Start at Westminster Station
Finish at Westminster Station
THE EXPERIENCE
Discover its history, symbols of power, and views through a circular stride along both sides of the river. Today, the Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, but it used to be a royal palace up until the 1500s. It is commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative chambers that occupy the building.
Great for history, iconic sights, fantastic river views, museums, places of worship, and government buildings. Not good for food and drinking places
MUST SEE PLACES
Must see List
PLACES TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
Eating and Drinking Link
Links to the Sightseeing Eat Drink, and Be Merry Routes
BEST TIME
Morning - The best time to do this route is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.
Day - Westminster Bridge and around Parliament Square are busy most of the day. Quieter elsewhere
Evenings - Generally quiet.
ROUTE OVERVIEW
This 2 Km route takes you on a 360 tour of the historic Houses of Parliament, Albert embankment and Lambeth Palace. It starts and ends at Westminster Station and takes you along the side of the Houses of Parliament, into Victoria Tower Gardens, and then over Lambeth Bridge to Lambeth Palace. The route then follows the Albert Embankment, with its iconic view of the Houses of Parliament, to St Thomas’s Hospital by Westminster Bridge. It then heads towards Big Ben before finishing at Westminster Station by Parliament Square.
Route at a Glance Video (3:00)
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DESCRIPTIVE PHOTO GALLERY
This gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this route. Use the Google Map above to find their location. Double-click to see its full size.
INTERESTING FACTS
Lambeth Palace
Albert Embankment
St Thomas's Hospital
Westminster Bridge
The Houses of Parliament
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Click on the picture below to go on a virtual tour of the sightseeing area.
Use the red route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the location and going on a virtual tour.
HISTORY & GUIDES VIDEO LIBRARY
These short videos give you a quick guided tour of some of the sites on this route.
Please note - These date from before 2018 and have been done in a variety of styles to determine which one works best. They all provide very useful information and we would welcome feedback to help create the new version
Part 1 - East Side - Parliament Square to Victoria Tower Gardens (5:30)
Part 2 - West Side - Lambeth Bridge, Albert Embankment and Westminster Bridge (5:49)
This 7:28 minute video provides you with a history of the area.
This 6:38 minute history video briefly introduces how the Central London sightseeing area expanded during the Tudors (1560) and the Victorians (1860).
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