Osborne House

Top choice in Isle of Wight


Lemon-frosted and Italianate, Osborne House is pure Victorian pomp. Built in the 1840s at the behest of Queen Victoria, the monarch grieved here for many years after her husband's death. Extravagant rooms include the opulent Royal Apartments and Durbar Room; other highlights are horse and carriage rides, the Swiss Cottage – where the royal ankle-biters would play – and the stroll down Rhododendron Walk to Her Majesty's private beach.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Isle of Wight attractions

1. Carisbrooke Castle

4.77 MILES

Charles I was imprisoned here before his execution in 1649. Today you can clamber the sturdy ramparts and play bowls on the very green the doomed monarch…

3. HMS Alliance at the Submarine Museum

7.08 MILES

Taking a trip deep into the bowels of the WWII-era sub HMS Alliance is compelling, thanks to the lights, sounds and even smells used to create a sense…

4. Buckler's Hard Story

7.38 MILES

The hamlet's fascinating Maritime Museum and heritage centre chart the inlet's shipbuilding history and role in WWII, and feature immaculately preserved…

5. Brading Roman Villa

7.42 MILES

The exquisitely preserved mosaics here (including a famous cockerel-headed man) make this one of the finest Romano-British sites in the UK. Wooden…

6. Explosion, Museum of Naval Firepower

7.42 MILES

This 1771 powder magazine is packed full of ordnance tracing the story of naval munitions from gunpowder to Exocet missiles. Explosion is in Gosport, on…

7. The Point

7.62 MILES

The Point's characterful cobbled streets are dotted with higgledy-piggledy houses and salty sea-dog pubs, their terraces prime places to watch streams of…

8. Spinnaker Tower

7.73 MILES

The Spinnaker Tower soars 170m above Gunwharf Quays, its two sweeping white arcs resembling a billowing sail from some angles, and a skeletal ribcage from…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "england/cowes/attractions/osborne-house/a/poi-sig/1216869/1298075",
      "destination": "Isle-of-Wight",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "England",
      "region": "Isle-of-Wight",
      "position": "superzone"
    }