London’s top attractions - Big Ben and Houses of Parliament

The Houses of Parliament or Palace of Westminster has been at its current site in some form since 1042. Bits have been added and changed through the centuries due to fire and bombing, Westminster Hall is the only part of the original Palace still intact.

The Houses of Parliament are one of those attractions that overseas visitors can only see from the outside for most of the year. At the moment UK residents have to apply to their MP for an invitation to go throughout the year, foreign visitors cannot visit during sitting sessions of Parliament, only during the two month summer recess.

There are two chambers to Parliament, the House of Commons in the north end and the House of Lords in the southern end. The commons was destroyed by German bombs in 1941 but the rest of the Palace including Big Ben survived. Member’s of Parliament, being lawmakers, have ensured that the Palace of Westminster has a number of bars that don’t need a licence and have no restriction’s on opening, those are the laws I’d pass.

The most iconic part of the Houses of Parliament is the clock tower known as Big Ben. It got its name from Sir Benjamin Hall the Chief Commissioner of Works, Big Ben actually refers to the bell inside the tower which Hall ordered for the renovated Palace in the 1850’s. Big Ben is a 14 tonne bell inside a 316ft(96m) tower that has a four faced clock, each face 21ft in diameter and the main bell chimes every hour. The clock tower is illuminated each night and every New Year’s Eve all the tv channels focus their cameras on the clock as the countdown to the new year in the UK approaches.

The Houses of Parliament are located on the north bank of the River Thames, next to Westminster Bridge. The nearest tube station is Westminster. Directly across from the Palace is Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square with a large grass area in its middle. The area around Parliament is always very busy with visitors especially in the summer months. Map