Breakaway Destination Guides (International)

An instantly recognizable landmark of London and the seat of government

The Lord Chancellor's Residence, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street

In the summer you can take a guided tour through both houses

Entry is free

The nearest tube station is Westminster which is across the road from the Houses of Parliament

London's Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, together with its nearby clock tower, form one of the quintessential images of London. Whether beheld by day or viewed at night when Parliament and Big Ben are illuminated, the Houses of Parliament look majestic.

The House is made up of 646 Members of Parliament (MPs), each of whom represents a particular area within the UK known as a seat or constituency. The political party that elects the most MPs is the governing party in the House and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The governing party and the opposition (made up of MPs from the non-majority political parties) are tasked with making the laws of the realm.

Parliament's upper chamber, the House of Lords, (richly appointed in red as opposed to the green used in the House of Common) has approximately 700 members who received their place either by birth, in the case of hereditary peers, or by nomination.

The building as seen today is relatively young by London standards. A fire in 1834 destroyed much of the old palace. The actions of the then-Prime Minister Lord Melbourne, who ordered that fire engines be brought into the Palace, saved Westminster Hall, the grand medieval hall within the Parliament building that dates back to the 11th Century.

The Jewel Tower, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel, and the adjacent cloisters also survived the fire. The huge Gothic Revival building was built between 1840 and 1888. Sir Charles Barry's design (his plan was selected over those of more than 90 other architects during a public competition) integrated the surviving parts of the medieval Palace.

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