The same adult ticket to Eltham Palace costs £20.00 or £12.30, depending on three decisions you make before you arrive.
On the day, with the donation: £20.00.
On the day, without it: £18.10.
Booked online in advance, with the donation: £17.00.
Booked online in advance, without it: £15.38.
Then the one nobody mentions. Show a travel ticket on arrival and you get 20 per cent off, through English Heritage’s Good Journey partnership. Applied to the advance price that is £12.30.
So arriving by train with a pre-booked, undonated ticket costs 38 per cent less than turning up in a car and buying at the desk.
Advance booking closes at midnight the day before. You can still buy online on the day, but at the full price.
The rest of the price list
Advance online, with donation then without:
Child 5 to 17: £8.50 / £7.65.
Concession: £15.30 / £13.85.
Family, 2 adults and up to 3 children: £42.50 / £38.59.
Family, 1 adult and up to 3 children: £25.50 / £23.12.
On the day, those become £10.00 / £9.00 for a child, £18.00 / £16.30 concession, and £50.00 / £45.40 for the larger family ticket.
A family of five booking ahead, declining the donation and arriving by train pays about £30.87 against £50.00 at the door. That is £19 for two clicks and a train ticket.
English Heritage members go free. Tickets are valid all day, so you can arrive whenever and stay as long as you like.
The lift is out of service
Checked on 6 October 2026, and it changes what half the house is worth to some visitors.
“Please note, the lift at Eltham Palace is currently out of service, and the upper floors of the house are only accessible via the stairs.”
The upper floors include Virginia Courtauld’s bathroom, which is the single most photographed room in the building.
English Heritage offers a virtual tour through its multimedia guides for anyone who cannot get up there, which is a decent substitute and not the same thing. If step-free access matters, check whether the lift is back before you travel.
An art deco mansion bolted onto a medieval hall
The reason to come, and the combination is genuinely unusual.
In 1936 Stephen and Virginia Courtauld built an art deco mansion directly onto the medieval Great Hall of Eltham Palace.
The 1930s half holds the art deco dining room and Virginia Courtauld’s gold-plated bathroom.
The medieval half is the 1470s Great Hall, part of the royal palace where Henry VIII spent his childhood.
So you walk from a 1930s dinner party into a fifteenth-century royal hall through one doorway. The gardens mix medieval remains with Arts and Crafts planting.
There is a visitor centre with a shop, a café in the glasshouse, and a children’s play area. The site holds a Bronze Green Impact Award.
One contradiction in their own hours
Worth flagging because it decides whether a Monday trip is wasted.
The main page says “Open daily, 10am – 5pm (last entry at 4.30pm).”
The prices and opening times page, checked on 6 October 2026 for the week commencing 5 October, lists 10:00 to 17:00 for Tuesday through Sunday and leaves Monday blank.
Those two statements do not agree. If you are planning a Monday, check the week you want on the opening times page rather than trusting “open daily”, because English Heritage properties commonly close on Mondays outside peak season.
The 4.30pm last entry is firm either way, and the house takes a couple of hours.
Leave the car at home, and not only for the discount
Mottingham railway station is a 15 minute walk.
TfL buses 124, 126, 160 and 161 all run nearby.
There are cycle racks on site. And the 20 per cent Good Journey discount applies on production of a travel ticket, so the train pays for a chunk of itself.
Court Yard, Eltham, Greenwich, London SE9 5NP for sat nav.
What is on
Halloween half-term: Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, 10am to 4pm.
Twilight Halloween Tales: Saturday 24 and Thursday 29 October 2026, with sittings at 4.15pm on Monday 26 October and 4.30pm and 7pm on Thursday 29 October.
Christmas Fair: Saturday 5 to Sunday 6 December 2026, 10am to 4pm.
Festive Fun: Saturday 5 to Sunday 20 December 2026, weekends only, 10am to 4pm.
Note that the event hours end at 4pm, an hour before the house’s normal close.
There is also a Seely & Paget anniversary trail, marking the architects of the 1930s house, and a World Builder forest trail for children.
How to plan it
Book online before midnight the day before. That alone is £3 an adult.
Decline the donation if you need to. Another £1.62.
Arrive by train and show the ticket: 20 per cent off.
Planning a Monday: check that week’s hours, because the site contradicts itself.
Last entry 4.30pm, and the house needs a couple of hours.
Step-free: the lift is out, so the upper floors and the gold bathroom are stairs only.
Member: free, and the ticket lasts all day.
Eltham Palace and Gardens
- Address
- Court Yard, Eltham, Greenwich, London SE9 5NP
- Nearest
- Mottingham, a 15 minute walk. TfL buses 124, 126, 160 and 161
- Hours
- Listed as open daily 10am to 5pm with last entry 4.30pm, though the weekly table on the opening times page leaves Monday blank, so check the week before planning one. Event days usually end at 4pm
- Booking
- Online until midnight the day before for the advance price. Tickets are valid all day
- Price
- Adult 20 pounds on the day with donation, 18.10 without, 17.00 booked in advance with donation and 15.38 without. Child 5 to 17 from 7.65. Family of two adults and three children from 38.59. English Heritage members free. A further 20 per cent off on production of a travel ticket through Good Journey
- Standing
- An art deco mansion built in 1936 by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld directly onto the 1470s Great Hall of the medieval royal palace where Henry VIII grew up, with Arts and Crafts gardens, a glasshouse cafe and a play area
How to get in
The same adult ticket ranges from 20 pounds to about 12.30 depending on booking ahead, declining the voluntary donation and showing a travel ticket for the Good Journey discount. Checked 6 October 2026 the lift is out of service, so the upper floors including Virginia Courtauld’s gold-plated bathroom are reachable only by stairs, with a virtual tour offered through the multimedia guide instead. The main page says open daily while the weekly hours table leaves Monday blank.
Where to go next
Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle are the other royal houses within reach, and Greenwich covers the borough.
Day trips from London covers the rest, and free things to do covers what costs nothing.
Questions we get asked
How much is Eltham Palace?
It depends on three choices. An adult is £20.00 on the day with the voluntary donation, £18.10 on the day without it, £17.00 booked in advance with it and £15.38 booked in advance without. Showing a travel ticket on arrival takes a further 20% off through the Good Journey scheme, bringing the advance price to about £12.30. English Heritage members go free.
Do you need to book Eltham Palace in advance?
Not to get in, but to get the lower price. Advance online booking closes at midnight the day before and saves £3 on an adult ticket. You can still buy online on the day or at the desk, but you pay full price. Tickets are valid all day whenever you arrive.
Is Eltham Palace open on Mondays?
The site contradicts itself. The main page says open daily 10am to 5pm, while the prices and opening times page, checked on 6 October 2026, gives 10:00 to 17:00 for Tuesday to Sunday and leaves Monday blank. Check the specific week on the opening times page before planning a Monday visit.
Is Eltham Palace wheelchair accessible?
Partly. Checked on 6 October 2026 the lift is out of service, so the upper floors of the house are only accessible by stairs, which includes Virginia Courtauld's gold-plated bathroom. English Heritage offers a virtual tour of those rooms through its multimedia guides instead.
What is there to see at Eltham Palace?
An art deco mansion built in 1936 by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, including the art deco dining room and Virginia Courtauld's gold-plated bathroom, attached directly to the 1470s Great Hall of the medieval royal palace where Henry VIII spent his childhood. The gardens mix medieval remains with Arts and Crafts planting, and there is a glasshouse café, a shop and a play area.
How do you get to Eltham Palace?
Mottingham railway station is a 15 minute walk, and TfL buses 124, 126, 160 and 161 run nearby. There are cycle racks on site. Arriving by public transport also earns 20% off entry when you show your travel ticket, through English Heritage's Good Journey partnership.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 347 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
