As part of our self-initiated walking tour of London, we stopped by the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

We queued for tickets, and after receiving them from a friendly ticket agent, entered the famous House of God and House of Kings. We opted not to join a guided tour, which cost extra, and instead just walked through with the free brochure, which was more than enough for us. The free brochure does an excellent job of guiding you through the hundreds of cool things that Westminster has to offer. From tombs to thrones, the abbey has enough to make anyone happy.

There are however, several things that you should not miss. If the abbey garden is open, take a stroll through it, there's an excellent view of Parliament from the garden, and since you're once again outside, you can take pictures.

Also, towards the back of the abbey (down the left corridor) there is a little museum with the faux crown jewels that the monarchy "practice" with for their coronations, as well as medieval weaponry and royal clothing. The ladies that run the museum area were eager to offer up tidbits and trivia that just added to the visit.

When you exit the abbey, there's a nice gift shop, but try to shop around before making any definitive purchases... most London gift shops offer similar products, for a variety of prices. Thus, you can probably find it cheaper elsewhere.

For updated prices and hours: www.westminster-abbey.org

Westminster Abbey is, of course, a place of worship, but most tourists go there to look at the graves of the hundreds of famous people who are buried within its walls.

The first part of the abbey was mostly of royalty we didn't know, but there were a few interesting highlights, such as Oliver Cromwell's grave (me: "I'm surprised they allowed him to be buried at Westminster!"), and Mary of Tudor and Elizabeth I interred on opposite sides of a chapel (with a moving plaque on the floor commemorating all those who had died, on both sides, for their conscience and their faith during those violent times). After the bit where most of their tombs belonged to royalty, we arrived at the Poets' Corner, and we got a kick out of identifying the graves of various great writers: Robert Browning, Jane Austen, T. S. Eliot, Geoffrey Chaucer, etc. We also saw Sir Lawrence Olivier's grave. We stopped at an external garden where we took a short breather, then headed back to see more famous graves: Edmund Halley, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin... Near the exit, we lit a candle for the dead and saw the grave of the Unknown Soldier, adorned with flowers, and finally, the grave of Winston Churchill alongside a moving tribute to all those who had died for king and country in the wars.

Photography is not allowed in the Abbey. Its visiting hours are at www.westminster-abbey.org (it is closed to tourists some days when important events are happening). Admission for adults is GBP 10. Services are at 11am and 6:30 pm on Sundays (sung), and 5 pm on Wednesdays (said); there is Holy Communion at 8am everyday and 12:30 pm on weekdays. Matins are at 7:30 am on weedays, 8 am on Saturdays and Sundays, and 9 am on weekday Bank Holidays. Evensong is at 3pm on weekends and at 5 pm on weekdays except Wednesday. Telephone: +44 (207) 2225152.

This is another "must see" historical sight in London. The Abbey is a living church that enshrines the history of the Britain. It is not considered a museum, but it contains historical information and many things that are worth seeing. Worship is offered in the Abbey every day. The thing that absolutely amazed me is walking around the Abbey, being surrounded by history, touching stones and burial plates that date back to King Edward the first (1239-1307), walking in the footsteps of Benedictine monks who lived in the Monastery, and thinking about the pilgrims that prayed at the Shrine of Saint Edward! The audio tour, available at the information desk, helps somewhat to navigate the different parts of the Abbey and learn some history. However, it was a little hard for us to follow some information, because we weren't familiar in details with all the Kings and Queens in the English history. I would definitely recommend to read a good history book before coming here.

The decor and architecture are amazing. The history is stunning, and this is one site that is not to be missed. Pictures can be taken outside, but not inside the abbey itself. My husband and I bought a few postcards from the bookshop there to show the inside of the abbey in our photo albums. It is breathtaking and holy, even for the nonreligious person.

I was utterly amazed at the caskets/tombs and the details. Many of them, constructed in marble, have life size replicas of their king, queen, bishop, or duke laying on top of the tomb itself.

This site is so rich in royalty and heritage.

There are also many writers, poets, philosophers, and musicians buried here. It feels like you have stepped back in time.

Many prominent public figures are commemorated within the Westminster Abbey, so this is intended as a brief guide on the subject matter, especially interesting to any fan of English history and art.

Statesmen, mostly commemorated at the Statesmen’s Aisle and in the monarchs’ burials:

- Every British monarch since Henry III (died in 1272) till George II (died in 1760). They are buried in the chapels of Henry VII and the Chapel of St. Edward the Confessor;
- Gladstone, the prime minister who is also buried there, and
- Disraeli, the prime minister who is not;
- Sir Robert Peel, the Home Office head and the creator of the Metropolitan Police Force;
- A stone remembering Sir Winston Churchill;

Men of Literature and Art, whose monuments can be found in the Poets’ Corner:

- Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of Canterbury tales, with whom the tradition started of the finest writers being commemorated and often buried in the Westminster Abbey. Chaucer himself is buried here.
- William Shakespeare, who has a large memorial dedicated to him, but who was not actually laid to rest inside the Abbey’s walls.
- Lord George Gordon Byron, who was not buried here, along with other prominent figures commemorated, like Tennyson, William Blake, TS Eliot.
- There are also memorials to Handel, Edmund Spencer, Robert Browning, the Oxford professor and creator of Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Ben Jonson (who was buried upright), John Dryden, and Henry James.

Scientific Luminaries, buried or commemorated in what became known as the Scientists’ Corner:

- Sir Isaac Newton, recently proclaimed the greatest Briton to have ever lived;
- Charles Darwin, to whom through a special Parliamentary petition has been granted the burial in the Westminster Abbey;
- David Livingstone, whose body – although he died deep within Africa – was embalmed and transferred to England to be buried in the Abbey;
- Lord Stanhope, who qualified on two scores, for being a politician and an experimental scientist;
- Michael Faraday, who is only commemorated in the Abbey and buried in Highgate Cemetery in London;
- Lord Kelvin, a Nobel Prize Laureate buried in the Westminster Abbey;
- Ernest Rutherford, another of the four Nobel Laureates buried in the Abbey. Although he died in Cambridge, he was also granted burial here.