Palace of Westminster
A working parliament whose rules, by tradition, still assume MPs might draw swords on each other.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk London offline.
Barry and Pugin's Gothic Revival, rebuilt after the 1834 fire, wraps around Westminster Hall of 1097 — whose oak hammerbeam roof is the largest medieval clearspan in England.
What to look for
- Two red lines on the Commons floor, 8 ft 2 in apart — just over two sword-lengths, tradition says, to keep opposing benches out of reach.
- Honey-toned Clipsham stone patched over the original sand-colored Anston limestone, which decayed.
- The Ayrton Light in Elizabeth Tower's lantern, lit only when Parliament sits after dark.
Enter via St Stephen's Entrance, near the centre of the west front; palace tours start from the Sovereign's Entrance.
Palace of Westminster is one of 40 sights worth the detour in London, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the London pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in London
- British MuseumThe room where a dead language got its voice back — and you walk in for free.
- Buckingham PalaceThe balcony where a whole country turns up to watch a family wave — with 775 rooms behind it.
- Westminster AbbeyNearly every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned on the same worn patch of floor.
- Big BenThe clang in a thousand establishing shots comes from a cracked bell that's rung slightly off-key since 1859.
- Tower of LondonWilliam the Conqueror's keep turned royal prison, where two queens lost their heads and the Crown Jewels still sit under guard.
- Tower BridgeA Victorian drawbridge dressed as a Gothic castle, its roadway still splitting open for passing ships.