Trafalgar Square Audio Guide

Trafalgar Square: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Trafalgar Square

   Welcome to the absolute center of London. You are standing in Trafalgar Square, a place that has served as the city’s beating heart since it was completed in 1844. Take a moment to look around. To your north, the grand neoclassical facade of the National Gallery watches over the space. This square is more than just a tourist photo-op; it is London's official point of measurement. If you see a road sign anywhere in the United Kingdom telling you how many miles you are from London, they are calculating the distance from the nearby Charing Cross. For over a century, this has been the site of national celebrations, political protests, and the famous New Year's Eve countdown.

2. 02

   Napoleon’s Nightmare in Granite

   The towering centerpiece of the square is Nelson's Column, standing at 169 feet, or about 51 meters tall. It was built between 1840 and 1843 to honor Admiral Horatio Nelson, the man who led Britain to victory against Napoleon’s navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in eighteen-o-five. Nelson himself stands at the very top, carved from Scottish sandstone. If you look at the base of the column, you will see four massive bronze relief panels. These are literally made of heavy metal history—they were cast from the melted-down bronze of captured French cannons. They depict Nelson’s four great naval victories, including the one where he sadly lost his life to a sniper’s bullet.

3. 03

   The Lions and the Landseer Mystery

   Guarding the column are four enormous bronze lions, known as the Landseer Lions. Despite their fame, they were quite a controversial addition. The artist, Sir Edwin Landseer, was actually a painter of dogs and horses, not a sculptor, and it took him nearly 10 years to finish them. Here is a secret for you: if you look closely at the lions' paws, they look a little bit unusual. That is because Landseer used a real, deceased lion from the London Zoo as his model. However, he was a slow worker, and by the time he got to the paws, the specimen had significantly decomposed. He had to improvise using his own observations of pet dogs, which is why some say these giant cats have a slightly canine appearance.

4. 04

   The Smallest Police Box and the Great Pigeon Ban

   Walk over to the southeast corner of the square and look for what appears to be a large, neoclassical stone lamp post. You are actually looking at the smallest police station in Great Britain. Built in 1926, it was designed so a single officer could monitor the square's many protests. It even featured a direct phone line to Scotland Yard and a light on top that would flash whenever the phone was picked up. To its left, you might notice the lack of London’s once-famous pigeons. Feeding them was traditionally a tourist highlight, but it was officially banned in 2003 to protect the monuments from acidic bird droppings, which had caused over 140,000 pounds in damage. Today, professional hawks are frequently used to keep the pigeons away.

5. 05

   The Empty Plinth and Future Stories

   Before you leave, look toward the northwest corner of the square. You will see a large stone pedestal known as the Fourth Plinth. For over 150 years, it stood empty because there wasn't enough money to finish a statue of King William the Fourth. In 1994, an idea was proposed to use it for a rotation of contemporary art instead. Since then, it has hosted a giant blue cockerel, a ship in a bottle, and even a whirl of cream topped with a cherry. It turns the square into a living gallery where history meets the avant-garde. As you wander through the square today, ask yourself: what story does the current artwork tell about London right now? The city is always changing, and here at Trafalgar Square, history is still being written.