Big Ben

What it is

Big Ben is the bell, not the tower. The 96-metre structure at the north end of the Palace of Westminster was called simply the Clock Tower until 2 June 2012, when the House of Commons voted to rename it the Elizabeth Tower for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee; the name Big Ben properly belongs to the 13.7-tonne Great Bell hanging in its belfry. The clock's mechanism was installed in April 1859 and first chimed on 11 July 1859. Each of the four dials measures 6.9 metres across. Between 21 August 2017 and December 2021 the bells fell silent for the most extensive conservation project in the tower's history, a job whose cost rose from an estimated £29 million to nearly £80 million once the damage left by wartime bombing turned out to be worse than surveys had suggested; the chimes returned to regular service on Remembrance Sunday, 13 November 2022. Unlike almost everything else on this stretch of river, the Elizabeth Tower cannot be wandered into. It is seen from outside, or climbed on a booked tour, and nothing in between.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

What's inside

The Big Ben tour is a climb. A guide takes visitors up a narrow spiral stairwell of 334 steps to the belfry where the Great Bell hangs, stopping to explain a conservation project that involved over 500 people and the traditional crafts it needed — stone masonry, glass blowing, gilding, plastering, cast iron and clock mechanics. On the way the group sees the inner workings of the clock mechanism, stands beside the bell as it strikes the hour, and steps behind the dials, each 6.9 metres in diameter, to look out through the glass. Ear defenders are provided for the mechanism room and the belfry, where the noise is genuinely loud rather than atmospheric. Visitors are welcome to explore medieval Westminster Hall after the tower, and the Jubilee Café and Jubilee Shop are just off it. Accessible tours are offered for visitors who would find parts of the standard tour challenging, and are requested separately.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

How long to spend

Allow one hour and forty-five minutes. That is Parliament's own figure for the whole visit: a 90-minute tour plus time at the start and end to lock away and retrieve belongings. Add the arrival requirement on top — visitors must arrive no later than 30 minutes before the start time, and the queue at Cromwell Green begins outside the building — and the block a visitor should reserve in a day's plan is closer to two and a quarter hours. The start time is strict. Parliament states it will not be possible to join the tour if a visitor arrives late, and there is no refund or exchange after that point. There are planned pauses along the 334 steps to rest and take in the surroundings, but visitors must be able to complete the tour within the 90 minutes, and toilet facilities are available only at the beginning and the end.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Season and crowds

The scarce resource here is a ticket, not a quiet hour. Tickets are released three months in advance, on the second Wednesday of every month at 10am, and a visitor may book a maximum of eight tickets subject to availability. A trip planned inside that three-month window may find nothing available at all, which makes the Elizabeth Tower the one Westminster attraction that has to be booked before the rest of the itinerary rather than slotted into it. Parliament publishes no opening hours for the Elizabeth Tower and none are recorded here: the tower is entered on a booked tour at a fixed start time or not at all, and tour dates follow the parliamentary calendar. Weather matters more than for an indoor site. The queue forms outside, so Parliament advises dressing for it, and the belfry can be windy depending on the day, with a windbreaker or warm top advised even in summer. Parliament reserves the right to cancel a tour at any time for reasons of parliamentary business, security or health and safety, refunding the ticket price only. Big Ben tour tickets are otherwise non-refundable.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Tickets

The Big Ben tour is separately ticketed from every other Parliament tour and two prices were published at the time of writing, which are given here rather than reconciled. Parliament's tour prices page lists the Big Ben tour under summer pricing, for tickets purchased up to 1 September 2026, at £48 for an adult and £31 for a child, and from 1 September 2026 at £55 for an adult and £35 for a child. The Big Ben tour page states that tickets for tours taking place from 1 August 2026 are £55 for adults and £35 for children aged 11 to 17. The two pages disagree on the date the higher price takes effect, and they also describe the child band differently — the price table heads it "Child (aged 5-15)" and then qualifies it "Aged 11+ only", while the tour page gives it as ages 11 to 17. The minimum age of 11 is stated consistently on both. There is no concession rate, no young person rate and no armed forces rate for this tour. Tickets are non-refundable.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Getting there

Tours meet through the Cromwell Green visitor entrance, marked 9 on the map Parliament publishes as a PDF, and the postcode is SW1A 0AA. Tickets should be downloaded or printed and ready for scanning on arrival; they arrive in the booking confirmation email. From the entrance visitors pass into Westminster Hall and are directed to the tour meeting point there, which means the medieval hall is the first thing seen and the last, since visitors are welcome to linger in it afterwards. Arrive no later than 30 minutes before the start time. Parliament asks visitors to check their journey before travelling because tickets are non-refundable in the event of travel disruption, though the visitor experience team can be emailed if circumstances change. Westminster Underground station is at the foot of the tower and Westminster Abbey is a short walk across Parliament Square, so the surrounding time is easy to fill.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

What to watch out for

This is the most physically restrictive visit in central London and Parliament describes it plainly. Visitors must be aged 11 and over, and proof of age may be requested and access denied without it. The route involves 300-plus steps and high noise levels from the clock mechanism and bells, and step-free access is not currently available. Parliament states that climbing 334 spiral steps is strenuous and should not be attempted by anyone with a health condition that sustained physical exertion could worsen, and strongly recommends that those with mobility difficulties or concerns about heights or confined spaces do not undertake the tour. Footwear is a rule, not a suggestion: flat soles, ideally rubber, and shoes that fully enclose the foot. Sandals, flip-flops, backless shoes, high heels and bare or stockinged feet are not permitted in the Elizabeth Tower. Bring essential medication such as inhalers. Eating and drinking are not permitted inside the tower, so hydrate before the tour starts. Bag size should be restricted, and all belongings go into a secure locker before the climb.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Photography

There are no photographs from the Big Ben tour. Cameras and mobile phones are prohibited on the tour for security reasons and go into a locker with the rest of a visitor's belongings before the climb begins, which means the clock mechanism, the view through the 6.9-metre dials and the moment beside the striking bell are all seen and none of them recorded. Photography is welcome in Westminster Hall at the end of the tour, and Parliament also permits it in St Stephen's Hall and in the visitor area of New Palace Yard, which is the one place inside the estate the tower itself can be framed. Tripods are not permitted anywhere at any time. For images from inside the tower Parliament directs visitors to its illustrated Big Ben guidebook, which contains over 130 images and illustrations, to custom prints from its online shop, and to Parliament's Flickr page. Outside the estate the tower needs no permission at all, and the long views from Westminster Bridge and the south bank are unrestricted.

Checked 2026-08-26 · Source

Where it is

• 2 hours

  2 min walk · City of Westminster

  Palace of Westminster

  • Must see
  • Historic monument
• 2 hours

  4 min walk · City of Westminster

  Westminster Abbey

  • Must see
  • Historic monument
• 1 hour

  5 min walk · City of Westminster

  Statue of Charles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford

  • Art and culture venue

External links

• View on Wikidata