Westminster highlights
**Westminster highlights** is the most popular London walking tour exploring central part of _City of Westminster_. It will take approximately _2 and half hours_ and we will cover roughly _1.5 miles_. There are many other great London walks you can book to explore different parts of the city.
##### **During this tour you will see:**
**Palace of Westminster** (also known as Houses of Parliament) - the seat for two houses of _Parliament of the United Kingdom_. Originally built as royal palace by _Edward the Confessor_.
**Westminster Abbey** - a large Gothic abbey church in the _City of Westminster_. It is the traditional _place of coronation_ and _burial site_ for English and, later, British monarchs.
Re-built by _Edward the Confessor_ in 11th century. Construction of the present church began in 1245 by _Henry III_.
**Middlesex Guildhall** - the home of the _Supreme Court of the United Kingdom_.
**Whitehall** - a street in Westminster between _Parliament Square_ and _Trafalgar Square_.
The area is recognised as the centre of the _Government of the United Kingdom_.
**The Cenotaph** - a war memorial on Whitehall, It was designed by _Sir Edwin Lutyens_ and erected 1919, commemorating victory in _World War I_ and later used as a memorial for both _World Wars_.
**Downing Street** - the official residences and offices of the _Prime Minister of the United Kingdom_ and the _Chancellor of the Exchequer_.
**Ministry of Defence Main Building** - the current home of the _Ministry of Defence_.
The building is located on the site of the Palace of Whitehall.
**Horseguards Parade** - a large parade ground off Whitehall. It is the site of the annual ceremonies of _Trooping the Colour_, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and _Beating Retreat_.
**Trafalgar Square** - a square built to commemorates the _Battle of Trafalgar_, a British naval victory in the _Napoleonic Wars_.
**Nelsons Column** - a 52 m tall monument in Trafalgar Square built to commemorate _Admiral Horatio Nelson_, who died at the _Battle of Trafalgar_ in 1805.
**National Gallery** - an art museum in Trafalgar Square. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over _2,300_ paintings dating from the _mid-13th century_ to _1900_.
**National Portrait Gallery** - an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically _important_ and _famous_ British people.
It was the _first_ portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856.
**Leicester Square** - a pedestrianised square in the _West End_ of London.
It was laid out in 1670 and is named after the contemporary Leicester House, itself named after _Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester_.
_and many many more..._