Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

The Palace of Westminster stands on the north bank of the River Thames in Westminster, central London. It is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the UK Parliament.

The site was a royal palace from the 11th century. Most of the medieval palace burned down in 1834, leaving Westminster Hall, built under William II in the late 11th century, and a few other parts. Charles Barry won the competition to rebuild it, and Augustus Pugin designed the Gothic Revival details and interiors. Work lasted from 1840 to about 1870. The Great Clock entered service in 1859. Big Ben is strictly the name of the 13.8-tonne great bell inside the tower, but it is widely used for the tower itself, renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee. The palace, Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 1987.

The Elizabeth Tower is about 96 metres tall, and its four clock dials are each 7 metres across. A major restoration from 2017 to 2022 repaired the stonework, clock and bell. The Victoria Tower at the southern end holds the parliamentary archives. Inside, Westminster Hall has a medieval hammerbeam roof, and the chambers of the Commons and Lords can be seen from public galleries.

Visitors can watch debates from the public galleries and book paid guided tours on set dates. Tours of the Elizabeth Tower are booked through Parliament's ticket site, with tickets released monthly. Visitors pass airport-style security.

What is it like to tour Parliament? Guided tours take about 90 minutes and pass through Westminster Hall, the Commons and Lords chambers, the Royal Gallery and the Robing Room, where the monarch prepares for the State Opening. Tours run mainly on Saturdays and during parliamentary recesses, when the chambers are not sitting. A self-guided multimedia tour covers the same route at a lower price.

UK residents can also ask their MP or a member of the House of Lords for a free tour on weekdays. Anyone can queue at the Cromwell Green entrance to watch debates or Prime Minister's Questions from the public galleries, which costs nothing, though seats for Wednesday questions go quickly.

Climbing the Elizabeth Tower. The tower tour climbs 334 steps to the belfry, where visitors hear Big Ben strike the hour, and passes the back of the clock dials. Children under 11 are not allowed on the climb, and there is no lift. The bell was cast in 1858 at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, and its crack, which appeared within a year, gives Big Ben its distinctive tone.

Westminster Bridge and the South Bank across the river give the classic photographs of the palace and tower, especially at dusk when the dials are lit.