We were reading the paper on the train in April and one particular article attracted our attention. It announced that Big Ben had been voted Britain’s favourite landmark. It beat Stonehenge, Edinburgh Castle and Blackpool Tower to the title. The reason that we were so intrigued was down to this simple fact; we knew that you could visit the others, but could you actually visit Big Ben or the Houses of Parliament?
A few phone calls and goggle searches later, we discovered that you can in fact go inside and it was remarkably easy. So away we went...
It’s free to go inside, but you have to book it in advance with your MP. You need to choose your day wisely as certain days only go do a partial tour which takes in the House of Lords. It’s not available to everyone, you have to be a registered to vote in the constituency that you apply through, and you also have to be a British Citizen.
Houses of Parliament Tour Times
Tour times when Parliament is in session
Monday and Tuesday: 9am-12pm (full tour)
Wednesday: 9am-9.20am (full tour) and 9.25am-12pm (partial tour of Lords only)
Thursday: no tours
Friday: 3.30pm-5pm (full tour)
We all had a checklist in our mind of famous sections that we wanted to see, and rumors that we wanted to check out. Top of our list was the Queens Coronation throne, followed by green chairs where the prime minister sits. We also wanted to confirm the rumour that they have their own post office.
We saw them all and so much more (you’ll have to take our word for it as you can’t take photos inside). We don’t want to give all the secrets away (and do the tour guides job for him) but trust us when we say that this is one of the free things to do in London. You need to put around 2 hours aside for the tour itself, and arrive early as you have to go through a security screening point first.
The informative tour guides helped point out where in London we could find more information about the things we had heard. We’re off to the Tower of London, British Library & Buckingham Palace next! It’s also possible to visit the parliamentary archives or attend the real life debates. We’ve arranged to climb to the top of Big Ben in September. Check back here to see how we got on.
Tickets to the Tower of London
Tickets to Buckingham Palace
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