Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square, London: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square in London: 3 stops, about 2.5 km, about 35 minutes of walking plus about 20 minutes of listening. Start at Buckingham Palace, a red-brick house built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 before George III bought it in 1761, and walk to Westminster Abbey, where every coronation has taken place since William the Conqueror in 1066. Finish in Trafalgar Square, completed in 1844, beneath Nelson’s Column and its four bronze lions. Entry to the Abbey is ticketed.
- Stops:
- 3
- Distance:
- about 2.5 km
- Walking:
- about 35 min
- Listening:
- about 20 min
Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square, London: how long does the walk take?
About 55 minutes in all: about 35 minutes on foot over about 2.5 km, plus about 20 minutes of audio at the 3 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square, London: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Trafalgar Square. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.3 km, about 18 min on foot.
Route and map
Navigate with Google Maps, listen with Mappu: the stories keep playing while you follow the route.
Opens Google Maps with walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
Behind its walls lie 775 rooms and the largest private garden in London, 39 acres with more than 300 species of wild plants.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Westminster Abbey · about 1.3 km, about 18 min on foot
Stop 2
Poets’ Corner began almost by accident in 1400 with the burial of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Trafalgar Square · about 1.2 km, about 16 min on foot
Stop 3
In the south-east corner, what looks like a stone lamp post is the smallest police station in Great Britain.
about 7 min of audio
How does this self-guided walking tour work?
The audio guides on this page stay free: open any stop to listen in your browser.
Walk Mode uses your location to narrate places as you walk. It opens in the Mappu app at the first stop, Buckingham Palace. Your first walk is free for three stops with a free Mappu account.
Walk Mode: 2 hours for 50 credits (€4.99 Starter pack)
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
More walking tours in London
Plan more days in London
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include London. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Route checked by Mappu on October 20, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.