Libre
Soutien
Inclusions: Glass of Champagne Driver/Guide Transport by limo to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets Bottled Water Snacks Exclusions Gratuities (Recommended)
This tour involves a fair amount of walking. Comfortable shoes are recommended. Free tickets for disabled visitors and for accompanying persons may not be booked online. The free tickets are issued at the "Special Permits" desk or "Reception", situated in the entrance hall to the Vatican Museums. Entrance into the Vatican is subject to a strict dress code. Shoulders and knees must be covered. No low-cut or sleeveless tops or shorts will be not permitted for men and women. Clients that do not adhere to the dress code will not be permitted to enter the Vatican. The local tour provider cannot be held responsible for entry denied due to improper dress. Large handbags, haversacks etc. are not permitted inside the museum. Wardrobe services are available inside the Vatican Museums Certain sites or sections of sites included in the tour may occasionally be subject to last minute changes, for example unscheduled closures. In such cases the tour operator shall be pleased to offer an alternative tour. How to redeem your voucher: You can redeem your voucher on board of the Open Bus or City Sightseeing Visitor Centre before 15:00
For Tours:
Please plan to arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour time (20 minutes prior if you have booked children's equipment). Please bring your receipt or confirmation number.
Participants arriving after the tour departure time risk forfeiture of their tour seats.
If you would like to reschedule your reservation you may do so at any time.
If you cancel your reservation at least 48 hours prior to the tour start time and would like a refund we will issue a refund less a 10% processing fee.
No Refund will be issued for a reservation cancelled with less than 48 hours notice.
We reserve the right to cancel any tour for weather or other reasons. If the tour is cancelled, and you are unable to make any of the rescheduled tours, we will issue a full refund for the cancelled tour.
If the weather is questionable, please call one hour prior to the start time to confirm the tour status.
On the day of your tour, bring your printed voucher(s) and photo identification to the tour departure location.
Trailer carriages, trailer tandems, and child seats available for children at the child rate.
Tours may be cancelled if the weather makes for dangerous riding conditions. If we are unable to reschedule the tour, we will issue a full credit or refund.
The Queen's Gallery was built in the shell of the former Holyrood Free Church and Duchess of Gordon’s School at the entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The buildings were constructed in the 1840s with funds from the Duchess of Gordon, but fell into disuse in the late 19th century. Benjamin Tindall Architects were appointed project architects for the new Queen’s Gallery in October 1999. Their central visual theme was a celebration of The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, expressed through a series of arches and screens that lead visitors from the Gallery entrance to the exhibition spaces beyond. Their design complements the original 19th-century architecture, elements of which were incorporated into the new spaces. Unsympathetic later internal alterations were removed, and a new exposed steel and concrete floor inserted to reflect the original ‘gallery’ of the Church. A new stone arched entrance was created at the centre of the Horse Wynd frontage, opposite the new Scottish Parliament building. The use of a stone archway, with a courtyard beyond, is a traditional entrance device in Scottish architecture. The main walling is of Catcastle stone, the dressed work and lettering is of Stainton stone and the base is of Kenmay granite. ‘THE QUEEN’S GALLERY’ lettering above the entrance is the work of John Neilson, a calligrapher and carver. The letters were cut from single pieces of stone. Above sits Scotland’s heraldic lion, designed by Jill Watson. The lion sedant is based on a small red lion that sits at the feet of Mary, Queen of Scots on her tomb in Westminster Abbey. (The Palace of Holyroodhouse was once home to Mary, Queen of Scots.) The monumental entrance doors of oak have gilded bronze hinges by Jill Watson. Continuing the heraldic theme, the main hinges are decorated with the Scottish lion and unicorn. The beasts are set against the adjacent urban scene of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and the rural scene of Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags. The upper hinges are made as golden boughs of flowering native trees – chestnut and laburnum, oak, rowan and hawthorn. The stone archway is decorated with a carved and gilded garland of Scottish flowers, including daisies and thistles, created by Graciela Ainsworth, an Edinburgh-based sculptor, carver and conservator. Over the old entrance to the former church is a stained-glass window by Christian Shaw. The design shows a perspective drawing of the interior of a gallery. At night, the shape of the archway is reflected by the glass lights by Keiko Mukaide set into the paving. The artist has given the tiles a water flow pattern, mirroring the stream of visitors walking in and out of the Gallery. Inside, the reception desk by Hamid van Koten is made from curved pieces of Scottish elm with kilned glass and patinated copper. The pendant lights were designed and made in Edinburgh by Ingrid Phillips. Dividing the reception from the main Gallery area is a patterned glass screen by Jacqueline Poncelet. The screen’s bronze handles by Jill Watson incorporate figures looking at art in a gallery. The dramatic central stair of native timber leads to the Gallery spaces above. The complex shape was designed by the architects with Charles Taylor Woodwork, who were responsible for the construction. Lights set into the first floor illuminate the curved balustrading.
Validity Your tickets are valid for 2 days, redeemable anytime before the end of the year. You may enter as you wish, within operating hours.
Discover this Medieval royal palace that became a revolutionary tribunal and Marie-Antoinette’s prison. The Conciergerie Discover on the Île de la Cité, the exceptional Gothic rooms of the first royal palace of Paris and the reproduction of the prison cells of the revolutionary tribunal. At the end of the 17th century, numerous people were imprisoned in the prison of the Conciergerie, including Marie-Antoinette. The Conciergerie is also listed as a historical building by the Unesco.