Westminster: it’s not very big (you can walk around its perimeter in a couple of hours), but its small area is filled with more than a thousand years of English political and religious history. Indeed, Westminster is not only the name of the area, but a metonym for English politics as a whole. It’s also known as a prime tourist spot (understandably so), and as such it’s somewhat underappreciated by locals. Wondering how to start exploring this fascinating London area? This Westminster guide will tell you everything you need to know: how to get there, what to see, what to do, where to eat and shop.

Where is Westminster?

The Westminster area is a squishy triangle bounded by The Mall, Parliament Street/ Millbank, and Vauxhall Bridge Road. London Victoria station lies on one corner, Big Ben on another, and Tate Britain on the third.

How to get to Westminster

How to get to Westminster by train

Trains from places south of London (including the Gatwick Express from Gatwick Airport) terminate in Victoria station, which lies just outside the Westminster triangle boundaries.

How to get to Westminster by tube

Westminster tube station is on the Circle line, the District line and the Jubilee line, and has various exits, including one right opposite Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Victoria tube station is right under Victoria train station, on the – you’ve guessed it – Victoria line, as well as the District line and the Circle line. This is the closest station to Buckingham Palace.

St James Park station is on the District line and the Circle line and is the most practical stop for visiting St James Park and the northern part of Westminster.

How to get to Westminster by bus

The 148 or the 211 bus have a stop on Parliament Square. Busses that stop or terminate right in front of Victoria station are number 38, 390, 24 and 185.

How to get to Westminster by boat

Westminster Pier is a stone’s throw from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

Is there an Eastminster?

No. The “East minster” was how St Paul’s (in what is now the City of London) was known.

What to do in Westminster?

There’s no shortage of sights in Westminster. Indeed, few places in London contain more history in one compact, walkable neighbourhood (apart from the City of London, of course). Westminster is home to a wealth of iconic buildings: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the MI5, to name a few.

And Whitehall (the area between St James park and the Thames) has 10 Downing Street (home of the Prime Minister), the Cabinet Office, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and – that most loved of British Institutions – Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. (I’m probably kidding about the “most loved” part).

A Westminster itinerary

The following guide can serve as a high level itinerary to explore the main sights of Westminster: starting at Victoria Station, walk up Buckingham Palace Road (for the Royal Mews and the Queens Gallery), catch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, stroll down Birdcage Walk and take some time to meander through St James Park. At the top of Birdcage Walk, turn left into Horse Guards Road (admire Her Majesty’s Treasury on the corner), and take in the Churchill War Rooms.

Then walk down King Charles Street (government offices left and right) to Parliament Street. Turn right and walk down towards Parliament Square.

Look around Parliament Square: here’s Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. On your right-hand side – oh, look! Some iconic red telephone boxes! That church with the blue clock face is St Margaret Church. Walk past it, and you get to the entrance of Westminster Abbey.

From here, if you’d like to see Westminster Cathedral (that’s right – Westminster has both an abbey and cathedral), go past Westminster Abbey and walk down Victoria Street (you’ll know you’re on the right street if you see grim looking office blocks on both sides). After a few minutes, you’ll see Westminster Cathedral on the left-hand side.

Victoria Street will take you straight to your starting point. Just before you arrive at Victoria station, don’t miss Little Ben (Big Ben’s tiny replica).

Then to get to Tate Britain from Victoria Station, you can either catch the Victoria line to Pimlico (it’s only one stop) and walk from there, or walk down Vauxhall Bridge Road and turn left and walk up Millbank when you reach the Thames. The walk to Tate Britain takes about 20 minutes, or you can catch a bus from Victoria station.

Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guard, the Royal Mews and the Queen’s gallery.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is as good a place to start as any. It’s the residence of the …oh, it feels so strange to write the King, instead of the Queen! Anyway, it’s possibly the most famous place in Westminster. (The King is not always there, though. You know he is when the flag is raised.)

And… you can’t actually visit Buckingham Palace. Well, not the whole of it – you can visit the State Rooms. But only for 10 weeks every year (from end of July to beginning of October). The rest of the year, you can check out the several 360 degree images on the Buckingham Palace website, for a free virtual visit. (Wew, so.much.gilding. The dusting must be an absolute nightmare.)

Likewise, Buckingham Palace Gardens are only open for a relatively short period (over the summer, from beginning of July to mid-September) – so basically if you want to visit both Buckingham Palace and the gardens, the month of August is your best bet… No 360 imagery, alas, but you can buy the book (“Buckingham Palace: A Royal Garden”).

The Changing of the Guard

What you can do is catch the Changing of the Guard, which takes place in front of Buckingham Palace every couple of days (you can check the calendar here).

The Royal Mews

You can also visit the Royal Mews (it’s the King’s garage, basically, but that doesn’t sound half as grand now, does it?) and that’s open for visit slightly earlier in the year (from 19 May). There’s a gilded stage coach in there that Liberace himself would probably dismiss as too over the top. (Then again, maybe not.)

The Queen’s gallery

Or you can visit the Queen’s gallery, which is open most of the year. Is it going to be renamed the King’s gallery? We shall see.

The Buckingham Palace Shop

And, of course, there’s a shop, so you can take home a bit of the royal family. It’s a surprisingly low-key affair, located as it is next door to a restaurant offering pizzas, burgers and fish & chips.

In fact, there’s more than one shop: Buckingham Palace Gardens have their own shop (open during the summer only), although you can only visit it if you’ve visited the State Rooms.

And if you can’t make it in person, the online shop offers worldwide delivery.

Visiting Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews and the Queen’s gallery: practical information

Please check the websites for up-to-date information as to opening times and costs.

Addresses:

Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Gate, SW1A 1AA Buckingham Palace

The Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace, SW1W 1QH The Royal Mews

The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, SW1A 1AA The Queen’s Gallery

Buckingham Palace Shop, 7 Buckingham Palace Rd, SW1W 0PP Buckingham Palace Shop

How to get there

The nearest tube stations are Victoria (Victoria line), St James Park (Circle line, District Line), Green Park (Jubilee line, Piccadilly line, Victoria line) or Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line).

Other practical info

It’s about a 10 minutes walk from whichever Tube station is most convenient for you. I’d recommend using Victoria station, because both the Queen’s Gallery and the Royal Mews are on Buckingham Palace Road, the street that leads from Victoria Station to Buckingham Palace.

The Guards Museum and the Household Cavalry Museum

Just round the corner from Buckingham Palace, there are two museums that will offer a fascinating glimpse into the guards and bodyguard whose duty it is to protect the King and the Palace.

The first museum, on Birdcage Walk, is the Guards Museum The second one, in the heart of Whitehall, is the Household Cavalry Museum.

Visiting the Guards Museum: practical information

Opening times: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday 10 am to 4 pm, but check website

Address: Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, SW1E 6HQ

Cost: under £10

How to get there: the nearest tube station is St James Park (Circle line, District Line).

Visiting the Household Cavalry Museum: practical information

Opening times: daily, but check website

Address: Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, SW1A 2AX

Cost: under £10

How to get there: the nearest tube stations are Westminster (Circle line, District Line, Jubilee line), Embankment (Circle line, District Line, Bakerloo line) and Charing Cross (Northern line, Bakerloo line)

Other practical info: there’s a virtual tour, and it’s pretty cool.

St James Park

St James Park is one of the most delightful parks in Central London. What makes it so nice is that it’s not too big, and not too small: big enough to spend some time exploring, not so big that it’s overwhelming.

It’s also famous for its pelicans. Their feeding (between 2:30pm and 3:00pm every day next to Duck Island Cottage) is as much a London tradition as the Changing of the Guard.

On the edge of St James Park’s largest island, you will see the most adorable house: Duck Island Cottage. Originally built in Victorian times, it was nearly torn down in the mid 50s. Luckily, it escaped that fate and was lived in by two park keepers until 1980. It was renovated a couple of years later and now serves as the headquarters of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust charity.

Visiting St James Park: practical information

Opening times: 5am to midnight

Address: London SW1A 2BJ

Cost: free

How to get there: the nearest tube stations are St James Park (Circle line, District line) and Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

The Churchill War Rooms

In between the Guards Museum and the Household Cavalry Museum, you will find another museum with a military focus: the Churchill War Rooms (part of the Imperial War Museum, whose main collection is not far away in Lambeth, on the other side of the river).

The Churchill War Rooms are the secret basement offices – the Cabinet War Rooms – that served as the headquarters of military strategists, government ministers and Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself during World War II.

Today they are open to the public and incorporate a Winston Churchill museum. Alas, no virtual tour, but the Imperial War Museum does have a YouTube channel.

Visiting the Churchill War Rooms: practical information

Opening times: daily 9:30am to 6pm, but check website

Address: Clive Steps, King Charles St, SW1A 2AQ

Cost: around £25

How to get there: the nearest tube stations are Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line) and St James Park (Circle line, District line)

10 Downing Street

No guide to Westminster would be complete without the most famous residential address in Britain, indeed possible the most famous residential address in the world: 10 Downing Street. Having said that … you can’t actually visit 10 Downing Street. In fact, you can’t even walk past it; the street is secured at both ends.

Ah, but it’s on Google Streetview, so you can visit from anywhere in the world. And you can check out the official website, which links to all their social media accounts.

Address: 10 Downing St, SW1A 2AA

Big Ben (the Elizabeth Tower)

After the most famous residential address in Britain, the most famous clock in the world: the Elizabeth Tower, aka Big Ben, one of the most iconic sights on the London skyline.

Is there a Little Ben?

Yes, there is. It’s tiny. It can be found a stone’s throw from Victoria station, on Wilton Place.

Visiting Big Ben: practical information

Opening times: Big Ben is currently not open, but check the Parliament website for news of reopening

Address: London SW1A 0AA

Cost: free

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line)

Other practical info: only UK residents are allowed to visit Big Ben, and visitors must be over 11 years old. There are 334 steps to climb, and visitors without “sensible footwear” will be turned away.

The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament)

Houses of Parliament are at the very centre of power of UK politics, and have been since the Middle Ages.

The proper name for the building itself is actually the Palace of Westminster, and there has been a royal palace on the site since the 11^th century. It’s been rebuilt several times since then, although several medieval structures have survived, the Jewel Tower amongst them (read more about the Jewel Tower below).

The current building, in all its gothic glory, dates from the 19^th century, took 30 years to build and came in well over budget. (It was worth it, though, right?)

Visiting the Houses of Parliament: practical information

When it comes to visiting the Houses of Parliament, there are a few options:

• Book a tour of the Palace of Westminster: either a 90 minutes guided tour or a self-guided multimedia one.
• Book a free on online tour (45 minutes) for a Virtual visit in 360°
• Book a guided tour of the UK Parliament: this is only available to UK residents, unlike the two options above, which are open to everybody.

Address: Houses of Parliament, SW1A 0AA

Cost: from free to just under £30, depending on what you choose to do. Please check the website for exact prices.

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line)

Westminster Abbey, the College Garden and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries

Like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey is world-famous and an iconic part of the London landscape. It has seen the coronation of all English monarchs since 1066 (William the Conqueror was the first) and 16 royal weddings (so far).

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Gallery is Westminster Abbey’s very own museum. It’s a fairly new space (its official opening date was 1 June 2018), but it blends seamlessly with its surroundings.

The College Garden may be the oldest garden in England. It was a pantry and a pharmacy for the Abbey, as well as a place to recharge the soul.

If you have the time, it’s worth exploring the streets tucked at the back of Westminster Abbey, they’re delightful and full of history, especially Lord North Street.

Visiting Westminster Abbey: practical information

Opening times: these vary, please check the website.

Address: 20 Deans Yard, SW1P 3PA

Cost: Westminster Abbey tickets are about £25, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Gallery tickets are an additional £5, but check the tickets page for latest prices.

How to get there: the nearest tube stations are Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

Other practical info: there’s a shop, too.

St Margaret’s Church

St Margaret Church, in the shadow of Westminster Abbey, is a parish church, for those times when a more intimate setting is called for. The original church was founded in the 12th Century and was rebuilt several times.

Visiting St Margaret’s Church: practical information

Opening times: mostly 10:30 to 15:30, but please check the website

Address: St Margaret’s Church, St Margaret St, SW1P 3JX

Cost: free

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

Other practical info: here’s the official St Margaret’s Church website.

The Jewel Tower

The Jewel Tower was built in the 14th century and is one of the oldest surviving part of the first Palace of Westminster. Over the centuries, it has been a king’s personal treasure box, a store for parliamentary records and a test centre for weights and measures. Now it’s managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors.

Visiting the Jewel Tower: practical information

Address: Abingdon St, SW1P 3JX, United Kingdom

Cost: under £10, but do check the website

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

Other practical info: it’s now administered by English Heritage, so entry will be free if you are a member.

Victoria Tower Gardens

Victoria Tower Gardens is right next door to the Palace of Westminster, and takes its name from the Victoria Tower, the tall square tower that marks one corner of the Palace. (The other tall square tower, I should say, the one that isn’t Big Ben.) It’s a tiny grade II* listed park with some notable monuments. There is…

… a memorial to Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, who fought for the right for women to vote. (Emmeline Pankhurst died in June 1928, a mere fortnight before the government of the time extended the right to vote to all women over 21 years old on July the 2^nd 1928.)

… the Buxton Memorial fountain, commissioned by MP Charles Buxton to commemorate the abolition of slavery in 1834 and dedicated to his father Thomas Buxton, who was part of a group of MPs and social reformers who fought tirelessly to abolish the slave trade.

…and the cast of a sculpture by Rodin that commemorates the surrender of the city of Calais to the English in the 14^th Century.

Visiting Victoria Tower Gardens: practical information

Opening Hours: 7am to 6:30pm

Address: Millbank, SW1P 3JA

Cost: free

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

Other practical info: there are (paying) public toilets at the end of the gardens, by Lambeth Bridge. Look for the playground.

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases for the whole of the UK, and criminal cases for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. So you might expect its building to be located in Temple or Holborn, London’s legal heartland, but here on Parliament Square it stands. The Middlesex Guildhall – that’s its name – was designed in an art nouveau gothic style with Flemish flair.

It was built between 1906 and 1913 on the foundations of the Toothill Fields Bridewell prison that stood there until 1834. The prison was demolished, replaced by a larger one by Victoria Street, but at the back of the Middlesex Guildhall, in Little Sanctuary, you can still see the 17^th Century stone gateway that is the only thing that survives from the prison exterior. (Fun fact: the prison by Victoria Street was also eventually demolished, and served as the foundation for Westminster Cathedral.)

The old prison cells on the lower ground floor house a permanent exhibition about the court history, its working, and the context it operates in. There’s a café and a shop, too.

Visiting the Supreme Court: practical information

Address: Little George St, SW1P 3BD

Cost: £10 for a tour (£5 for a virtual one).

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line).

Other practical info: there’s a 360° virtual tour you can access for free. (Check out that library!). If you’ve got a VR helmet, there’s an option for that too (how cool is that!)

Westminster Cathedral

Westminster Cathedral is often confused with Westminster Abbey, although the two buildings could not be more different. (It’s easy to tell them apart: Westminster Abbey is the spiky one, Westminster Cathedral is the curvy one.)

For all that it looks like it was built in the heydays of the empire of Constantinople, construction was actually completed as late as 1903. And it was only as late as 1977 that the Queen, the head of the Church of England, visited the cathedral.

And that was only to visit a flower show, but it was a momentous event all the same: the first time a British monarch had visited a Catholic Church since the Reformation. (You know, that time in the 16^th Century when Henry XIII made himself the head of the church in England, so that he could divorce Catherine of Aragon and loot monasteries, of which there were many at the times.)

And in 1995, headlines were made when she visited again and –gasp! – attended a full service, this time.

The inside is nothing short of magnificent. Marble everywhere, glorious mosaics, and an infinity of graceful curves. The top half of the building has been left as bare dark bricks, and the effect is to draw the view downwards towards the richness and the intricacy of the details at eye level.

There’s a viewing gallery at the top of the Campanile Bell Tower, and the view is breathtaking, well worth the small charge to go up.

Westminster Cathedral is also home to a world renowned choir who sing at Mass, as well as occasional lunchtime events.

Visiting Westminster Cathedral: practical information

Opening times: daily. This is a working church, so please be mindful of service hours

Address: Victoria St, SW1P 1LT

Cost: free, except for the viewing tower.

How to get there: the nearest tube station is Victoria (Victoria line, Circle line, District line).

Other practical info: there are toilets and a café (the café is closed Sundays and Mondays).

And also: can’t make it to the Cathedral in person? There are video tours and 360° degree views online.

And furthermore: you can light a candle online, there’s a form to so on the website

Little Ben

And now we come to Little Ben. It’s easy to miss, it being so…well… little. It’s not the only neo-Gothic mini clock tower in London – there’s one in South Norwood, and one in Crouch End, for example – but it’s probably the most famous one. It was unveiled in 1892, although it was then called simply “The Clock Tower”.

Little Ben is so famous that it has inspired its own replica: the Victoria Clock Tower, in the town of Victoria in the Seychelles. (That one is rather fetchingly painted entirely silver; the one in London is black and gold)

Address: 2 Wilton Rd, SW1V 1AN

Tate Britain

Tate Britain was formerly known as the Tate Gallery, until the opening in 2000 of the other Tate (Tate Modern) in Bankside. It houses the largest collection of British art in the world, starting from about 1500. The highlight of the collection is arguably the works of that magician of light, J. M. W. Turner.

Visiting Tate Britain: practical information

Opening times: Daily, 10am to 6pm

Address: Millbank, SW1P 4RG

Cost: the main collection is free.

How to get there: the nearest tube stations are Pimlico (Victoria line), Victoria (Victoria line) and Westminster (Circle line, District line, Jubilee line). It’s about a 20 minutes walk from either Victoria station or Westminster.

Other practical info: card or contactless payments only, no cash accepted. There’s a cloakroom (free, but large bags not accepted).

And also: if you fancy a bit of peace and quiet amongst greenery, Millbank Gardens (behind the Tate) is a lovely pocket park, perfect for a quiet break.

Best places to eat in Westminster

Note: I enjoy eating food that is food that is plant based and dairy-free, and will always seek out vegan and vegetarian spots to highlight, but please note that I’m not a fully committed vegan/ vegetarian, so if that’s important to you, you might want to do your own research into the places to eat that I mention here.

There’s no shortage of places to eat in Westminster. Here’s a sampling of places, don’t be surprised if you discover more spots as you walk around.

Want to experience a proper old-fashioned English café? Try the Astral Café or the Regency Café. The coffee at Iris and June draws rave reviews, the food is freshly made daily and vegan and vegetarian friendly. Wesley’s café, in Westminster Central Hall, also offers freshly made food in bright airy surroundings, and it’s a stone’s throw from Westminster Abbey.

If dark, lively and atmospheric is more your thing, or you want to sample the best of street food, head to Market Hall Victoria (right in front of Victoria station).

For open air street food stalls, head to bustling Strutton Ground, where you’ll also find the Laughing Halibut if you fancy a traditional Fish & Chips, and (right next door) MAAD – Plant based, for vegan fast food.

The Cardinal place shopping complex (on Victoria Street by Victoria station) has several eateries catering for most tastes, such as Bill’s, Browns, Nandos, and Wagamama.

Victoria Street also offers plenty of cheap(ish) and cheerful(ish) options, such as Leon, Itsu, Wasabi and Pret a Manger. The Pret a Manger on the corner of Victoria Street and Vauxhall Bridge Road has some tables with sofas, or at least it did last time I was there. They’re very popular, though. Talking of sofas, you can also find some in the Windsor Castle pub. Talking of pubs, the Albert is probably the most photographed pub in Westminster, and doesn’t it look gorgeous?

Further down towards Millbank, the Djanogly Café (in Tate Britain) offers a full range of hot and cold food and coffee made from beans roasted on-site (in a “Second World War Nissen Hut”, no less).

Best places to eat in Westminster: adresses

Astral Café: 8 Regency Pl, SW1P 2EB no website

The Regency Café: 17-19 Regency St, SW1P 4BY https://regencycafe.has.restaurant/

Iris and June: 1 Howick Pl, SW1P 1WG http://www.irisandjune.com/

Wesley’s Café: Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, SW1H 9NH https://www.c-h-w.com/whats-on/public-cafe/

The Windsor Castle: 23 Francis St, SW1P 1DN no website

The Albert: 52 Victoria St, SW1H 0NP https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/albert/

The Djanogly Café: Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain/djanogly-cafe

Market Hall Victoria: 191 Victoria St, SW1E 5NE https://markethalls.co.uk/ (Here’s what I thought about the tacos from DF Tacos, one of the stands there.)

Strutton Ground Market: Strutton Ground, SW1P 2JT

The Laughing Halibut: 38 Strutton Ground, SW1P 2HR https://www.laughinghalibut.co.uk/

MAAD – Plant based: 36 Strutton Ground, SW1P 2HY https://maad.co/

Cardinal place shopping centre: Victoria St, SW1E 5JD https://createvictoria.com/

Best shops in Westminster

Of course, nobody comes to Westminster for the shopping, but for those times when only a little bit of retail therapy will do, may I suggest the following?

The Cardinal Place shopping centre has the usual range of High Street stores, and there are some more in the area of Victoria Street around it.

There’s a great little Oxfam bookshop in Strutton Ground.

And it’s a bit out of the way, but rummage in the Cardinal Hume charity shop on Horseferry Road, and you’ll unearth the occasional treasure.

Westminster Shopping: Addresses

Oxfam Bookshop: 34 Strutton Ground, SW1P 2HR https://www.oxfam.org.uk/shops/oxfam-bookshop-victoria/

Cardinal Hume charity shop: 110 Horseferry Rd, SW1P 2EF https://www.cardinalhumecentre.org.uk/

There you go… I think that covers most things! Happy exploring!

Westminster guide: the map