lot of activities.
Join us today as we feature Alexandra Park and Palace.
East Side
Located in North London it has more than 196 acres of parkland and there are many ways to get here. We came from the east side via bus which had a little slope going up.
During this season plants and trees are starting to bloom. You would see a lot of people walking their dogs here. The park is clean, quiet, and relaxing which is a great place to spend your afternoon.
Before going inside the palace you may want to explore the Rose garden on the East side. It also has a fountain but is not functioning, still, a nice place to sit for a while as there are a lot of benches here.
One thing I have learned here in London is that parking here is very hard and will cost you all the time. Here there are a lot of parking spots but would cost you £3.00 for 1-2 hours.
The East Court is the main entrance that leads you to the Theatre and Ice skating rink. The palace opens everyday at 11 am and closes at 5:30 pm during weekdays.
Inside you will see another map of the points of interest that you may want to visit.
An unfortunate event happened two weeks after it's opening in 1873. The palace was destroyed by a fire but re-opened after two years. Today you could see that it is still very well maintained and has that wonderful Victorian vibe.
Upon entry on the left side, you would see a snack bar where you could have coffee, tea, and pastries. Not a lot of food options but it looks good if you are just looking for a snack.
Also on the left side is the entrance to the ice skating rink. Ice skating for adults will cost you around £10.00 and you could skate for an hour and a half.
You can check more details from their site here
The Ice Rink
On the right side is the entrance to the Theatre but it is closed today as there are no shows or events today. You could check their calendar for the list of upcoming shows this year. We were planning to see a show from Avril Lavigne this May but as I checked today the two-day show has already been sold out. I didn't expect that tickets to the show would be sold out that quickly.
Time to go back out and explore the south side of the palace where you could get a great view of the London skyline.
Located here is the BBC transmission tower where the first TV broadcast in the UK took place. The station stopped broadcasting in 1981 and I am just not sure if the studio is open for visitors.
South Side
Exploring further the south side, here you would see more information about its history and performers from this studio.
This area has a lot of seating locations facing central London which is the best spot in this area. This place is also the perfect spot to watch the New Year fireworks if you want to avoid the large crowds in Central. I regret not going here during last year's New Year Celebration.
There are telescopes here that you could use for 50 pence to get a better view of the structures in Central London.
Here are some of the photos I took of the city skyline. It is very beautiful in the afternoon and I hope to see it again soon during the evening.
The palace became a refugee camp and internment camp during WW1. During WW2 it again became a refugee camp.
West Side
Going to the Western part of the palace there is a bar and restaurant with a lot of tables at the back. It is called Phoenix Bar & Kitchen and looks like a place to have a good meal. The prices look affordable and we may try it out one of these days.
This is the main entrance going to the restaurant and also the Palm Court. I am not sure what is inside the Palm Court and looks like it is under renovation as it was closed.
North Side
The last part to explore is the north area and here you see would see the skate park first. It is open but not a lot of people skating at this time.
There is a small lake with ducks and other species of birds. Ducks and geese are very common here as I have been seeing them a lot if there are bodies of water nearby.
There is another restaurant in this area that offers all-day breakfast and toilets are located here.
There is a poster that shows the species of birds that can be seen in this lake. A great place if you are out bird watching.
As an activity, you can go out boating. The cost is £6.95 for adults and
£5.95 for below 18. The boat ride will last 30 minutes.
We are almost at the end of our visit as this is almost the end of the trail. This area is very quiet and we saw people feeding the birds on the lake. You are allowed to feed them but you must only give them bird seeds.
If you are looking for a place where you don't need to spend much, this is a place you should not miss.
That is the end of our tour today and we thank you for spending some time with us as we shared with you the iconic Alexandra Palace.
Hope to see you again soon as we explore more of London.
Cheers!
All photos are original and taken with
Lumix GX85 Olympus 45mm f1.8 and 12-32mm kit lens
Lumix GX85 Olympus 45mm f1.8 and 12-32mm kit lens
That looks pretty epic. I'm really taken by the plaque commemorating the tv broadcast. "High definition" must have had a very different meaning than it does today!
I guess that was high cutting edge technology back then 😄. I wish we could see the old studio inside. We will ask the reception desk when we come back.
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What a magnificent park & palace! That's quite a place, and with so much history, too! I did not realize the BBC went back as far as 1936!
I always watch BBC new now here 😄. I also didn't know how where it all started.
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