Parliament House
Parliament House
4.5
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Australian Parliament House has daily guided tours, offering the chance to explore its unique architecture, art collections and go behind-the-scenes for a once-in-lifetime experience. Explore the symbolism and craftsmanship of the building architecture, visit the parliamentary chambers, and see our exhibitions and art collection as part of a tour or at your own pace. Foodies can indulge in sweet and savoury creations as part of a high tea or join us for an exclusive fine dining event. Remember your visit with Australian-designed and made crafts and keepsakes from the Parliament Shop. Your visit to Parliament House offers a rich layering of architecture and design, culture and political history – an experience you’ll remember forever.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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- Ron MMenasha, WisconsinNice, Old Parliament Building is BetterThe New Parliament Building, opened in the 1980s, was a bit of a disappointment for us. When I visit a historic government building...I expect an old building with lots of history. Well, this is the NEW building. Lots of history has been made here as well as more to come...but it's a very modern building. The good news is that once you get through security you are pretty much free to roam about. With some additional screening you can watch parliament in session if that's the case. We did the paid, guided tour "Best of Parliament". The tour guide was very knowledgeable and nice. Rather than go here, though, I recommend the Old Parliament Building. That one is just as accessible but has a lot more history, artifacts, etcThank you for visiting Parliament House. While Parliament House has been operating for 35 years, the building was designed to last 200 years! So we can expect a lot more historic events to take place in the building. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed your tour and we’ll be sure to pass on your kind words to the Visitor Services team 😊Written 25 March 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited February 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 5 March 2024
- wombatdavidHobart, AustraliaAustralian politics at workI did the Yeribee tour which I had pre-booked for free online. It was really interesting if you enjoy First Nations experiences. I also looked around the two houses and it is great you can just wander around. There is of course security to go through at the entrance but it is free to come in and have a look.We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the Yeribee tour 😊Written 25 March 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited March 2024Travelled soloWritten 11 March 2024
- Sharon BSydney, AustraliaWorth a visit.Did the Self-Tour, walked around with my 3 children for around an hour and took in the building, rooms and art works etc. You could have probably done another hour if grown ups only as children under 14 are not too interested. Over all the children enjoyed taking everything in and 1 hour was perfect amount of time. Ages 9, 11, 14Thank you for sharing your review. We're glad to hear you and your family enjoyed visiting Parliament House!Written 22 July 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 21 April 2024
- Dan LBunbury, AustraliaThe Centre of Democracy ?Monolith of a building but architecturally very elegant and eyecatching with the Australian flag flying high above. We visited on Reconciliation Day, thus no hot air in either Chamber with all Senators and Members absent. We really required more time here, but our tour guide took us through the more important public sectors plus the portrait gallery of past Prime Ministers. Wish that we could have returned for the free tour of the building and to attend the public galleries.Visited May 2024Travelled as a coupleWritten 18 June 2024
- C8428BFchriswAdelaide, AustraliaSee Parliament House in CanberraTicked off this must see attraction in Canberra when we visited. Easy to follow the directions through to parking under the building etc. Go through security and then you have a range of options - we did a tour that included visiting both houses etc which was very interesting to have explained to us. Spent some time in the cafeteria then up to the roof to check out the views.Thank you for visiting and sharing your review!Written 22 July 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited June 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 22 June 2024
- SMDA16Southport, AustraliaGreat time for the whole family. Question time was great highly recommend it.It was a great experience for the whole family. If you go to Parliament House then I would highly recommend going to question time. In Parliament House you can get a tour of the whole place, there is even a lego model.We are so glad to hear you enjoyed your visit to Parliament House! Thank you for sharing your experience.Written 22 July 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited July 2024Travelled with familyWritten 1 July 2024
- CarloHelmondHelmond, The NetherlandsNice to see the place the country is governed fromWe were amazed how quiet things were in and around the parliament house. We heard that so sessions were planned for that day so not many people were around. It is a nice place to have a look around and see where the action normally takes place. If you go to the top and outside, you also have a nice view of the area. Might be even more interesting if sessions are taking placeWe are so happy to hear you enjoyed your visit to Parliament House! Thank you for sharing your experience.Written 18 September 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited August 2024Travelled with familyWritten 28 August 2024
- MsTracy1979Sydney, AustraliaThe private tours are worth itWe went on a private guided tour at it was certainly a cut above the usual public tours I've done of this venue previously. A solid 2hr walk around the building including areas not otherwise available unless you are supervised by a guide (e.g. the courtyards and floor of the house).We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed your private tour!Written 18 September 2024This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.Visited September 2024Travelled with familyWritten 8 September 2024
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4.5
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C...
Gippsland, Australia
Sept 2023 • Business
The new Parliament House was built to replace Provisional Parliament House, which opened in 1927. It was only meant to be a temporary home for the Parliament. By the 1980s the Parliament had outgrown the building. Building of the new Parliament Building started in 1980 and Parliament House was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. Parliament House is one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere and it cost $1.1 billion to build.
It was designed by Mitchell,Giurgola and Thorp Architects and this building is impressive. It has been built to blend with the environment. You cannot help but be impressed by the marble foyer. There are tours of it at a reasonable price and if you are in the Capital... you should make time to do one of these tours.
I visited here recently with a group - it's not my first tour, but every time you tour this impressive building you will learn something new... or have an Ah-huh moment where you remember something you were told once but had forgotten.
Another interesting thing to note is you pass people who look familiar to you... but it's not that you know them, you have simply seen them on news broadcasts. :)
It was designed by Mitchell,Giurgola and Thorp Architects and this building is impressive. It has been built to blend with the environment. You cannot help but be impressed by the marble foyer. There are tours of it at a reasonable price and if you are in the Capital... you should make time to do one of these tours.
I visited here recently with a group - it's not my first tour, but every time you tour this impressive building you will learn something new... or have an Ah-huh moment where you remember something you were told once but had forgotten.
Another interesting thing to note is you pass people who look familiar to you... but it's not that you know them, you have simply seen them on news broadcasts. :)
Written 18 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alan S
Canberra
May 2023
Parliament house is an excellent building and the tour we attended was also excellent, the shop was extremely disappointing, it does not cater at all for a budget traveller......also does not cater for all the school children on their trips from interstate for spending a bit of their pocket money, only a key ring or magnet, the shop is almost bereft of anything except high market items and not much range there either. We had WA visitors recently and they were only able to see 2 of 3 Canberra's sights so could not go elsewhere to find a small item in memory of their trip not including key rings and magnets, maybe beanies, shopping bags, mugs etc would help a budget traveller !!
Written 6 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wailinglee
Melbourne, Australia
Jan 2022 • Family
Must do in Canberra. Need at least two hours if not more. I took my teenage kids who missed out on their Year 6 Canberra trip and this was a highlight. We took the free 30 min Welcomed Tour which is a quick intro to the building, history, and visits to the two chambers House of Rep and Senate.
Then the free and amazing 40min Portrait Tour. It wasn’t terribly popular so it was just the guide and us 3. But we had such a great experience understanding the history and background of the first parliamentary meeting in 1901 and the various prime ministers over the years through the guide.
We also paid for the Architect Tour $20 each which was 50 min is rather worth it, as the tour was more intimate and explained the design element, plus a tour of all the relevant rooms again. The teenagers were happy with the first two tours and did not need the architects tour but I found the detailed explanation intriguing.
Queens terrace cafe serves excellent cafeteria food. Highlight recommend their wood fired pizza
Then the free and amazing 40min Portrait Tour. It wasn’t terribly popular so it was just the guide and us 3. But we had such a great experience understanding the history and background of the first parliamentary meeting in 1901 and the various prime ministers over the years through the guide.
We also paid for the Architect Tour $20 each which was 50 min is rather worth it, as the tour was more intimate and explained the design element, plus a tour of all the relevant rooms again. The teenagers were happy with the first two tours and did not need the architects tour but I found the detailed explanation intriguing.
Queens terrace cafe serves excellent cafeteria food. Highlight recommend their wood fired pizza
Written 1 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JennyC0309
Scarborough, Australia
May 2021 • Couples
As a retired public servant I was keen to visit inside Parliament House as I have only ever seen the outside. It was very impressive. It was good to see the House of Reps & Senate first hand where we see on TV our tax payer dollars "hard at work". We visited on a Sunday morning when it first opened and it was very easy to get a car park and no crowds inside. The best thing was it was all free (as it should be) but you had to pre-book online & were limited to 1.5 hours due to COVID restrictions.
Written 12 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gini63
Brisbane, Australia
July 2022
We spent almost a whole day here - including 2 tours (one was free and the other only $20pp). The tours were an excellent way of finding your way around and then you can go and explore more on your own. The cafe was great and very reasonable prices too.
Written 17 July 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mar 2023 • Couples
While supposedly “the people’s house”, we felt unwelcome visiting Parliament House for Question Time. We were excited ( if a little bored after an hour and annoying at the childish interjections) to see government in action but the building itself is architecturally cold and signage is hard to find to guide you. We felt unwelcome.
The view from the Queen’s terrace cafe to the War memorial is worth the visit.
The view from the Queen’s terrace cafe to the War memorial is worth the visit.
Written 22 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Mariene, we’re sorry you didn’t enjoy your visit to Parliament House. If you’d like to provide further feedback, please email visitorservices@aph.gov.au
Written 13 April 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
adelgirl70
Greater Adelaide, Australia
Apr 2022
As part of my tour with Canberra Guided Tours, our group of 4 got a personalised tour of parliament house in Canberra. This building is relatively new (opened in 1988) with stunning architecture and quite open spaces throughout. Both House of Representative and Senate were open where you could actually go in and sit down in the public galleries and just picture what actually goes on in this and the decisions that are made here! The prime minister portraits were also great to finally see. There is a cafe here as well serving small hot and cold meals at reasonable prices. Very informative and interesting history and architecture throughout. A must see.
Written 4 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
malleegirl
Swan Hill, Australia
Jan 2022
Worth a visit when in Canberra. We took ourselves through and staff were helpful if we needed information. We tagged on the end of a tour group at one stage and found that quite informative so would be best to take a tour if you have the time. We finished with lunch at the Queen's Terrace Cafe and we thought it wasnt overly priced like we expected. Food was good too.
Written 9 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wendyb204
Vancouver Island, Canada
Jan 2023 • Couples
Because we had not booked ahead online and we had walked from the CBD in the heat, we were only able to find space in a Highlights paid tour. Rosy, our guide, was accompanied by Christine and another trainee. For the next 45 minutes, we were shown more than 25 highlights of the Australian Parliament and challenged to find Haley’s comet and Shawn the Prawn. The view of Canberra from the roof was incredible and not to be missed. Not sure the tour was good value for the two of us at $56. We asked at the information desk about the bus back to CBD and the info officer was pleasant but wasn’t able to provide helpful information other than to suggest Uber instead. And you need to buy a MyPass elsewhere ahead of your visit.
Written 12 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Wendy, thank you for your feedback which we’ll use to improve the information available about public transport options. We hope you were able to find Shawn the Prawn and Hayley’s Comet on the tour!
Written 16 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
spacewalker
Melbourne, Australia
Dec 2022
We did the 45 minute architecture tour. It's an iconic building and the stories and explanations of materials and the architecture were fascinating. The lego, the prawn, and the terracotta are features (haha - you'll have to do the tour find out).
Written 15 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We're so glad to hear you enjoyed our architecture tour and that you got to meet Shawn the Prawn!
Written 4 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Elizabeth B
Gerringong, Australia
Hi all, does anyone know what street you access the free 2 hour parking underground? Visiting Thursday!
Written 15 September 2020
AusParliamentHouse
Canberra, Australia
Hey there, the Forecourt Basement car park is on Parliament Drive.
Written 15 September 2020
Hola! Veo que han visitado el Parlamento en Canberra. Quiero preguntarles si es posible visitar el viejo y el nuevo edificio del Parlamento y si en 2 horas será posible hacer la visita.
Les agradeceré mucho la información!
Written 8 June 2019
Mark G
Mandurah, Australia
is it possible to 'book' seats for question time? Or do we just turn up and 'first in, first served'?
Written 22 August 2017
Phil J
Canberra, Australia
You don't have to book but if you don't you will only be able to access unsold or unredeemed tickets... should there be any.
Book on line through
doubleU doubleU doubleU dot (TA won't let me provide the link) aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Whats_On/Parliament_in_action
which also allows you to check the schedule to make sure that Parliament is actually sitting and that you're not just looking at an empty chamber.
Written 23 August 2017
Janet B
Albury, Australia
Are there any wheelchairs for visitors? or seats around about? I have an elderly relative with me who cant walk far without needing to sit. Thanks
Written 9 October 2016
Gauri2608
Sydney, Australia
Hello Janet,
Courtesy wheelchairs and strollers are available for loan, at no charge, from the information desk in the Marble Foyer. Visitors should contact Visitor Services on (02) 6277 5399 before arriving at Parliament House to ensure that equipment is available for loan.
For more information visit their website.
Hope this helps you.
Written 12 October 2016
kittybaby3000
Singapore, Singapore
If visit on non-sitting day, can enter the chambers? Or only can enter the public gallery?
Written 18 August 2016
Mordeegirl
Geelong, Australia
As far as I know, all other areas are open when the Houses are sitting, but the helpful staff will advise you.
Written 22 August 2016
Lyon-Zelda
Melbourne, Australia
Parking at PH is free underneath fir 2 hours, then you have to pay. We found this was enough time to walk around. Entry to the house is free. If it is your first time, it is worth going on the free tour. Also go to Old Parliament House which you can walk or erive to from PH. It has a small fee. Again I recommend the tour but you can just walk around if you like.
Written 23 March 2016
shan00k
Torquay, Australia
Hi, do you need to book for a paid tour mid week when parliament is not sitting ?
Written 14 February 2016
We also took just a free tour after showing up that morning. After the tour, we were able to watch the Q & A session for quite a while and that was definitely a highlight of our trip to Canberra last September. I hope you get to do that too.
Written 15 February 2016
AusParliamentHouse
Canberra, Australia
Hi Ally
Thanks for your query. Entry to Parliament House is free of charge. We offer both free and paid tours. You can find out more about current tours by visiting our website.
Underground parking is available at the front of the building and is free of charge on weekends.
We hope you enjoy your visit to Parliament House and welcome any feedback you might have.
Written 21 October 2015
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