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Getting to the RCM
The Royal College of Music is easy to reach on foot from nearby attractions in South Kensington, from Kensington High Street and from Kensington Gardens.
What's on / Visit
Discover the RCM
More than just a College
With stunning new performance facilities, a newly refurbished museum, along with our historical Blomfield building, there is much to explore at the Royal College of Music. Our café also provides the perfect spot for a bite to eat, made with locally sourced ingredients. A range of merchandise is available from our shop to remember your trip to the RCM.
The RCM is located in South Kensington, London. Nearby are the renowned museums of Exhibition Road – the Natural History Museum, the V&A and the Science Museum – so why not make the most of your trip to London's cultural quarter?
Where we are
South Kensington: 0.5 miles
Gloucester Road: 0.6 miles
High Street Kensington: 0.8 miles
Paddington: 1.5 miles
Victoria: 2 miles
Santander Cycles docking station and public cycle locking facilities adjacent to RCM
Prince Consort Road site, including main reception and concert venues:
Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS
+44 (0)20 7591 4300
RCM Jay Mews
39 Jay Mews
London SW7 2ES
+44 (0)20 7591 4300
All local stations are in TfL fare zone 1.
London Underground
The closest station is South Kensington (Circle, District and Piccadilly lines), which is a 10–15 minute walk from the RCM.
Gloucester Road (Circle, District and Piccadilly lines) is a 15 minute walk from the RCM. High Street Kensington station (Circle and District lines) is a 20 minute walk or 10 minutes by bus.
Night Tube services run on the Piccadilly line on Friday and Saturday evenings, providing Underground connections from South Kensington and Gloucester Road throughout the night.
National Rail
The closest mainline stations are London Paddington and London Victoria. The RCM can be reached from any London terminal by Underground, bus or taxi.
London Buses
Bus number 360 stops directly outside the RCM on Prince Consort Road.
Buses 9, 23 and 452 pass the Royal Albert Hall.
The number 70 travels along Queen's Gate.
Many other services run to South Kensington, Kensington High Street and Knightsbridge from surrounding areas.
A comprehensive system of night buses operates between Central London and the rest of the city. The N9 passes the Royal Albert Hall and connects with other major routes at Trafalgar Square.
Coaches
Scheduled coach services run to destinations nationwide from Victoria Coach Station.
A Santander Cycles docking station is located on Prince Consort Road, adjacent to the RCM. There are several alternative docking stations nearby.
There are also a limited number of facilities for securing private bicycles on Prince Consort Road and in the surrounding area.
There is metered parking on Prince Consort Road and the surrounding area. It costs £4.22 per hour (£6.33 for Diesel vehicles) for a maximum of four hours and is free after 6.30pm and on Sundays.
There are a limited number of disabled parking spaces and designated motorbike bays available in the surrounding South Kensington area. Please check availability and restrictions before you travel.
Disabled parking bays
There are a limited number of disabled parking bays managed by Westminster Borough Council on Prince Consort Road and in the area around the Royal Albert Hall, which are within 175 metres of the RCM. In addition, there are spaces managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea on Exhibition Road, which are within 600 metres of the RCM.
Other useful information
Our public facilities are open for most of the calendar year, though often with reduced opening hours outside teaching terms. Some of our community activities, projects and special events take place during the vacation periods.
Royal College of Music Museum
- Tuesday–Friday: 10.15am–5.45pm (last entry 5.15pm)
- Saturday–Sunday: 11am–6pm (last entry 5.30pm). During the weekend the Museum closes for lunch between 1pm and 2pm.
- Closed on Mondays.
Christmas Holiday Opening Hours
The RCM Museum is closed from Monday 16 December to Monday 6 January 2025.
RCM Library
Term time opening hours
- Monday–Thursday: 9am–7pm
- Friday: 9am–5.30pm
- Saturday: 9am-2pm (RCM Junior Department days - access for college members only)
Last issues and returns are 15 minutes before closing time.
Christmas Holiday opening 2024/25
Mon 16 Dec closed
Tue 17-Wed 18 Dec 11am-5pm
Thu 19 Dec 11am-12.30pm
Fri 20 Dec 11am-5pm
The library is then closed until
Thu 2-Fri 3 Jan 11am-5pm
Term time opening hours resume on Mon 6 Jan 2025
Last issues and returns are 15 minutes before closing time.
Café
- Monday–Friday: 8.30am–4.30pm
- Saturday: 8.30am–4.30pm (term time only)
Christmas Opening Hours
- Monday-Friday: 9.00am-3.00pm
Cafe is closed for Christmas break from Saturday 21 December and reopens Thursday 2 January 2025.
Our café bar on the ground floor opens from 5pm for most mid-week concerts in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall, Britten Theatre and Performance Hall. The bar serves a range of wine and bottled beverages in addition to barista-style coffees, sandwiches and snacks.
The Royal College of Music has three teaching terms every academic year, Autumn, Spring and Summer, which run parallel to our three events seasons. Exam periods are contained within relevant terms.
The RCM closes completely from Christmas Eve until the first working day of the New Year.
Royal College of Music term dates
Please note, the year end date for MMus (Fast-track) and full-time MSc students is 30 September of the following academic year, not the final day of the Summer Term.
RCM Junior Department term dates
Junior Department activities mostly take place on Saturdays. RCMJD term dates are slightly different to those of the senior College.
Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road
London SW7 2BS
United Kingdom
Registered charity No. 309268
