Access and facilities
We’ll do everything we can to make sure your experience of the RA is enjoyable, comfortable and memorable.
Find information on the accessibility of our buildings and facilities. This includes information on accessible parking, assistance animals, contacting us, entrances, large-print guides, seating, sensory maps, step-free access, tickets, toilets, wheelchair and walker booking and more.
Contact us
Monday–Friday
Email [email protected]
Phone 020 7300 5732
Saturday–Sunday (and bank holidays)
Email [email protected]
Phone 020 7300 8090
Please note we are closed on Mondays. See all our opening times
Getting here
Entrances
Burlington House entrance
The Burlington House entrance is on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. The nearest tube stations are Piccadilly Circus and Green Park. Use this entrance for the Main Galleries and The Jillian and Arthur M. Sackler Wing of Galleries. This entrance is closest to our disabled parking spaces.
Burlington Gardens entrance
The Burlington Gardens entrance is along a street called Burlington Gardens in Mayfair, London. The nearest tube stations are Oxford Circus and Bond Street. Use this entrance for the Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Galleries, the Collection Gallery and the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre. This entrance is ramped with an automatic door and is typically less busy.
Parking
To book a parking space, email [email protected] or call 020 7300 8090.
There are two disabled parking spaces available in the courtyard of Burlington House which can be booked in 4-hour time slots, either 10am–2pm or 2pm–6pm. We recommend booking parking two weeks before your visit. We are unable to take same-day bookings.
To find and book Blue Badge bays nearby, visit Westminster council’s disabled parking webpage.
Our building
Assistance animals
Working guide and assistance animals are welcome at the RA. No animals except assistance animals are permitted in our building. If you plan to visit with an animal other than an assistance dog, please get in touch so we can discuss and support your request by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7300 8090.
Sensory maps
We provide sensory maps of our building and some temporary exhibitions. Download a sensory map of our building which includes bright, dark, quiet and noisy areas.
Step-free access
There is step-free access throughout the building.
Burlington House and Burlington Gardens are historic buildings, so do take care when navigating our steps and stairs. Please don’t hesitate to ask a member of staff if you need assistance. During busy periods we may implement one-way systems on our main staircases.
Toilets
There are step-free, standard toilet cubicles in Burlington House and Burlington Gardens. Each also has an ambulant toilet with a sink and wall-mounted grab rails. These toilets have hand dryers and people with noise sensitivities may prefer to use the accessible toilets.
Visitors who want to access gender-neutral toilets are welcome to use our accessible toilets which are private cubicles.
There are accessible toilets in both Burlington House and Burlington Gardens. In Burlington House, the toilet is beyond the main staircase, down the hallway to the right before the stairs down to the vaults. You can read more about this facility on the AccessAble website.
In Burlington Gardens, the toilet is located to the left after you enter from the ramped accessible entrance, near the lecture theatre. Find out more about this facility on the AccessAble website.
Visiting with young children
We have two sets of baby changing facilities. They are next door to the accessible toilet on the ground floor in Burlington House. In Burlington Gardens, they are on the ground floor on the left beyond the entrance to the toilets. Highchairs are available in all our restaurants and cafés and you can breast-feed wherever you feel most comfortable. Pushchairs and buggies can be brought into exhibitions or stored in either cloakroom.
Wheelchairs and walkers
To book a wheelchair or walker, email [email protected] or call 020 7300 8090.
Manual wheelchairs are available to borrow and can be booked at short notice. One rollator walker is also available to book in advance.
Visiting exhibitions
Large-print exhibition guides
Large-print exhibition guides are available for all our exhibitions. You’ll find them printed in the galleries and in a digital format on the exhibition webpage.
Seating
Seating is available throughout the galleries. Portable stools are available to borrow during your visit and can be collected from outside exhibition galleries and some free displays.
Tickets
Disabled visitors pay a reduced rate to visit exhibitions and their companion/carers’ entrance is free. When booking online, please select one concessionary ticket plus a free companion ticket.
Attending events
Live captioning
All of our online events have live captioning. Explore our online events.
Speech-to-text transcription
Some of our talks are accompanied by speech-to-text transcription, courtesy of Stagetext. Explore talks with speech-to-text transcription.
Tickets
Disabled visitors pay a reduced rate to attend events and their companion/carers’ entrance is free. When booking online, please select one concessionary ticket plus a free companion ticket. For courses and classes, please contact us by email at [email protected] or call 020 7300 8090 to add a free companion ticket to your booking.