Trafalgar Square

I visited Trafalgar Square in July 2008 on a sunny day. I originally went because I was on one of those Hop on and Hop Off tours (Big Bus Company) and decided to take a stop here.

What a fanastic square! It was busy and lively with the lovely weather. Kids were playing, there was tourists and the space was jammed. It is great to sit down for a while and people watch. Best people watching site in London.

There are also public bathrooms in the square. They are clean and very well maintained. There was a small cafe there which I checked out. The food was overpriced though and you are better to go find something elsewhere.

The National Gallery faces onto the square. I hadn't planned on visiting the gallery, but it was definately worth a visit. The paintings were stunning and as a side bonus, admission is free.

Trafalgar Square definately should not be missed!

Trafalgar Square used to be a place that only tourists went to if they wanted a picture in front of Nelson’s Column, but over the past few years Mayor Livingstone and his Greater London Authority have turned it into a real community gathering place for Londoners. The pedestrianisation of the area in front of the National Gallery has calmed the sea of traffic that used to swirl past, and a ban on selling bird feed has reduced the number of marauding pigeons. There are regular cultural events staged in the square through the year, and a small cafe which – thanks to the Mayor-- was the first place in London to guarantee its staff a living wage.

This past Bank Holiday Monday, over 10,000 people filled Trafalgar Square to show their support for the establishment of a ‘path into citizenship’ for undocumented migrant workers. People from all over the world marched, danced, sang and listened to speeches, in good spirits despite the rain. Any tourist who happened by to find Nelson’s Column would have been lucky to see the real London – a global city – that day.