Waking up on the last day of our most recent visit to London, we had big plans! A tour of Westminster Palace and the Houses of Parliament! We’d walked by and photographed this iconic and historic building on many occasions, but we’d never been inside.
View of the London Eye and Big Ben from the security line
Embracing the idea that guided tours are a good thing and always up for visiting another palace I signed us up! I was pretty excited about finally getting a peek inside. In fact our visit to this historic and important place was a highlight of our entire six week adventure!
Guided tours of the Houses of Parliament are available on most Saturdays and on weekdays when Parliament is in recess. The tours are timed and I highly suggest arriving slightly before your scheduled time, as the check-in and security lines can be long. If you find yourselves with some time to spare before your tour you can enjoy a coffee in the onsite cafe and have a look around the gift shop.
While on the 90 minute tour you’ll be treated to 1000 years of history, modern politics, and amazing art and architecture. Highlights include visiting both the Lord’s and Common’s Chambers, the Queen’s Robing Room and the Royal Gallery.
You’ll meet your guide in Westminster Hall, one of the few places photos are allowed, and proceed to walk quickly through the entire building, catching only glimpses of all the amazing art and ornate decor, before finally stopping at the other end where the tour will officially start. Don’t worry, you’ll be walking back at a much slower pace and will be able to enjoy the amazing artwork of kings, queens and politicians of past and present while you listen to your guide tell you their history.
I absolutely loved this experience, our guide was so knowledgeable and funny and the interior spaces were so beautiful I was in awe of my surroundings the entire visit. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who loved this activity, all three of my boys loved it too!
Photo opportunities were very limited, but I managed to get in a few snaps!
Westminster Hall
St. Stephen’s Hall & New Dawn Stained Glass
The Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben
differentshoresblog
Your photos are spectacular. It seems easy but I’ve never managed to get a good image of the Houses of Parliament, on a good weather day! It’s absolutely gorgeous inside: I never knew it was so ornate. What camera do you use? (Have I asked you that before?? If so, apologies!).
Hilary
Hi! Thank you so much! It may seem easy, but in all the times I’ve been to London, I’ve only taken one “great” photo of Westminster Palace. I was unable to take any photos in the most beautiful rooms, but I’m sure my mouth fell open on multiple occasions as we walked through! I use a Samsung NX2000. It has interchangeable lenses and is fairly lightweight! I was using my long range lens for the shot with the river and entire building.
differentshoresblog
I think I’ve heard of that one, I love mirrorless. The image quality is brilliant. I find London quite hard to photograph for some reason – I think it’s hard to get the right angle. Cheers
Hilary
Yes, big city photography is definitely a challenge! Cheers!!
danniijane
Great post. I love tours of Parliament, it’s so beautiful and full of history. Some of my works events are held there and it’s lovely😊 x
joylovestravel
We’ve done this tour as well – I just loved every second of it. It’s a shame you can’t take pictures as the rooms are so beautiful.
Hilary
I know! I admit I loved it so much I may have teared up at one point!
Stephen
Hi Hilary. Outstanding blog content girl! You def have the eye for a v good picture. Hope you’re OK with me ‘following’ you? You’ve inspired me to mirror your H of P visit when I’m next in London, + it would be good to see what you come up with next!