Fully-Guided Houses of Parliament Tour with Special Access & No Wait Westminster Abbey Tour
Visiting while the government is on recess, you’ll be able to visit the House of Commons and House of Lords, as well as many of the other beautiful halls and chambers in which the laws of Great Britain are decided. Along the way, you’ll learn the unique stories, traditions and lore of one of Europe’s oldest constitutional monarchies and see how the past and present combine to create a society that is both fiercely modern and deeply steeped in history.
Your day begins with skip the line entry into Westminster Abbey, the most serene time to see Britain’s most cherished church. With roots dating back over 1,000 years, this Gothic masterpiece is the traditional coronation site and burial ground of kings and queens, along with national heroes like Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and William Wilberforce. On your visit, you’ll learn from a local expert guide how the British monarchy helped shape the country’s conversion to democracy, as well as a few interesting tidbits about Winston Churchill, one of the only non-royals to ever lay in state in the Abbey after his death.
Then it’s on to Parliament. While most people see it with an audio guide, you’ll be shown around by a tour guide who has spent years studying the facts and events that really immerse you in the story of this amazing building. Next, you’ll head into the engine room of British democracy; the Chamber of the House of Commons, where Britain’s elected Members of Parliament come to face off (literally) over how to run the country.
From this hotbed of democratic zeal, you’ll head over to the chamber of the House of Lords, where peers who had inherited their titles used to sit.
After learning some of the highlights of the building’s history, including a failed terrorist attack in 1605 that the British still celebrate today (ever hear of Guy Fawkes Night?), you’ll head into two of the most unique rooms in the building: the Division Lobbies. As you stroll these halls, you are literally walking in the footsteps of men like Henry VIII and Winston Churchill. History, legend, lore, and a lot of pomp and circumstance mix and mingle as you take in nearly one thousand years of history from one of the best guides in London.
