The Palace of Westminster appears as a landmark on Sunday Small’s first London sightseeing journey, glimpsed from a moving carriage rather than visited. Its place on the route, near Big Ben and Parliament Square, turns the city’s monumental architecture into part of Sunday’s excited first impressions.

Setting and Route

Jacob tells Sunday Small and Biddy Spooner that their driver will travel along The Strand to Trafalgar Square, then down Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament. The Palace of Westminster is the destination named in his directions, but the carriage continues past it: after turning left along Whitehall, the party passes Big Ben, crosses Parliament Square, and proceeds down the Embankment before turning onto a wide street leading to their hotel.

Sunday’s View of the Palace

Sunday gazes out of the carriage, intent on taking in as many sights as possible. When Big Ben comes into view, excitement runs through her; the Palace of Westminster is thus encountered as part of the grand cityscape unfolding before her, not as an interior she enters. Jacob remarks that the sights look more impressive at night, framing the journey as an evening view of London’s public landmarks.

Narrative Significance

The Palace of Westminster anchors Jacob’s route through the capital in a recognizable civic setting, linking Whitehall, Parliament Square, and the Embankment in the group’s passage toward their hotel. For Sunday, the view belongs to the larger pleasure of seeing London for herself: the carriage keeps moving, while each landmark briefly enlarges the world she is discovering.