Parliamnet in London
 

What is the best time of the week to visit the House of Parliament in London. We will be in London at the end of May for 4 days. In addition, is there any trick, such as advance ticket purchase, to avoid a long wait while getting in the Parliament. Thank you very much.

The Prime Minister's Q&A sessions are held on Wednesday afternoons. You may request passes through the U.S. Embassy in advance.

The Q & A time with the PM are the most difficult tickets to get from the embassy, but certainly worth a try (you must write the embassy well in advance). But don't necessarily limit yourself to this session. Last year, I was wandering about Parliament on a Tuesday afternoon, and simply stood a modest line for something inside. It turned out to be a Q & A session for the minister of education. I was in the chamber gallery within half an hour enjoying a very lively and entertaining debate without queueing for hours.

If all you want to do is watch Parliment in session, they do have nightly meetings (I *BELIEVE* it is Tuesday), for which we had no line at all. There were almost more visitors than MP's and they weren't discussing anything of importance, but you wouldn't know it from the fervent nature of the speeches. We still joke about the Islington MP who denounced building upscale apartments in his district, "to be filled with a bunch of yogurt-eating yoopies" (yes, his first syllable would rhyme with "loop"). <BR> <BR>Some things to know about watching Parliment: no bags, cameras, recording devices, food, drink, or smoking. There is no place to check any of these, so plan to arrive WITHOUT any of them. You WILL go through a bomb detecting device where you will have to stand for about ten seconds. NO TALKING!

Why do you want to go? If the answer's good enough I _might_ be able to call in a favour for a private tour from one of the MP's staff. <BR> <BR>Incidentally, the House (as we insiders call it0 sits till 10pm every night but Friday. <BR> <BR>There is a week's recess (holiday to you!) over Whit. Do you know your exact dates. If you were there hen it would make getting in easy but there would onlybe the building to see. (It's pretty fantastic in iots own right, mind you!)

We walked over on Wednesday evening after Westminster Abbey closed and walked right in. Saw both houses. The discussion that was going on was boring but seeing the place was interesting. There was a place to check cameras. Metal detectors at both entries and we were also patted down before entering the House of Commons. My kids thought being frisked on entry was the most interesting part of the visit.