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City and borough in London, England
Photo: Mайкл Гиммельфарб (Mike Gimelfarb), Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Westminster is a district of central London, at the heart of the United Kingdom's royal and political life. Many of its attractions are of an historical and cultural variety. Even so, Westminster very much retains a bustling, modern feel as the centre of British government and is often used as shorthand for Parliament and the political community (including the elected Government) of the United Kingdom generally.
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more widely known as the Houses of Parliament
On the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Palace of Westminster is the seat of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It's often termed the "Mother of All Parliaments" - an exaggeration, but perhaps only a slight one. The present building largely dates from the 19th century when it was rebuilt following a fire in a splendid example of Victorian neo-Gothic architecture. The House of Commons (elected Members of Parliament or MPs) is located to the north of the building and is decorated with green leather upholstery, and the House of Lords (unelected Lords) is located to the south and decorated with red leather upholstery.
Upon entry, you pass through a metal detector, and are very thoroughly searched. You then proceed into St. Stephen's Hall, where you are seated to wait for admission. A representative of the Sergeant-at-Arms gives you a slip of paper to write your name and address on.
When called, you proceed from St. Stephen's Hall to the Central Hall, and then upstairs. You must leave all items (bags, cameras, mobile phones, writing and written material) outside and then proceed through to the Strangers' Gallery. Upon entry, you can pick up a copy of the proceedings being discussed in the House that day. You should be quiet, anything above a whisper may lead to you being asked to leave. After leaving the Commons, you head back down to the Central Hall.
If you head away from the Commons, you pass along a corridor towards the Lords. If you ask to visit the Strangers' Gallery, a representative of Black Rod asks you to complete another slip of paper with your name and address. You then proceed up a staircase to the Lords Strangers' Gallery. Again, all items need to be left outside. Of the two chambers, the Lords is by far the more impressive, featuring the stunning throne (opposite the Strangers' Gallery) upon which the King delivers a speech outlining the Government's plans for the year ahead at the State Opening each year. Also, the queue for the Lords is always very short.
After visiting the two Houses, visitors pass back through St. Stephen's Hall, and through Westminster Hall. Westminster Hall is one of the few areas of Parliament in which photography is permitted, and it is a very impressive place, dating back to the 9th century. Plaques on the floor mark where the bodies of deceased members of the royal family and other distinguished individuals granted the privilege by the British government lay in state (most recently Queen Elizabeth II in 2022), and significant events which took place in the hall (such as the trial of King Charles I).
Probably the most colourful event in the UK's legislative calendar, this takes place in May or June every year, or after a general election, when the King travels to the Houses of Parliament to open the new parliamentary session. During this event, the Lords, Speaker of the House of Commons, and other office holders can be seen dressed in their ceremonial robes, and there is always an elaborate procession when the King makes his way to the Houses of Parliament from Buckingham Palace. This is one of the few occasions where all branches of the British government are gathered in the same place. Many traditions of the State Opening can trace their origins to a more turbulent past, when the relationship between the monarch and Parliament was sometimes antagonistic. In particular, since the English Civil War, the monarch has been banned from entering the House of Commons chamber, and instead must send a representative (the Black Rod) to summon the MPs to the Lords chamber, where he delivers his speech. Another notable tradition is the holding of a Hostage MP in Buckingham Palace, ostensibly to guarantee the safe return of the monarch, who is released once the King has returned to the palace safely after delivering his speech. While attendance at Parliament itself is limited to special guests that have been invited by the Prime Minister, it is broadcast live on the BBC, and you can also view the King's procession from Buckingham Palace to Parliament from the roadside for free.
While the Houses are in recess, the Palace of Westminster is generally closed - apart from the long Summer recess, during which tours are run through the building, led by Parliamentary employees. Popularity of these tours means you're best advised to book in advance - a stall erected on the green opposite the Palace of Westminster on Millbank sells tickets in the Summer.
This small tower across the road from the Houses of Parliament is the only part of the original Palace of Westminster still standing. While it is overshadowed in splendour by the surrounding buildings, it's well worth a visit, and has good displays about the early history of Westminster.
The main residence of His Majesty King Charles III, Her Royal Highness Queen Camilla, and latterly of HM Queen Elizabeth II. In the summer, 19 State Rooms are open to the public. Places are strictly limited, and it might not be possible to just turn up and get a ticket for a specific entry time, visitors should book in advance to ensure admission.
The most senior of the Royal palaces in London (built between 1531 and 1536) and the official seat of the monarch.
Church in Piccadilly designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1684. It has a magnificent organ case and baptismal font by Grinling Gibbons.
Described as "the wonder of the entire world", this chapel at the eastern end of Westminster Abbey is a breathtakingly beautiful masterpiece of medieval architecture.
St. Margaret's is the church of the British Parliament, more specifically, the parish church of the House of Commons.
The Abbey is the traditional scene for the coronation of British monarchs and the burial place of many past kings and queens. The Abbey contains a good gift shop and the Cellarium Café, which traces its history to the 14th century, is a good place to buy a noontime meal. Westminster Abbey is usually open to visitors from Monday to Saturday throughout the year. On Sundays and religious holidays such as Easter and Christmas, the Abbey is open for worship only. All are welcome and it is free to attend services. Visitor access to the Abbey is via the West Gate of the North Green.
This gallery houses the Tate collection of British art from 1500 through to contemporary art. A side wing collects together the gallery's collection of paintings by Turner, including some stunning seascapes. Temporary exhibitions are exceedingly varied: examples include exhibitions of Turner's paintings of Venice and the work of photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. The best known exhibition is the Turner Prize, consists of works by four artists shortlisted for the annual contemporary art prize, which runs from late October to January each year.
In contrast to the other Royal Parks in the area, Green Park can seem a little plain. It has no lakes or buildings and few monuments. It is still a pleasant green, lightly wooded, area in the centre of London, neighbouring two other parks and Buckingham Palace.
The oldest of the Royal Parks of London.
The Arch was designed in the 1820s by Decimus Burton as a Roman-style triumphal arch to commemorate victory in the Napoleonic Wars; although money ran out before it was completed. Adrian Jones' chariot statue on the top, "Peace descending on the Quadriga of War", was added in 1912. The original equestrian statue, added in 1846, was widely disliked and now stands in Aldershot. The arch is now owned by English Heritage and is open to the public: it contains exhibits about the arch and English history, while the view from the top is quite impressive.
Equestrian statue of the Iron Duke, with four soldiers at each corner of the pedestal, representing regiments that fought under him: a Grenadier, Scottish Highlander, Irish Dragoon, and Welsh Fusilier. The bronze came from melting down captured French cannons.
A stone howitzer by World War I veteran Charles Sargeant Jagger
Created by Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and Janet Laurence to remember the Australians who died in both world wars. Made from Australian granite.
A statue of David holding Goliath's sword by Francis Derwent Wood commemorating the dead of the World War I corps.
Sixteen cruciform bronze pillars designed by Paul Dibble and John Hardwick-Smith.
Built of Portland stone and dedicated to the aircrews of Allied nations under Bomber Command during World War II.
Worth a quick visit if you are passing. The brick and stone neo-Byzantine Catholic Cathedral (not to be confused with the much more famous Westminster Abbey) is near Victoria Station, just off Victoria Street. Construction started in 1895, and some of the interior is still unfinished. The Treasures of Westminster Cathedral exhibition is inexpensive and worthwhile for learning the history of the cathedral, there are interesting exhibits including a 1:28 wooden scale model uses by the architects. Has a café and gift shop.
Designed and built in 1619-1622 by the Neo-Classical architect Inigo Jones, The Banqueting House is now all that remains of Whitehall Palace, the sovereign's principal residence from 1530-1698 when most of it was destroyed by fire. Renowned for its architecture and paintings (by Rubens, among others), the building is also famous for being the scene of Charles I's execution in 1649 at the end of the English Civil War.
A branch of the Imperial War Museum, the Cabinet War Rooms preserves the underground corridors and rooms from which Churchill and the cabinet directed the war against Hitler and the Nazis, maintained almost exactly as they were left in 1945. In 1984, IWM opened the rooms to the public for the first time. In 2005, the attached Churchill Museum was opened as the world's first permanent museum dedicated to the life and wartime achievements of Sir Winston Churchill. Audio guides are included in your admission. No cloakroom, no rucksacks, no suitcases. Café is open daily from 10am to 5pm. Hot food is served until 3pm.
Site of the London residences for the Prime Minister (No. 10) and the Chancellor (No. 11).
This street runs between Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square, and is the site of several British government buildings. Horseguards Parade, and the heavily guarded entrance to Downing Street (see above) are on the west side. Banqueting House is on the east side. In the centre of the street sits the Cenotaph, a war memorial erected following World War I, which is the centre of the annual Remembrance Day ceremony on 11 November.
Each morning between May and July at 11:30AM the guard changes outside Buckingham Palace. The rest of the year, the guard changes on alternate days, weather permitting. A board is placed outside the palace in the morning to say whether the Changing of the Guard ceremony will take place or not. There is no charge to view the Changing of the Guard—simply turn up and stand at the fence in front of the Palace, but it is worth getting there early to ensure a good view, particularly when the weather is fine.
Each morning the guard is also changed at Horse Guards Parade. As this changing of the guard is less famous than the Buckingham Palace affair, the crowds are usually smaller; plus there are no railings here to spoil the view. The ceremony does not take place in very wet weather. The cavalry are based at Hyde Park Barracks and can be seen proceeding through the park, under the Wellington Arch, along Constitution Hill and The Mall each morning.
Four O'Clock Parade
In the late afternoon at Horse Guards an officer will inspect the guards, after which the mounted sentries return their horses to the stables for the night. They are replaced by two dismounted sentries. This ceremony was born as a punishment detail in 1894 but it was retained as a tradition when the 100-year punishment period ended in the 1990s.
The King's Birthday Parade
A ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies to mark the official birthday of the King. The King and his family travel by carriage down The Mall from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade, where they inspect the troops and then the entire Household Division performs a march past the King as he receives their salute. Tickets to Horse Guards Parade are awarded by ballot but the parade along the rest of the route can be watched for free. Up to three tickets can be requested by sending a letter (this is by post only), enclosing a self-addressed envelope, to the Brigade Major of the Headquarters Household Division, in January or February; these will be entered into the ballot and those chosen will be sent offer letters which contain payment details. Those without a ticket can get their best view by standing on The Mall, along the edge of the parade, or on the edge of St James's Park by Horse Guards Parade. Arriving before 09:00 is recommended.
Tickets are made available by the same ballot as Trooping the Colour.
Tickets are made available by the same ballot as Trooping the Colour.
This began as a 16th-century tradition for recalling troops to a castle at sunset before the gates closed. Today, the ceremony has evolved into a military pageant of music and precision drilling, while also serving as practice for military bands. The proceeds from ticket sales go to charity.
Slightly off the main area for cinemas and entertainment around Leicester Square and Theatreland this cinema offers projections of recent movies on three large screens.
Multi screen of the Vue network very close to Piccadilly Circus.
Whitehall Theatre
SJSS
Former baroque church by Thomas Archer. From the 1960s, converted into a concert hall and featuring world class classical music performers with daily concerts from September to July.
There are a number of regular free walking tours in London but the most well known leaves from The Duke of Wellingon Arch twice daily and covers many of the important sights in Westminster. Duration about 2½ hours.
Pizza
The cafe in the basement of Westminster Cathedral is one of the cheapest places to have lunch in the area. Simple tasty hot lunches (Jacket Potatoes etc) cost under £5. Get in through the Cathedral main entrance.
The classic shop for fish and chips.
Opened in 2021, Pataka serves modern Indian food.
A selection of chain restaurants together in the shopping centre. Includes Browns Bar & Brasserie, La Tasca, Leon, Nandos, Royal Quarter Café, Wagamama, and Zizzi.
French/European restaurant.
Fish and chips restaurant and takeaway.
Sardinian seafood restaurant. Part of a small, local chain found only in this area.
Modern gastropub, you can eat in the ground-floor bar but the best dining is in the first-floor restaurant. With four comfy en suite bedrooms.
Owned by famed designer Terence Conrad, it serves standard food with a menu that changes frequently. It features live jazz every night and on Sunday lunch.
A cozy Italian restaurant next to the Westminster Cathedral and Victoria Station, with a huge wood fired pizza oven that creates a welcome atmosphere on its own. Pizzas between £12 - £16, and various pasta dishes and salads. Fairly large portions, so one main dish per person suffices for a meal. Suitable for families with kids.
Indian restaurant. Housed in a converted Grade II listed library.
Chinese restaurant with no menu. Diners tell the staff what they don't like and how spicy they want it; the kitchen prepares a range of dishes to match. The food comes in a long series of tiny portions.
Oyster bar, game and seafood restaurant. Traditional fine English dining in a restaurant established in 1742.
Traditional pub with many original features preserved from its Georgian origin.
An oddly quiet and secluded pub in the centre of the city due to being tucked away in a side street of another side street. It was built in 1720 as an officer's mess for the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and became a pub in 1818. The pub is said to be haunted by the ghost of a junior officer who was caught cheating at cards and flogged to death.
One of only two London pubs (and seven nationally) to feature in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since its first publication; see The Buckingham Arms for the other one. The pub has a seedy past—it was infamous as a hangout for gang bosses and crime lords in the 1950s and 60s, and the Great Train Robbery was planned here, and celebrities of the era would come to socialise with the criminals. Today it is a safer, friendlier and more comfortable establishment that has recently been refurbished.
Oak-panelled corner pub.
A small freehouse, hidden down a passageway, with leaded windows and a red lion statue
A beautiful Fullers pub with loads of mirrors.
The Queen's Grocer
An upmarket grocery store, with royal connections. Buy tea and drink tea here.
French style afternoon tea.
One of RateBeer's Top 50 bars in the world, and only one of two in the UK (see The Craft Beer Company in Clerkenwell for the other). A specialist beer bar with a regularly changing selection of real ales and craft beer casks, plus a larger assortment of local and international bottles. Monday to Saturday, gourmet burgers are served by Forty Burgers; with traditional British roasts on Sundays.
Victorian pub built on the site of the cells of Millbank Prison, briefly Britain's National Penitentiary before being downgraded to a holding facility for convicts sentenced to transportation to Australia. The pub is said to be haunted by the ghosts of prisoners who didn't last long enough for the journey. For the living, the pub is next to the bank of the Thames and very close to the Tate gallery.
A nice, but often crowded, traditional pub, dating back to the 1860s, named in honour of Queen Victoria's husband. Portraits of British prime ministers, many of them signed, hang on the stairwell, and Chelsea pensioners (British war veterans) can often be seen propping up the bar.
Small traditional pub (one of the smallest in central London, in fact). Good beers and quaint interior.
Youngs Pub
A pub that doesn't even have its own name and may be missed by many of the 200,000 commuters and travellers who pass it each day, this place nevertheless serves good beer and food (it's part of the J D Wetherspoon chain). There is additional seating on the balconies on either side of the pub. Given its location, it also displays departure boards on its own screens.
Sam Smiths pub with plenty of etched glass.
Part of the J D Wetherspoon chain of pubs, just outside the East side of Victoria Station, a few doors down from the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Serves Real Ale and good food. Entrances on both Wilton Rd and Vauxhall Bridge Rd.
A Fullers Pub that has been decked out like an 18th century British warship.
One of only two London pubs (and seven nationally) to feature in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since its first publication; see The Star Tavern for the other one. The building is a refitted early Victorian pub.
A McMullen pub at the top of Whitehall, close to Trafalgar Sq. with a cavalry theme worth going in for the wall sized picture of the Scots Greys. Serves a good range of cask beers.
The Prime Minister's Local
A good place to see politicians and political commentators. The pub television shows (muted) debates from the House of Commons, and division bell rings here to summon Members of Parliament to vote on important issues in Parliament.
A pub for local workers, including many civil servants and the odd Parliamentarian. The Parliament theme includes political caricatures on the walls. Markets itself as a real pub, with no fruit machines, music or television screens. Guest beers change every month.
Victorian pub established in 1875 directly opposite the Palace of Westminster and the closest pub to "Big Ben" (from which it gets its name—while now officially known as Elizabeth Tower, Victorian journalists nicknamed it St Stephen's Tower). Often busy with tourists and other visitors to Parliament.
Located in quiet area. Internet access available. 10 min from Victoria Station.
A boutique hotel. Offers a restaurant, bar, meeting venue and event offers.
Comfortable hotel with rooms, suites and penthouses.
Smart hotel, lots of gadgets, but some rooms very small.
Small but well appointed rooms in a convenient location near Westminster Abbey.
Small yet comfortable hotel with friendly staff.
Small hotel in a lovely old building close to Westminster Abbey, part of a popular Fullers pub.
Remarkable to find a comfy modern mid-range B&B in pricey Belgravia. Lots of stairs! No children under 5 or dogs.
One of London's great hotels for more than a century, overlooking Green Park. If you cannot afford to stay here (likely), then a splurge on afternoon tea in the opulent Louis XIV Palm Court is recommended (£54-£90). Dress appropriately - a jacket and tie for gentlemen; smart attire and proper shoes for everyone - otherwise you will not get past the door.
Offbeat stylish hotel with ten rooms and two suites, good restaurant.
Four star hotel close to Buckingham Palace and The Houses of Parliament. Has three restaurants, Spa, and Gym.
Next door to Victoria railway and tube station.
A luxury townhouse hotel in a former diplomats' club, swell comfort, service and dining. No dogs.
Very upscale Edwardian hotel in Belgravia, great cuisine. Assistance dogs only.
Opulent hotel in a historic townhouse overlooking Green Park, great dining. No dogs.
Top calibre hotel for comfort, service and cuisine, redolent of old money, and overlooking those po' folks at Buckingham Palace who wish they could afford to stay here.
High street shops like Marks & Spencer and a selection of chain restaurants.
Specialist perfumery.
Charity shop specialising in vintage and retro clothing.
With another branch at 73 Jermyn St, SW1Y 6NP
Budd, established in 1910, is the only Jermyn Street shirtmaker to still have a bespoke cutting room on site, where shirts are still made.
By Tube
The district is serviced by the following Tube stations, all in Zone 1:
By train
The nearest mainline train stations are London Waterloo and London Victoria; it is worth taking the Tube from these two stations to arrive at Westminster.
By coach
National Express and Megabus are the two main coach operators in the UK and are well-served by the Victoria Coach Station.
By boat
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