Trafalgar Square

About this place

Four bronze lions guard a column some 52 metres tall, and on top of it a one-armed admiral surveys the whole of London: this is Trafalgar Square, the point from which Britain measures distances to its capital. It was laid out in the 1830s and 1840s on ground that had held the royal stables, and named for a sea battle fought off the Spanish coast in 1805. The lions were designed by Edwin Landseer, a painter who is said never to have sculpted anything before, working with the sculptor Carlo Marochetti, and today they are, with the two fountains that run on most days, the most photographed thing here. The square is open around the clock and costs nothing, and the National Gallery along its north side is free too, open daily 10:00 to 18:00 with a late night until 21:00 on Fridays; booking a free ticket in advance gets you a faster entrance but is not compulsory. In the north-west corner stands the Fourth Plinth, empty for more than a century before it became a rotating stage for contemporary art, and since September 2026 its occupant is Tschabalala Self's striding woman in lapis-lazuli blue. Each December the square hosts the Christmas tree Norway has sent to London every year since the Second World War, and each year after Eid al-Fitr it holds Eid in the Square, which fell on 30 May in 2026 and marked its twentieth year with the London Arab Orchestra on the main stage, a free day out for any family who happens to be in town. The honest truth a traveller needs: this is a crossroads more than a destination. What makes it matter is where it sits. From the south corner Whitehall runs down to Downing Street and Big Ben in roughly ten minutes on foot, from Admiralty Arch The Mall points straight at Buckingham Palace, and Charing Cross station (Bakerloo and Northern lines) has an exit directly onto the square. The best walking tour of London starts here, and National Gallery visitors finish here, but few people spend more than half an hour, and that is exactly right. For families: the square is level and pushchair-friendly, with steps between the upper terrace by the gallery and the lower piazza, and public toilets on the west side at the foot of the central staircase, open 10:00 to 20:00 for 20p (the lift is currently out of order and the cafe is closed). Climbing the lions is tolerated in practice, but the bronze is slick and higher than it looks, so hold the child rather than photograph from a distance. In July and August the square is thick with crowds and street performers; on New Year's Eve it is usually closed off as part of the celebration arrangements. In winter, come before 16:00 to catch the light, then retreat into the warm gallery next door.