MPs are able to sponsor free tours of the Houses of Parliament for their constituents only when the House of Commons is in session.
Tours are generally fully booked 6 months in advance. Demand is high so early booking and flexibility regarding dates and times is strongly recommended.
Tours last approximately 75 minutes and start between the following times:
During Parliamentary Sessions
- Monday: 9.00am-12noon (full tour)
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 9.00am-9.55am (full tour)
- Tuesday and Wednesday: 10.00am-12noon (partial tour; House of Lords only)
- Thursday: no tours
- Sitting Fridays: 3.30pm-5.15pm (full tour)
- Non-Sitting Fridays: 9.30am-5.15pm (full tour)
The following dates are when Parliament is in recess this session and tours cannot be sponsored by MPs:
Conference: 15 September 2016 - 10 October 2016
November: 8 November 2016 - 14 November 2016
Christmas: 20 December 2016 - 9 January 2017
February: 9 February 2017 - 20 February 2017
When the House is in recess, the same tour is offered on a commercial basis, and more information is available on the Parliament.uk website page here.
To book an MP sponsored tour, please get in touch with Stuart Ramsay, John's Chief of Staff, providing details of the date you wish to visit, the number of people in your group and your full address.
The Elizabeth Tower (which houses Big Ben) is closed for maintenance from December 2016 for three years. The booking window for December 2016 tours closed in early July 2016, which means we will be unable to book any Big Ben tours until the end of 2019 for tours in early 2020.
