Big Ben is probably the world’s most famous clock and one of London’s best-known landmarks, Big Ben is a four faced clock located at the north end of the Palace of Westminster / Houses of Parliament.
Big Ben looks most spectacular at night when the clock faces are illuminated. You even know when parliament is in session, because a light shines above the clock face.
The four dials of the clock are 23 feet square, the minute hand is 14 feet long and the figures are 2 feet high. Minutely regulated with a stack of coins placed on the huge pendulum, Big Ben is an excellent timekeeper, which has rarely stopped.
The name Big Ben actually refers not to the clock-tower itself, but to the thirteen ton bell hung within. The bell was named after the first commissioner of works, Sir Benjamin Hall.
Can you visit Big Ben? Unfortunately the clock is not open to the public.
