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London Sightseeing Westminster area
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Worth seeing in the Westminster area
The walk you can follow here takes in the sights one by one:
Start of walk: Charing Cross underground station
End of walk: Westminster underground station
Distance: 1.5 km
From Whitehall to Parliament Square
metro: Charing Cross or Westminster
Standing on Trafalgar Square you will see Admiralty Arch, which leads to The Mall, the road to Buckingham Palace. We are taking the road left of this archway, called Whitehall. This is an extremely interesting road with lots of tourist attractions along the way. First of all you will see the Horse Guards. Every day there is an official changing of the guard ceremony, the 'Horse Guards Parade', most of which takes place in the square beyond. On working days you can see it at 11 am, and on Sundays at 10 am (conditions permitting).
Directly opposite the Horse Guards we have the Banqueting House. This used to belong to a royal palace, but now the ceiling paintings by Rubens are open to the public.
On the other side we have Downing Street, which is fenced off and under police guard. The Prime Minister lives here, at number 10. Many official addresses are filmed inside. The street was built by Sir George Downing, and some of its houses are still to home to important ministers.
Moving a little further down the street we see the Cenotaph in the middle, a monument honouring the victims of the two World Wars. This is directly opposite the Cabinet War Rooms, where Winston Churchill and his close associates masterminded the defence of Great Britain during the Second World War. These underground bunkers and offices can still be visited and have been left as they were after World War II.
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Parliament Square
metro: Westminster
The best view of Big Ben and Westminster Hall or The Houses of Parliament is to be had from Westminster Bridge. The 14-ton clock in the Big Ben tower gives the exact time of day. The two houses sit in Westminster Hall. The House of Commons is equivalent to our Chamber of Representatives and the House of Lords to our Senate. This magnificent building can be visited on a guided tour, but remember you will have to reserve in advance and the days and times are very limited
On the same square, which also has a monument to Winston Churchill, we find Westminster Abbey. This is an Anglican church, as opposed to Westminster Cathedral a little further on (on Victoria Street), which is catholic. Westminster Abbey was the church in which the English royals traditionally married, only the wedding between Lady Diana and Prince Charles took place in St Paul's. You can visit this church.
Buckingham Palace
metro: Victoria or St. James Park
Via Parliament Square and St James Park we reach Constitution Hill, with Buckingham Palace on the roundabout. On the roundabout there is a statue in honour of Queen Victoria. This is the London residence of the Queen, and she has a 16-hectare garden behind the palace, which was built in the 19th century by the famous architect John Nash.
> Some parts of the palace are open to the public during the months of August and September. See details on http://www.royal.gov.uk/
> The Changing of the Guard takes place from January to September inclusive every day at 11.30 am (conditions permitting).
> You can visit the Royal Mews or stables, where you will see lots of coaches, such as the official golden coach. The stables are still used and you can usually even approach the horses.
> Queen's Gallery has only recently been restored. This is home to paintings belonging the Queen and her family.
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Picture: © Photographer: Clint Scholz | Agency: Dreamstime.com
Text: GVDV - © AT-Europe bvba
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