Blenheim Palace At Christmas – Everything You Need To Know
Blenheim Palace is such an amazing place to visit at any time throughout the year, but it’s extra fantastic at Christmas. It is a beautiful and large country house in Oxford, and the only non-royal, non-episcopal country house to hold the Palace title.
It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 300 years of history. Plus, it’s the home to the 12th Duke of Marlborough and his family and also the birth location of Sir Winston Churchill.
The Palace is one of the most popular places to visit during the Christmas period. And there’s a lot more to it than just a Palace.
Each year, they put on spectacular Christmas light shows, an amazing walk around the Palace rooms – which they call “The Story Of The Nutcracker” – and there’s also plenty of walking and outdoor activities to do.
Keep reading, and I’ll show you everything you need to know about Blenheim Palace at Christmas.
How Long Should You Spend At Blenheim Palace At Christmas?
To get the full experience of Blenheim Palace at Christmas, you will need a full day. So, unless you already live in Oxford, I would highly recommend getting a hotel and staying there overnight.
You can arrive early in the morning on day one and use this day to visit the Palace. Then, use your second day to explore Oxford itself.
There are plenty of free things to do and see in Oxford, so you definitely won’t be stuck for choice. Doing it this way also means that you won’t have to travel back late after visiting the Palace.
It’s a win-win!
Things to Do At Blenheim Palace at Christmas
The three main Christmas-dedicated activities to take part in are the Story Of The Nutcracker, the After Dark Illuminated Trail, and the Christmas Market.
They recommend allowing 60 minutes for the Palace and 90 minutes for the Illuminated Trail. A standard admission combined ticket for both costs £61.50 without parking or £71.50 if you need a parking space too.
If you want only one activity it will cost £36.5 for an adult Illuminated Trail ticket with parking. Or £45 for the Palace ticket with parking (minus £10 from those costs if you don’t require parking).
I would highly recommend the combined ticket and booking this in the evening so you can experience the lights properly. This way you can spend the day exploring the rest of Blenheim Palace.
The entrance to the Christmas Market is free and open from 10:00- 15:00. But, if you require parking you must pay the £10 fee. If you have purchased either the Palace or the Illuminated trail tickets the Market will be open until 20:00.
✅ To book tickets for Blenheim Palace at Christmas, click here.
The Story Of The Nutcracker
The Story Of The Nutcracker is a self-guided tour of the Palace Rooms. Each room is transformed and decorated with the Christmas spirit in mind, from the toy-makers workshop to the Candy-Cane Kingdom of sweets filled with treats and enormous gingerbread men. This is something the kids will love – but it’s one for the adults too.
The atmosphere of the Palace is amazing and it really puts you in the Christmas spirit. But, you also learn a lot about the history of the Palace too. For example, the many names of famous people who once lived there.
Blenheim Palace is also the home of one of the most extensive and important historical collections in Europe. It contains old portraits, tapestries and also a long library which is lined with over 10,000 books!
They recommend allowing 60 minutes to complete The Story Of The Nutcracker, and I would recommend booking your slot after dark so you can experience the contrast between the light inside and the dark outside.
It doesn’t matter if you can’t get a ticket at night though, the experience will still be amazing.
The After Dark Illuminated Trail
The Illuminated Trail was certainly my favourite thing to do at Blenheim Palace at Christmas! The Illuminated Trail is a self-guided tour around the lit-up Palace Gardens. The trail is filled with over a million lights, lasers, and seasonal music and the atmosphere is simply amazing.
Towards the end of the trail, there is a mesmerizing fire garden, which lights up the whole area and it’s just brilliant to stand and watch.
Right at the start of the trail, there is a little stall where you can purchase traditional Christmas drinks such as mulled wine. You can also get other hot drinks such as hot chocolate, tea, or coffee. These drinks do cost extra, however, they make the experience even better.
They recommend allowing about 90 minutes to finish this trail, so keep this in mind when planning this experience. I would recommend booking both the Illuminated Trail after Dark so you can experience the lights properly. It is outdoors though so make sure you dress appropriately for the weather.
The Blenheim Palace Christmas Market
The Christmas Market is free to enter, you just have to pay for parking. If you have already purchased a standard admission ticket including parking, you do not have to pay for parking again.
This ticket will apply to parking for the whole day. Therefore, those who have purchased a combined or even a single ticket will be able to enter the Christmas market for free.
Multiple wooden chalets house over 70 designer craft traders. You can stroll through the markets and browse through an assortment of different handmade gifts and delicious treats for everyone. Producing a wide variety of things for you to choose from.
It’s easily one of the most underrated Christmas markets in Europe.
Other Things To Do At Blenheim Palace
As well as the most popular attractions throughout the palace, there are a few other attractions that are well worth exploring at Christmas time.
Malborough Maze
Malborough Maze is a maze located in the Formal Gardens. It is two miles long and made up of hundreds of yew trees and it’s quite stunning.
During the Christmas period, the formal gardens shut after 4pm to begin The Illuminated Light Trail. So, if you would like to experience the maze, make sure you go before then. And preferably no later than 14:30 in case, it takes you a while to finish the maze.
The Formal Gardens
The Formal Gardens are a wonderful part of Blenheim Palace. Over many hundreds of years, specialist garden designers created these gardens. The gardens demonstrate the change in style throughout the different ages. Included is a stunning private Italian garden, a Memorial Garden, a Rose Garden, and pretty Water Terraces.
They’ve also got an audio tour which allows you to go at your own pace and they’ve built a new path to make the gardens accessible for everybody.
Once again, if you would like to see the gardens during the day I would recommend going in the morning, as the Formal Gardens will close at 4pm.
Walks
There are many different walks you can do at Blenheim Palace.
- The Formal Gardens: This walk is 1.5 miles long and will take roughly 1 hour to complete. It is also suitable for wheelchairs or buggies.
- The Queen Pool: Another 1.5-mile walk. This walk is circular around the lake and will take roughly 45 minutes to complete. Again, this is suitable for wheelchair and buggy users.
- The Lake: This is another circular walk but this one is slightly shorter taking only 35 minutes and only 0.75 miles long. It is recommended for wheelchair and buggy users to return via the Rose Garden after reaching the Cascade as this part of the walk will not be suitable.
- The Park Perimeter: This is the longest walk being 4.6 miles long and taking roughly 2 hours. Please be prepared for quite a few steep slopes. However, this path is still suitable for wheelchair and buggy users.
- The Formal Gardens Audio Tour: This is a 2.2-mile walk that takes roughly 1 hour to complete. You listen to the audio provided on Blenheim Palace’s app which will guide you on the tour.
Some of the walks are probably a lot longer than you expect so make sure you wear comfortable shoes. I decided normal boots were a good idea and trust me, they were not!
Discover The Many Film Locations
One other great thing about Blenheim Palace is the number of film and TV locations around the grounds and inside the Palace.
If you head over the edge of the Great Lake, you will find the willow tree that was featured in the 2007 movie Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.
It was also featured in the 2020 film “Doolittle” which features Robert Downey Jr, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Sheen, and the 2015 movie “Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation” featuring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, and Simon Pegg was filmed in the Great Court.
Some other films shot at Blenheim Palace include:
- Sherlock Holmes – Without a Clue 1988
- Cinderella 2015
- Entrapment 1999
- Gulliver’s Travels 2010
- Fan 2015
Overall, the palace truly is a stunning Christmas location, and well worth adding to your winter bucket list!
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