The State Rooms form the heart of the working palace and are lavishly furnished with some of the finest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto; sculpture by Canova; exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. Musical entertainment at Buckingham Palace will be the focus of a special display in the Ball Supper Room. Historic fancy-dress costumes, musical instruments and manuscripts, photographs and souvenirs will be shown in the magnificent surroundings of the Ball Supper Room, which itself has been the setting for many glittering events in the Palace's history. As part of the audio tour of the State Rooms, visitors will hear the voices of famous performers, the sounds of the original instruments on show and some of the music specially composed for the royal family. Among the highlights are Johann Strauss's waltz for Queen Victoria's coronation, Felix Mendelssohn's special arrangements of his Songs Without Words, and The Queen's Suite by Duke Ellington, created and recorded for Her Majesty The Queen in 1959.

The Palace's 39-acre garden is an oasis for wildlife, and visitors can enjoy a garden walk that offers superb views of the Garden Front of the Palace and the 19th-century lake.