Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Palace of WestminsterPalace of WestminsterStart here, because everything else on this list orbits it. Sitting in the public galleries of the Commons or the Lords to watch a debate costs nothing, and seeing ministers answer questions face to face shows how accountable British government is meant to be. The guided tour is the way to see the…0
  2. 2Jewel TowerJewel TowerThe small stone tower across the road from Parliament is one of the few pieces of the medieval Palace of Westminster still standing, and it fills in the story the Victorian building hides. It was built in 1365-66 as a secure store for Edward III's treasure, then became the House of Lords' record…0
  3. 3Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyChurch and state are still formally entwined in England, and this is where you see it: the Abbey is the home of royal coronations, the setting where a monarch's reign formally begins. For political history, head for the north transept, by the visitor entrance, known as Statesmen's Aisle. From the…0
  4. 4Parliament SquareParliament SquareThe green in front of Parliament is an open-air argument about who counts in British history, and it is free at any hour. The statues include Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, which makes it a good place to talk about how Britain's view of itself and its empire…0
  5. 5Victoria Tower GardensVictoria Tower GardensThis riverside park tucked beside the House of Lords holds two memorials that tell the story of change forced on Parliament from outside. The statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, leader of the militant suffragettes, was unveiled in 1930 by Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin. She died in 1928, a month before…0
  6. 6Supreme Court of the United KingdomSupreme Court of the United KingdomMost visitors walk past this building on Parliament Square without realizing they can go in. It is the country's highest court, the successor to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, and its existence across the square from Parliament makes the separation of judges from lawmakers…0
  7. 7The CenotaphThe CenotaphWalking up Whitehall from Parliament Square, you meet this plain Portland stone memorial outside the Foreign Office, and it explains why the street matters so much each November. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled by King George V at 11am on November 11, 1920, the second anniversary of…0
  8. 8Downing StreetDowning StreetSet expectations first: you will not walk up to the famous black door. The view is through the tall black gates on Whitehall, and the closest you get is the sidewalk outside them, so a photo and a few minutes is the realistic plan. The gates are themselves a lesson. Pedestrians could still walk to…0
  9. 9Churchill War RoomsChurchill War RoomsBeneath the streets of Westminster, a set of basement offices served as the center of Britain's war effort, and walking them shows how a parliamentary democracy kept governing under bombardment. The Map Room was staffed day and night through the Second World War; on August 16, 1945, its lights were…0
  10. 10Banqueting HouseBanqueting HouseIf one building explains why Britain ended up with a Parliament stronger than its monarch, it is this one. Charles I commissioned the Rubens ceiling inside to glorify his father and bolster the idea that kings ruled by divine right. In 1649 he stepped through a window of the same building onto a…0