What exactly is Big Ben?

The great bell of the clock at the Houses of Parliament, which strikes the hours. The tower it hangs in is the Elizabeth Tower, though almost everyone calls the whole thing Big Ben.

Can you go inside the Houses of Parliament?

Yes, on a tour, on Saturdays and on weekdays when Parliament is not sitting. When it is sitting, visitors can watch debates from the public galleries without paying.

Where is the best view of Big Ben?

From Westminster Bridge for the clock face, and from the riverside walk on the South Bank for the tower and the whole palace together.

How much time do you need for the Houses of Parliament?

Allow 45 to 150 minutes. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

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Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

Big Ben is not the tower and not the clock. It is the bell inside, nearly fourteen tonnes of it, which has struck the hours over London since 1859. The tower has been called the Elizabeth Tower since 2012.

What it is: Monument
Time to allow: 45 to 150 minutes
Cost: Free outside, ticket to go in
Best time: On the hour, from Westminster Bridge

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Why the Houses of Parliament is worth it

The old Palace of Westminster burned down in 1834, and the building you see was put up in its place between 1840 and the 1870s. Charles Barry planned it and Augustus Pugin drew its Gothic detail, down to the inkwells and the door handles. Its front on the river is more than 260 metres long.

One part of the old palace survived the fire: Westminster Hall, built in 1097 and roofed in oak three centuries later with the widest medieval timber roof in northern Europe. Kings feasted in it, Charles I was tried in it, and Elizabeth II lay in state in it.

The clock tower is 96 metres high and came out from under scaffolding in 2022 after five years of repair, with its dials back in the dark blue Pugin gave them.

What to see

The clock from Westminster Bridge
Stand on the bridge a few minutes before the hour. The four small bells play the tune first, then the great bell strikes.
Westminster Hall
The way in for visitors. Look up at the hammerbeam roof of the 1390s, carved with angels, and down at the brass plates that mark where great men lay in state or stood trial.
The House of Commons and the House of Lords
On a tour you walk through both chambers: the green benches of the Commons, rebuilt after a bomb in 1941, and the red and gold of the Lords with the throne at its end.
Parliament Square
Statues of Churchill, Gandhi, Mandela and the suffragist Millicent Fawcett stand on the green, with the Abbey on one side and Parliament on the other.
The view from the South Bank
Cross the bridge and walk a little way along the river for the whole palace in one picture, best in the late afternoon and after dark.

How to do it well

Tours of the inside run on Saturdays and on weekdays when Parliament is not sitting. Book ahead: they fill.
When Parliament is sitting, anyone may queue to watch a debate from the public gallery, free of charge.
Everyone goes through an airport-style security check. Bring little and arrive early.
Climbing the clock tower is a separate tour with few places, and it sells out months ahead.
Westminster Abbey is across the road and the Churchill War Rooms five minutes away: the three make a day.

Where it is

Address

Parliament Square, on the north bank of the Thames at Westminster Bridge

Nearest station

Westminster (Jubilee, District, Circle), at the foot of the clock tower

Museums and sights nearby

Distances are in a straight line.

Tickets and tours: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament