Honolulu
Queen Emma Summer Palace
The small wooden retreat in Nuuanu that Queen Emma used to escape the heat of town.
Why go
It is domestic rather than grand, and that is the point: a royal household at close range, with the family possessions still in it.
The catch
It is one small house and you will be through it in an hour. It sits right on the Pali Highway, so take it on the way somewhere.
- How long
- 1-1.5 hours
- With children
- With care
- Effort
- Easy
- Cost
- Paid
- Parking
- Easy
Before you go
- Opening hours: We-Su 10:00-15:30; PH off
- Closed Monday and Tuesday
Getting there
Driving times on real roads, from the same data the trip planner routes on — not straight-line distance.
| From Waikīkī | 13 min | 6 miles |
|---|---|---|
| From HNL airport | 33 min | 14.3 miles |
| From Downtown Honolulu | 7 min | 2.7 miles |
| From Ala Moana | 9 min | 4 miles |
Add traffic. These are free-flowing times, and the H1 through town at eight in the morning is not free-flowing.
More on Queen Emma Summer Palace: Official site · OpenStreetMap
Hours, fees and access rules have not been checked against a primary source for this entry yet. Confirm before you build a day around it.
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What else is close
Nearest by road, which is not the same as nearest on a map — and not the same as sharing a region either.
- Kapena Falls3 min awayA small fall and pool in Nuuanu, five minutes from the car and ten from downtown.
- Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum3 min awayThe burial place of the Kamehameha and Kalakaua royal families, in a small walled ground in Nuuanu.
- Lili‘uokalani Botanical Garden5 min awayA small garden of native Hawaiian plants on land the Queen left to the city.
- Foster Botanical Garden6 min awayThe oldest garden on the island, in the middle of downtown, full of trees nothing else here has.
- Punchbowl, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific7 min awayA cemetery inside an extinct crater above downtown, for the Pacific war dead.
- Honolulu Museum of Art7 min awayA museum built around a series of open courtyards, with a serious Asian and Pacific collection.