Houses of Parliament Circuit (2.5 Km) - Self-Guided Tour
Updated: Aug 19
INTRODUCTION
This House of Parliament riverside sightseeing Photorun is a self-guided tour that takes you along a section of London’s famous River Thames between Westminster Bridge and Lambeth Bridge.
This 2 Km walk starts and ends at Westminster Station and takes you along the side of the Houses of Parliament, into Victoria Tower Gardens, and then over Lambeth Bridge to Lambeth Palace. The route then follows the Albert Embankment with its iconic view of the Houses of Parliament before finishing at the far end of Westminster Bridge by the station.
LOCATION - Houses of Parliament Circuit
Start and finish at Westminster Station.
The best time to do this photorun is on weekends in the early morning when it is quiet and free from crowds and heavy traffic.
GETTING TO KNOW THE AREA - HIGH-SPEED VIDEOS
The Google map and the summary video are useful to have open when doing these Photoruns. They will help you remember what the route looks like and prevent you from getting lost.
Route at a Glance Video.
This short video gives a quick overview of the route and the sights and then shows you what the route would look like if you were running it at about 25 mph. It's a great way of getting familiar with the route before you do it for real.
Around the Houses of Parliament (3:00)
GETTING TO KNOW THE AREA - GOOGLE MAP
This is a 'My Google Maps' depiction of the route with photographs of the sites. This is available on the desktop or mobile by clicking on the map. The mobile version does allow you to get directions to points on the map and will show you your location. However, its behaviour does depend on the browser and application you use. (Google Chrome seems to be the best).
The Plotaroute map is an alternative guide where you can download the route to a device once you navigate past the adverts. Use the link below.
VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE AREA
Houses of Parliament Circuit
Click on the map below and go on a virtual tour of the sightseeing area.
Use the red route to explore this location by looking around in 360, taking in the sights and sounds, listening to an audio recording about the location and going on a virtual tour.
PHOTO GALLERY OF THE AREA
This will gallery provides a descriptive and visual reference to many sights along this photoroute. Double-click to see its full size.
SIGHT TOUR GUIDES
These short videos give you a quick guided tour of some of the sites on this route.
Part 1 - East Side - Parliament Square to Victoria Tower Gardens (5:30)
Part 2 - West Side - Lambeth Bridge, Albert Embankment and Westminster Bridge (5:49)
HISTORY OF THE AREA
This 7:28 minute video provides you with a history of the area.
This 6:38 minute history video briefly introduces how the Central London sightseeing area expanded during the Tudors (1560) and the Victorians (1860).
WHERE TO EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
This map shows you the Eat Drink and be Merry locations in the Central London sightseeing area and how they link to the other sightseeing photoruns.
Click on the map to find out more about all these areas.