Summer Opening of Parliament Tours

The Houses of Parliament opens its doors to the public for the summer, offering Blue Badge guided tours during Parliament's summer recess. The tours also run throughout the year on Saturdays only. Starting at Victoria Tower, the tours follow the route the Queen takes when performing the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament, taking in the Queen's Robing Room, the Royal Gallery, the Prince's Chamber, the Chamber of the House of Lords, the Central Lobby, House of Commons, Members' Lobby and St Stephen's Chapel. The tour takes in some of the most important areas of the Palace in which Parliament meets, and explains what Parliament is and does, what it has meant to different people at different times, and how it came to be what it is today. Tours are arranged in periods when Parliament is not sitting and Members work away from Westminster. Most of the buildings seen on the tour were built in the mid 19th Century following a devastating fire, but the route also incorporates some of the earlier buildings, such as Westminster Hall, begun in 1097 by William Rufus, son of William the Conqueror. Tours last an hour and a quarter. For more information, visit www.parliament.uk/visiting.