Parliament of London

The Houses of Parliament: What Visitors Can Actually Do

The Palace of Westminster is not a museum, it is a working parliament. This distinction matters because it shapes what you can see and when. The building operates on parliamentary time: recess periods (roughly January, Easter, summer from late July, and November) reduce access. During sitting periods, you can watch debates from public galleries. Most of the permanent tour offerings run on Saturdays and during recess.

Tours

Guided tours of the Houses of Parliament run year-round on Saturdays and during recess weeks. These take you through both chambers (House of Commons and House of Lords), Westminster Hall, the Robing Room, the Royal Gallery, and the Peers’ Corridor. Tickets cost around 26-28 GBP for adults, around 12-14 GBP for under-17s. Book online at parliament.uk well ahead of your visit; popular dates sell out.

Audio guide tours are self-paced and cheaper. The building is genuinely interesting architecturally, built by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin after the 1834 fire that destroyed the medieval palace (most of which burned, though Westminster Hall survived). Pugin’s decorative scheme, Gothic Revival in every conceivable detail including the throne, the lamp fittings, and the ceramic floor tiles, is comprehensive to the point of obsession.

Watching a Debate

When Parliament is sitting, public gallery access is free. Queue on Parliament Street or St. Margaret Street for the House of Commons gallery. Queues form early for Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesdays (from about 11:30 for the 12:00 session), which is the most theatrical and most crowded session. You may wait 2 hours or be turned away. The Lords’ gallery involves a separate queue and is often easier to access; the debate quality is arguably higher.

The queue for PMQs is not worth it for most visitors. An ordinary committee hearing or a bill debate in either house gives a more representative and less pantomime experience of how legislation actually works.

Westminster Hall

Westminster Hall dates to 1097, making it the oldest part of the surviving palace and one of the oldest remaining secular buildings in England. Its hammerbeam oak roof, constructed under Richard II between 1393 and 1401, is 73 metres long, 21 metres wide, and 21 metres high. It is among the finest medieval wooden roofs in Europe. Charles I was tried and condemned here. This context is not nothing.

The Hall is included on the official tours. On occasional Open Days it can also be entered separately.

Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)

The Elizabeth Tower contains the Great Bell commonly called Big Ben. The tower was completed in 1858. Climb access for UK residents is arranged through your local MP (free, usually a wait of several months). Non-UK residents cannot book climb access. The bell itself is visible from the terrace through a window during tours. The clock faces are best seen from Westminster Bridge or the South Bank.

The tower was under restoration from 2017 to 2022 and the chimes were silenced for much of that period.

Westminster and Surroundings

Westminster Abbey is directly opposite the Parliament buildings on Broad Sanctuary and charges for entry (around 27 GBP for adults). It has been the coronation church since 1066 and the burial site of monarchs, scientists, and writers from Newton to Chaucer. The audio guide is included in the ticket and is worth using. Allow two hours minimum.

The Churchill War Rooms (Cabinet War Rooms) beneath the Treasury building a 5-minute walk away are operated by the Imperial War Museum and are excellent: the underground complex where Churchill’s government operated during the London Blitz, preserved largely as it was in 1945. Admission is around 28 GBP but included in various London passes.

Eating Nearby

The Cinnamon Club in the Old Westminster Library on Great Smith Street, a 5-minute walk, is a serious Indian restaurant in a converted Victorian library. Lunch is more affordable than dinner. For a pub, the St. Stephen’s Tavern on Parliament Street is directly opposite the main gate and has served MPs and journalists since 1875. The food is acceptable pub standard; the location and the atmosphere are the point.

For something cheaper, the food court at the nearby Pret a Manger or the street food market on South Bank (across Westminster Bridge) are both significantly more economical.