Chiswick House

Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court


Designed by the third Earl of Burlington (1694–1753) – fired up with passion for all things Roman after his grand tour of Italy – this stunner of a neo-Palladian pavillion with an octagonal dome and colonnaded portico is a delight. The almost overpoweringly grand interior includes the coffered dome of the Upper Tribunal – left ungilded, the walls below are decorated with eight enormous paintings.

Admire the stunningly painted ceiling (by William Kent) of the Blue Velvet Room and look out for carvings of the pagan vegetative deity, the Green Man, in the marble fireplaces of the Green Velvet Room.

Lord Burlington also planned the house’s original gardens, now Chiswick Park, a huge 26-hectare expanse surrounding the house, but they have been much altered since his time and were fully restored in 2010. Children will love them – look out for the stone sphinxes near the Cedar of Lebanon trees (another sphinx made of lead can be found in the Lower Tribuna).

Home to a splendid 19th-century conservatory and a gateway designed by Inigo Jones, Chiswick House also has an excellent cafe. Download an audio tour from the website.

The house is about a mile southwest of the Turnham Green tube station and 750m northeast of Chiswick train station.

Transportation

  • underground: Turnham Green
  • train: Chiswick

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court attractions

1. Hogarth’s House

0.21 MILES

Home between 1749 and 1764 to artist and social commentator William Hogarth, this small house displays his caricatures and engravings, with such works as…

2. Fuller’s Griffin Brewery

0.41 MILES

If you’re a beer fiend, hop (excuse the pun) on a tour to see it being brewed up and join in a good-old tasting session (over-18s only). Informative one…

3. Russian Orthodox Church

0.84 MILES

The star-speckled blue dome of this Russian Orthodox church, soaring above a quiet, residential street in Chiswick, is a slightly surreal reminder of the…

4. William Morris Society

1.08 MILES

Tucked away in the coach house and basement of Kelmscott House (William Morris' former home), this small riverside museum stages temporary exhibitions on…

5. London Wetland Centre

1.25 MILES

One of Europe’s largest inland wetland projects, this 42-hectare centre run by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust was transformed from four Victorian…

6. Barnes Old Cemetery

1.38 MILES

When it comes to atmospheric graveyards in the capital, Highgate in north London tends to dominate the headlines. But venture to Barnes Common in…

7. Princess of Wales Conservatory

1.43 MILES

The angular Princess of Wales Conservatory in Kew Gardens houses plants in 10 different climatic zones – everything from a desert to a mangrove swamp…

8. Great Broad Walk Borders

1.46 MILES

Stretching north from near the Palm House in Kew Gardens, the 320m-long and well-tended Great Broad Walk Borders constitute the longest double herbaceous…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "england/london/richmond-kew-and-hampton-court/attractions/chiswick-house/a/poi-sig/371763/1322059",
      "destination": "Richmond,-Kew-&-Hampton-Court",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "England",
      "city": "London",
      "neighborhood": "Richmond,-Kew-&-Hampton-Court",
      "position": "superzone"
    }