Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square: London’s Central Node, Used Correctly

Trafalgar Square is not primarily a destination. It is a transit hub, a gathering point, and the geographic centre from which distances in London are officially measured (the point at the head of Charing Cross, at the south side of the square, is the central point for all UK road distances to London). Most visitors stand in the middle of it, photograph Nelson’s Column and the lions, and move on. That is fine. But there are ways to use the square that make the surrounding area more rewarding.

The National Gallery is free, located directly on the north side of the square, and holds one of the world’s great collections of European painting. The collection runs from 13th-century Italian work through to early 20th-century Impressionism, with particular strength in Dutch and Flemish 17th-century painting and British portraiture.

Specific works worth seeking: Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus (the only surviving nude by the artist), Vermeer’s Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait (1434, still one of the most technically analysed paintings in the Western tradition), Turner’s Fighting Temeraire, and the Uccello Battle of San Romano panels.

The Sunday lunchtime organ recitals in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, on the east side of the square, run year-round and are free. The church itself has a functioning homeless charity café in its crypt.

Nelson’s Column and the Square

The column was erected in 1843 to commemorate Admiral Horatio Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The statue at the top is 5.5 metres tall but looks small from the base (approximately 46 metres below). The four lions at the base were cast from bronze cannon salvaged from French warships. Their sculptor, Edwin Landseer, was reportedly nervous about the commission and visited London Zoo to study lions; critics noted that the finished animals look more like large dogs.

The Fourth Plinth at the northwest corner of the square has hosted rotating contemporary art commissions since 1999, while the other three plinths hold permanent statues. The Fourth Plinth programme is one of the more successful public art initiatives in the UK; previous works have included Marc Quinn’s marble sculpture of a disabled woman and Yinka Shonibare’s ship in a bottle.

The National Portrait Gallery, on the east side of the square at St Martin’s Place, reopened in 2023 after a three-year renovation. The collection spans British portraits from the 16th century to the present; the contemporary galleries are more democratic in terms of whose likeness is considered nationally significant than the Victorian originals. The photography and film portrait collections are strong.

Admission is free for the permanent collection; temporary exhibitions charge separately.

The Surrounding Area

The Strand eastward from the square leads to Somerset House (free entry to the riverside courtyard, which hosts an ice rink in winter and outdoor cinema and events in summer) and the Courtauld Gallery (strong Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection, £9 admission).

Northumberland Avenue southward leads quickly to the Embankment and the Thames. The Embankment walkway from Waterloo Bridge east to London Bridge passes the South Bank arts complex (Tate Modern, the Globe Theatre, the BFI Southbank cinema) on the opposite bank and is one of London’s better walks when the tide is out and the river foreshore is accessible.

The pub The Harp on Chandos Place, two minutes’ walk from the square, has been named CAMRA National Pub of the Year twice and serves a consistently good selection of real ales in a small, old-fashioned environment. It is the kind of pub that the Square’s immediate vicinity, all tourist-facing chain operations, usually displaces.

Practical Notes

Trafalgar Square Metro: Charing Cross station (Bakerloo and Northern lines) is a 2-minute walk from the south side of the square. The 24-hour Tube service on weekends serves these lines.

The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields has a café, gallery space, and toilet facilities (the toilets are publicly accessible for a small charge, which is worth knowing if the square’s public conveniences are occupied). The café serves reasonable food at moderate London prices.

The National Gallery opens at 10am and closes at 6pm Sunday through Thursday, 9pm on Fridays. Arriving shortly after opening on a weekday morning gives access to the main collection without the group tour congestion that builds through the morning.