The Changing of the Guard - Worst Travel Experience, London, England

For as long as I can remember, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace has been touted as one of the must-do-in-your-lifetime experiences. It’s on every generic bucket list. It’s in travel guides and blogs. And it fucking sucks. London is an incredible city full of amazing things to see and do. The Changing of the Guard is not one of them. In fact, given all the other things you could be doing in London, it’s actually a colossal waste of time.

The Changing of the Guard is a military exercise carried out by soldiers on active duty in the royal palaces and castles of England. In actuality, you can see a changing of the guard at many important sites around Europe, because as the name implies, the ceremony is intended to relieve the guards on duty and replace them with new guards. But no ceremony is more over-the-top and unnecessarily popular as the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, which lasts 45 minutes, and includes military bands playing music.

It’s scheduled at 11 am on different days depending on the time of year. In the summer, you can expect the ceremony every day, but in the winter and early spring, it’s performed only on certain days of the week. The ceremony may also be cancelled due to unforeseen events like bad weather or national tragedies. You can find the most updated schedule for the Changing of the Guard here. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).