Osborne

Such a historic and beautiful place to walk around. You get a wonderful sense of what it was like in Victorian times living in such a house. The staff are extremely knowledgeable about the time and place and give you those fantastic little bits of information that you wouldn’t get in a guidebook. The walled gardens are gorgeous to walk around and a stroll down to the beach is fascinating as you get the history of the woodlands and trees that have grown since Victoria and Albert’s time at Osborne. Well worth a visit.

Beautiful piece of English heritage. Lots of walking for us as the shuttle bus wasn't running but meant a chance to see all the amazing forestry and gardens surrounding the house. The bay is beautiful as well. Well managed property. There seemed to be lots of works been done to the out building which was great to see the upkeep been done. Not a lot of shaded areas in the heat! So recommend taking some bottles water and a fan or something if going in the summer!

Great place to visit. The building itself is large so you can spend a long time looking at all the details. Lodes of information on the rooms and what they were used for. I went on a rainy day so didn't do too much exploring on the grounds, did go down to the beach and playhouse which are worth a visit. Lovely views from here to. Has an onsite restaurant to eat in with plenty of options, also has outside seating if you bring a picnic

Well worth the visit imo, I’m not really into visiting old stately homes but glad I did. The staff were amazing, very helpful and informative (and posh wink wink) Free car park and free bus to the sea and back and also a free bus to the Swiss Cottage and back. 5 stars from me.

Well it's superb and worth a visit. Value for money? Urm yes, access to the private beach, the house, the gardens, which are spectacular. The house has a certain style which I loved, more simple, dramatic rather than drama, some unadorned areas and those stair cases wow. Volunteers in attendance were polite, helpful and gardener's friendly. Don't miss the walled gardens, dahlias were spectacular when we Went. Not that the 20% discount for traveling by bus is not on in 2025. .

Really interesting house, the best one I have visited so far with English heritage. Highly recommend, large collection of historic collections and access to Queen Victoria's bedroom where she passed.

We had a great day out at Osborne. Dogs are not allowed in the house, so my daughter & I went inside the house. The grounds are lovely. The walk from the house to the beach is interesting. There are plaques underneath the trees with interesting details on. Make sure you have an ice cream by the beach. I can recommend the apple Crumble and custard flavour 🍦

I was really impressed by this place. Huge grounds with loads of walking options, a nice beach, numerous eating options, and an amazing house with room after room of fabulous furniture, antiques and artifacts. If you had to visit one stately home in your lifetime, this should be it!

The staff were very nice to us after we experienced some issues with the tickets the house was gorgeous very historical and full of so much history. We had a lovely day. The grounds are beautiful and you to go and visit queen Victoria's private beach so much to do.

The house itself and the grounds were fabulous! Be sure to stop at the beach and put your toes in the water! But DO NOT eat at the terrace restaurant. The food was horrible. Unless you like stewed tomatoes, which they called curry, and a bowl of canned chickpeas in the salad! We did enjoy the tea and the view of the terrace gardens.

Had such a fun afternoon here. The grounds are absolutely beautiful, we took a short walk down to the beach where Queen Victoria's children would spend summer days playing at the ocean. The house itself is beautiful, and it was amazing to gain insight into how Queen Vic lived! Worth talking to the people working in each of the rooms and asking any questions, they're very informative and happy to answer anything you want to know more about. Definitely recommend if you're on the island and interested in the royal family or British history!

Not only is the house lovely to walk around but the gardens are a joy. It's well worth the extra walk not just to Swiss Cottage but also down to the beach where there are great views of the Solent

There is seriously soooo much to see and do here. It's not "just a house" that you can check out, but also the private beach of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, their Swiss Cottage, royal gardens, and beautiful surrounding forestry and "adventure paths." We delegated our time, first of all checking out the Swiss Cottage. This was Prince Albert's idea, as he had "fond memories of his time growing up in Germany with his brother," where they had a Swiss-style chalet and gardens. After his death in 1862, the museum was added to the cottage. Points of interest in the Swiss Cottage: museum, Royal children's garden plots, and the children's tool shed. I loved the museum! It was presented in a fun, informative way, so that it can be interesting to both adults and children. You "meet" all of the Victoria and Albert's children (Princes Arthur, Leopold, Alfred, and Edward; Princesses Beatrice, Victoria, Louise, Alice, Helena) accompanied by pictures and informative text. Ever wondered which child was Victoria's or Albert's favorite? You can find out here. Surprisingly to me, a lot of the info was followed by a sketch from Victoria or Albert, and they were actually quite good. We took a pathway outside to our next destination: the beach. The path was lovely, with a pebbled walkway fringed by trees and greenery. Since the day was lovely, there were a lot of families on the beach. Queen Victoria's bathing machine was on display here--we could see the exterior but not the interior. Bathing machines were used to protect women's' modesty, and they would go into these machines, which would then be run into the sea via a ramp, "the wheels guided by grooves, and pulled back up using a wire rope and winch." We found an unoccupied dock further down the beach and my friend dipped her feet into the chilly water. I dipped my hands into the water, letting the sand trickle through my fingers. There's a small cafe on the beach that serves ice cream, tea, and coffee, and we decided on the wonderfully named Knickerbocker ice cream. This confection was about 6 pounds, served in a plastic sundae-type cup, and consisting of "blackcurrant and strawberry ice creams layered with crushed honeycomb and cream." It. Was. A. Damned. Delight. Served with a long wood spoon that inflected the slight flavor of popsicle sticks, it sweet and crunchy, and easily shared between two people. We followed another path back to the house after the beach. This house is gorgeous. Sort of a beige-y sandstone color on the outside, decorated with sculptures and fountains, featuring tilework at various points. Originally, we entered through the dining room and went back outside once we realized that was actually the end. Ooops. The interior is just as lovely as the exterior. The Queen's Bedroom is here is home to the very bed that the queen died on in 1901, "surrounded by her relative." Some of the furnished rooms in the house also have brief explanations for the pieces. Example: "The painting above the fireplace, 'The Entombment' by Gustav Jager was painted for Prince Albert in 1845 and has always been in this room. The painting shows the Prince's 'avante garde' taste, as the German school did not become popular until the 1850s." THE VERDICT: Part museum, part home, part slice of history, the home and grounds are lovely. I particularly liked the Indian and Colonia Exhibition in Albert Hall that Queen Victoria opened in 1886. As we were leaving the Dunbar room, I noticed the wall was two different colors, and when I went to snap a picture, an employee said that the wall was once covered in wallpaper, and when they removed it, they found a stunning design behind it. They took paint chip samples, and through science and old pictures, they were able to establish the original colors. And then they hand-painted the room these colors. Beautiful, sweeping ceilings (which I mention because many of them had crown moulding or other beautiful plastering that was gorgeous--seriously... look up!), lovely furniture, artwork, light fixtures, vases, and sculptures. This place is a verifiable treasure trove of original artwork and items. If you enjoy any of those things I previously mentioned, you will enjoy the Osborne house. If you don't, I would suggest checking out something else on the island. MY TIME: We spent about 3 hours here, and honestly I believe we could have spent another hour here. There really was just a TON to see. TIPS/SUGGESTIONS: - Dogs are allowed here along the trails. Woof! - There's a courtesy minibus that runs between the house and the beach, but the walk between the two is beautiful and relaxing. -This is probably a wonderful place to bring the family for a picnic on the beach.

I visited Osbourne House 'out of season' and so the top floors were closed to the public while they did essential maintenance work. However, this didn't lessen the experience. The house had been decorated for Christmas with large trees in every room adorned with authentic decorations as tradtional for the time (minus the real candles). We had a guided tour which lasted over an hour, and was incredibly informative. The house is stunning. Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's husband) was an incredibly innovative, intelligent and organised man who designed the house and decor himself. The house is an Italian syle villa with perfectly manicured grounds and a gorgeous view across the water to the mainland. He was very frugal too and found ingenious ways to save money on the design, including faux marble walls in the hallway. My favourite piece was the dining table set for Christmas dinner, it was outstandingly beautiful and I could easily picture the theatre of dinner with Queen Victoria, who was known for her large appetite! Finally, a stop in the gift shop on the way out ended up with me leaving with a large jar of Tracklements and a 15-month membership with English Heritage! They must be doing something right. Stunning, interesting and peaceful.

I can see why old Queen Vic liked this place, it's well worth the visit if you are on the Isle of Wight. It is very close to East Cowes ferry terminal so can be done either on the way from or to the ferry and has great views over the Solent to Portsmouth. Entry cost roughly £15. The house is interesting with snippets from Victoria's long reign and details of her huge brood that ended up marrying the royalty of Europe. The gardens are immaculate and away from the house is a Swiss style chalet where the kids used to play house. It's a fairly big site, therefore allow around 3 hours to see everything.

This place is absolutely fantastic. We got there right at the end of the day from the bus, and had to rush round. The opulence has to be seen to be believed, and Victoria was only using it as a holiday retreat! Back in the day the isle of Wight was the most fashionable place in the empire. Everyone who was anyone flocked here for their hols, and that included the royal house of hanover. They used to have fresh fruit and vegetables brought over from the gardens at windsor until Albert built a huge garden. There is also an added clock tower to fetch everyone in from the sea when it was time for dinner (a bell rang). Victoria's personal lift, private shower and bath are all here. She had electricity (of course) and electric bells on her desk to alert her servants. Towards the end of her reign she fell in love with all things indian, and employed an Indian architect to turn one room completely indian. The royal family would always celebrate christmas in this room, and it was where banquets for visiting dignitaries would be held. There are displays of photo accurate paintings of indian people from throughout the sub continent to give Victoria an idea of what her subjects looked like. After the death of John Brown two Indians were her constant male companions, bodyguards and servants. The kids had their own swiss chalet as a play house in the grounds, complete with working kitchen, and then they built another to house all the gifts they got. They had their own huge garden, and each child had their own wheelbarrow. Still in existence is the kid's fort, enormous in scale, where imaginary battles would be fought. It was Victoria's dream to make her children and descendents the rulers of europe, to put an end to all war, which of course as any fule kno is a theory not likely to bear scrutiny. It's always your family you hate the most. I had no idea until I saw the display that our Queen and Philip were both related, being great grandchildren of Victoria (Philip from the house of battenburg which was changed to mountbatten when hanover became windsor during WW1.) This place was used as a retirement home until very recently, and you can't help but envy the old dears who spent their last few days here. It's fantastic. The place is so big there is a minibus to take you around. Unfortunately we didn't manage to make it to the sea, but we did see victoria's personal bathing machine. And Charlie Dimmock was there filming something so we had to dodge her too.

We had a good time there, learned a lot about Victoria and the family living there. The house is situated on a perfect spot with view over the sea to Portsmouth. Interesting is also the swiss cottage, built for and used by the children. You'll have a nice walk through the landscape garden. The staff around is everywhere very friendly, the restaurant is a nice place to sit with good food. We just left as the olympic torch arrived and were pleased that they hadn't therefore any restricted areas.

I really liked Osborne House - hence 5 stars. If you like Victoriana, architecture, large gardens & /or history, this grand house should not disappoint. I would allow at least 4 hours to look around the house & the extensive grounds & gardens if the weather allows. I seem to remember transport being available but we walked down to the summer house & vegetable garden. One aspect of Queen Victoria's life that became obvious was how important children & family life were to her. Although I took lots of photos outside & inside through the windows, photography inside was banned. There is a bus stop directly outside the main gate.

I loved this visit to Osborne House, very interesting place, beautiful scenery and very relaxing. This was my first time to the Isle of Wight, I found it to be a warm and friendly place.I would definitely visit there again.

Oh this place is amazing!!! Great place to take the family for a day, never fails to entertain. So if you're a lil bored, Chuck on your boots and go to Osborne house! :)

Interesting historic house on the Isle of Wight. Osborne House was the summer recreational residence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It was built in 1845, and when Albert died in 1865, the Queen required that the house remain exactly as it was. It remains, today, a glimpse of what getting-away-from-it-all was like for the royal family of the day. The house (including the room where Victoria died) and gardens retain the feeling of an age past.

Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight is just stunning. The tour around it will take you a good few hours, the house is immense and full of original features including Queen Victoria s bath, bedroom and lift which they put in when her legs gave up. The gardens are delightful attracting lovely butterflies, some wonderful vistas. Fantastic day out for the whole family, mostly disabled friendly.

Well worth a visit particularly if you have an interest in 'big houses' or royality. You are not allowed take pushchairs into the house (understandably) but you can wheel it right up to the house were they will look after it and can supply you with a baby carrier. We also have a 4 year old and the house managed to hold her interest for about an hour and a half (just!) but she couldn't quite get her head around why she couldn't touch anything! I did come away wishing we could have seen more of the kitchens and servants quarters so you could have more of an insight into 'downstairs' as well as 'upstairs'. This is a very popular one with tour parties so be prepared for the cafe to be busy at lunchtime. You may also want to consider bringing a 'packed lunch' if you do bring kids as the sandwich selection was not hugely child friendly although there is a good cake selection!

Just had a great day out at Beautiful Osborne House. They put on a few events like medieval jousting which was fun to watch and learn. The staff are friendly and the free food samples went down a treat. It was nice to be able to visit Queen Vics Bedroom and see some really cool stuff in all the rooms. This is a tourist destination well recommended.