Trafalgar Square

The square was laid out on the site of the royal mews by John Nash and completed by Charles Barry in 1844, commemorating the naval victory of 1805. Nelson's Column stands about fifty-two metres with the admiral on top, and the four bronze lions at the base were added in 1867 by Edwin Landseer, a painter rather than a sculptor, who worked from a decomposing lion carcass sent from the zoo and gave them paws that are anatomically wrong, as cat owners regularly point out. Three plinths carry statues; the fourth, built in 1841 for an equestrian figure that was never funded, stood empty for a century and a half and since 1999 has held a rotating series of contemporary commissions. Distances from London are measured from Charing Cross, where the statue of Charles I stands at the south side of the square.

Highlights

• Nelson's Column - a fifty-two-metre column with Landseer's four lions.
• The Fourth Plinth - a rotating contemporary commission since 1999.
• The National Gallery - closing the northern side of the square.
• The measuring point - Charing Cross, by the statue of Charles I, where distances are taken from.

When to go

Year-round; the square hosts events through the year including a Norwegian Christmas tree given annually since 1947 in thanks for wartime support. Protests and rallies close it regularly.

Before you go

It is a busy traffic-ringed square with heavy crowds, pickpocketing and persistent costumed characters seeking payment for photographs. Feeding the pigeons was banned in 2003 and the flocks have gone. The fountains are frequently drained for works.

Nearby

The National Gallery is on the square; Covent Garden, Whitehall and St James's are minutes away.

Key facts