How to visit Parliament Buildings (Easy Read)
Welcome to our Easy Read guide on how to visit Parliament Buildings.
You can read the guide on this webpage or download a document version to your device to read later or to print off.
What’s in this guide
- Introduction
- Parliament Buildings
- How to get here
- Access at Parliament Buildings
- What you need to know
- Food and drink
- More information
In this Easy Read guide, some words are blue and underlined.
These are links that will go to another page or website which has more information.
Introduction
The Northern Ireland Assembly:
• Looks at what the Northern Ireland Government is doing. The government here is called the Northern Ireland Executive.
• Makes new laws, on issues like health and education.
• Talks about issues that affect people in Northern Ireland, like housing and hospitals.
The Northern Ireland Assembly is based at Parliament Buildings.
We have many visitors to Parliament Buildings. This Easy Read guide will help you to plan your visit.
Parliament Buildings
Parliament Buildings is in the Stormont Estate, Belfast.
Parliament Buildings is open to the public from 9:00am to 4:00pm, Monday to Friday.
It is closed on weekends and bank holidays.
Tours
You can go on a free tour of Parliament Buildings.
There are tours from Monday to Friday, apart from bank holidays.
The tours are at 11:00am and 2:00pm.
They are about 45 minutes long.
Mondays and Tuesdays are usually the busiest days to visit.
You will need to book a free ticket for the tour.
• Book an online tour (clicking this link redirects to eventbrite.com).
You can find out more information about tours and your visit to Parliament Buildings on the Assembly website.
• Find out more about tours and visiting Parliament Buildings.
You can also take an online tour on our website.
The Great Hall
You can visit the Great Hall in Parliament Buildings.
The Northern Ireland Assembly meets in the Assembly Chamber.
You can also watch meetings of the Northern Ireland Assembly from the public gallery. There are spaces for wheelchair users.
You can also watch on-line:
When the Assembly is sitting, meetings start at 12:00pm on Mondays and 10:30am on Tuesdays.
How to get here
You can travel to Parliament Buildings by car or public transport.
By car
Parliament Buildings is on the east side of Belfast, on the Upper Newtownards Road (A20).
When you drive from Belfast City Centre on the Upper Newtownards Road, you will see our large entrance on the left hand side of the road.
It is about 5 miles from the city centre.
Our address is:
Northern Ireland Assembly
Parliament Buildings
Ballymiscaw
Stormont
Belfast BT4 3XX
You can use the main carpark which is free.
You will see signs to the carpark when you get here.
There are some parking spaces for blue badge holders.
If you want to organise disabled parking before you get here, you can
Phone: 028 9052 1695
Email: usherservicesdl@niassembly.gov.uk
By public transport
There is a regular Metro bus service to the Stormont Estate from Belfast.
These are numbers 3g, 3h and 7h.
There is also an Ulsterbus service from Bangor City, which is the number 4.
Please check the Translink website for up-to-date timetables and information:
• View bus timetables to Stormont on the Translink website.
Access at Parliament Buildings
Toilets
There are accessible toilets for disabled people all around the building. Please ask our staff to show you where they are.
We also have a Changing Places toilet on the ground floor with extra support for disabled people.
Wheelchair access
There are ramps at the front entrance to Parliament Buildings, and at the 2 side doors.
There are spaces for wheelchairs in the meeting rooms.
You can borrow a wheelchair if you need one.
If you have a visual impairment
We have a braille guide of the tour.
You can borrow the braille tour guide from reception.
This is the desk when you come into Parliament Buildings and where a member of staff will welcome you.
You can bring a guide dog with you and you can get a water bowl for the dog from reception.
If you are deaf or hard of hearing
We have a Hearing Helper radio system for tours.
We also have an online tour in British (BSL) and Irish (ISL) sign language.
The online tour can be viewed on the Assembly website:
Visitors with autism
We have trained members of staff who can support any visitors with autism.
There is a quiet room behind the reception desk that you can use if you need somewhere quiet to sit.
The following webpage has information about what you can expect to see, hear and smell at Parliament Buildings:
• Sensory information at Parliament Buildings.
What you need to know
Security check
Everyone who visits Parliament Buildings has to have a security check.
This will be a check of what you have in your pockets and your bag. This is nothing to worry about.
We do this to make sure that no-one brings anything dangerous into Parliament Buildings. For example, sharp objects like scissors or a knife.
Video about visiting
We have made a video about what to expect when you visit Parliament Buildings, including what happens at the security check.
• Watch the video about what to expect when visiting Parliament Buildings.
Food and drink
We have a coffee and gift shop on the ground floor that is fully accessible for people with disabilities.
Our Members' Dining Room is open to the public between Monday and Friday, from 12:00pm to 3:00pm, apart from bank holidays.
All the food is made by very good chefs who use fresh ingredients.
It is best to book a table if you want to eat in the Members' Dining Room.
You can book a table by calling us on:
02890 521 041.
For more information
If you want more information about your visit, please contact our Events staff:
Phone: 02890 521 966
Email: events@niassembly.gov.uk
