Free parking 50m from reception centre, and additional parking a further 230m from the house entrance.
There are four refreshment venues at Osborne.
Enjoy waiter-service gourmet food at the elegant Terrace Restaurant which serves a seasonal a la carte menu. The Terrace restaurant has wonderful views overlooking the gardens towards the Solent.
The self-service café in the admission area sells light snacks including tea, coffee, soup, cakes and cold drinks. Kids lunchboxes are also available.
For a quick bite, the Gazelle House cake shop at the Swiss Cottage also serves a small selection of snacks and cold drinks.
The Beach Café offers a delicious menu of light refreshments and hot and cold drinks. Refreshements include the Island’s own Minghella ice cream in a range of tempting flavours such as oriental ginger, passionfruit or mango. The café is perfectly situated next to Osborne’s beach, converted from a pavilion built for convalescing officers in the 1940s. Opening times: 10:30am – 3:30pm daily.
Dogs are welcome in the grounds of Osborne, including the formal gardens. Only assistance dogs are allowed in the house, Swiss Cottage, Cafe, Terrace Restaurant, play areas and on the Beach itself. There are outside seating areas in the cafe, terrace restaurant and beach cafe in which dogs are welcome.
Please note that dogs must be kept on a short lead at all times. Dogs must not be left unattended anywhere whilst at Osborne.
The exhibition in the Petty Officers Quarters and the House are the best place to start any visit. The displays cover various aspects of the sumptuously furnished house and magnificent grounds, as well as the lives and personalities of the Victorian royal family and the servants who cared for them.
A lively interactive display at Swiss Cottage gives an insight into childhood at Osborne.
At Queen Victoria's private beach, new exhibition panels explain how important the beach was to Victoria and her family, and how important it is today as a wildlife habitat.
Osborne is famous for its selection of formal gardens containing rare and unusual plants, and there is also plenty of space to run around. Enjoy the formal terrace gardens, visit the sheltered the walled garden, admire the view the Solent from the Palm Terrace or visit the charming childrens gardens and wild meadow which surround the Swiss Chalet.
As well as a stunning array of plants, rare red squirrels can be spotted amongst the trees. Gravel, tarmac and concrete provide access for all abilities.
Benches and rest points are dotted throughout the grounds.
Photography (without flash or tripod) is permitted in the house. The copyright of the artefacts within the house remains with the Royal Collection.
English Heritage welcomes all photographers to our sites and we hope you will share your pictures of the outside areas with us on Instagram, Flickr and Facebook.
We do have some restrictions at certain locations, so if photography is your main reason for visiting, please call the site ahead of your visit to check if any parts of the site are restricted.
We are keen to promote the use of our sites to location managers and commercial photographers. If you are interested please go to Filming Locations for more information and contacts.
