London Life

Houses of Parliament Summer Opening During the Summer Recess the Palace of Westminster, home to the House of Lords and the House of Commons is open for a one hour guided tour, which includes both Chambers and other great State Rooms.

The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world. The site of the Houses of Parliament is the Palace of Westminster, a royal palace and former residence of kings. The layout of the Palace is intricate, with its existing buildings containing nearly 1,200 rooms, 100 staircases and well over 3 kilometers (2 miles) of passages. Among the original historic buildings is Westminster Hall, used nowadays for major public ceremonial events.

During the Summer Recess the Palace of Westminster, home to the House of Lords and the House of Commons is open for a one hour guided tour, which includes both Chambers and other great State Rooms. The tour starts at Victoria Tower and ends in Historic Westminster Hall.

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British Royal family and you can now visit certain sections of the Palace.

It includes 19 state rooms, the Ballroom, the picture gallery, the Throne Room, and part of the extensive gardens. Don’t miss the Changing of the Guards on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.

It`s very impressive. 

The London Transport Museum charts the development of transport, from the first horse drawn bus to the very latest in technology.

Housed in a section of the old Covent Garden flower market, is an interactive experience, encouraging you to get a physical feel of some of the exhibits.

There are numerous transport related art exhibitions, and a chance to have look at the development of the Jubilee line extension.

A Parliament has been on this site, next to the River Thames, since the 11th century, however the current gothic Houses of Parliament were built between 1840 and 1888, after a fire in 1834 destroyed most of the original building. You can take a tour around the Houses of Parliament by contacting your local MP or visiting during the Summer Recess. Don’t miss Big Ben attached to the Houses of Parliament building.

Victoria and Albert Museum is located near the Natural History Museum and Science Museum in South Kensington. The V&A is a great museum of art and design, and holds over 3000 years worth of artifacts from many of the world’s richest cultures, inclding the most comprehensive collection of British design and art from 1500 to 1900. There’s furniture, ceramics, photography, sculpture, and much more.