- There were plenty more ups and downs at Westminster, including a fire, but ultimately Big Ben’s clock face began ticking in 1859.
- The best places to see Big Ben from the outside are Westminster Bridge or the south bank of the River Thames.
- Aside from numerous appearances in films, Big Ben is also very popular among tourists and in fact one of the most popular tourist attraction in the United Kingdom.
- The name “Big Ben” originally just applied to the bell but later came to refer to the clock itself. Two main stories exist about how Big Ben got its name.
- Today Big Ben is one of the most recognisable symbols of London in the world, with the catchy nickname now encompassing the clock tower as a whole.
- Since 1924, the chimes of Big Ben have been broadcast by the BBC as a daily time signal, with only a few interruptions.
- While the bells have been silent during the refurbishment, typically Big Ben chimes every hour on the hour, and the four smaller bells chime on the 15-minute marks.
- You’ll have to climb 292 steps to get to the clock faces, 42 more steps to where Big Ben hangs and a further 65 steps to get to the Ayrton light – that’s a total of...
- These 90-minute tours of Big Ben take you up the Elizabeth Tower, behind the clock faces, and into the belfry to see Big Ben itself.
- Most people will shoot Big Ben from the north, but if you swing down Westminister Abbey and come at Big Ben from the south west side you can get the tower and...