Can Americans go inside Big Ben?

All visitors allowed on Elizabeth Tower/Big Ben tours must be UK residents. There are no exceptions to this. Visitors must be over 11 years old. Visitors must be able to climb all 334 steps unaided without assistance.



Yes, Americans and all international visitors can go inside Big Ben (officially known as the Elizabeth Tower), but you must book a guided tour well in advance. Following the completion of a massive five-year restoration, the tower is fully open for public tours in 2026. These 90-minute tours involve climbing 334 narrow spiral steps to reach the belfry, where you can stand right next to the world-famous Great Bell as it strikes the hour. Tickets are priced at approximately £35 for adults and are released in blocks several months ahead; they often sell out within hours of release. It is a physically demanding tour, so visitors must be at least 11 years old and wear comfortable, flat-soled shoes—no sandals or flip-flops are allowed for safety reasons. While photography is not permitted inside the tower itself due to security and copyright rules, the experience of seeing the giant Victorian clock mechanism and looking out through the 23-foot glass clock faces is considered one of the most exclusive "bucket list" activities in London.

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You can visit Big Ben by booking a 90-minute guided tour that takes visitors up 334 stairs to see the clock mechanism room, behind the four clock dials and the Belfry, where the famous bell is located. Tours can be booked by visiting the official UK Parliament website.

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But since 2010, the only visitors who have been permitted to tour the landmark have been British citizens. For security's sake, a regulation required Big Ben tour-seekers to write their representatives in Parliament?and of course international visitors don't have any.

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Inside Big Ben and how to visit You can visit Big Ben by booking a 90-minute guided tour that takes visitors up 334 stairs to see the clock mechanism room, behind the four clock dials and the Belfry, where the famous bell is located. Tours can be booked by visiting the official UK Parliament website.

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Inside Big Ben and how to visit You can visit Big Ben by booking a 90-minute guided tour that takes visitors up 334 stairs to see the clock mechanism room, behind the four clock dials and the Belfry, where the famous bell is located. Tours can be booked by visiting the official UK Parliament website.

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There is not a charge to enter Big Ben, but you do need to arrange it ahead of time. We chose not to enter. We went to the museum in the afternoon (no charge) , had a snack there, spent 15 minutes in Trafalgar Square and walked down to Parliament and Big Ben (next to each other) in the early evening.

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The 96-meter (315-foot) tower is a symbol of London and the United Kingdom, and its distinctive chimes are known to people all over the world. After being closed for two years for renovations, Big Ben tours are finally reopening in July 2023.

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The London clock tower, Big Ben was rotated by a quarter, causing the hammer to strike a different place of the bell. Meanwhile, the hammer was lightened to prevent further damage. The bell has sounded at a slightly different pitch ever since, and the crack has never been repaired.

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Although the clock will only be out of action for two years, the bells have to be silenced for the entire renovation period to protect the workers' hearing. The Big Ben bell weighs 13.76 tonnes and chimes at 118 decibels. At that volume, people would suffer hearing damage after just 14 seconds of exposure.

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