Within Walking Distance of Trafalgar Square
48 places on foot, with real walking routes and times
Trafalgar Square is the most walkable starting point in London. Two national galleries, a royal park, the West End and the Thames are all inside a fifteen minute stroll, and the last trains leave from Charing Cross and Embankment just a couple of minutes away.
The map
Tap a place to draw the walking route from Trafalgar Square. Add a few and the page works out the whole stroll.
The list below works without the map.
My walk
Every place, closest first
Showing all 48 places. 42 of them are inside 1 km.
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Nelson's Column
The 52 metre centrepiece of the square, guarded by four bronze lions cast from captured cannon.
1min
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Admiralty Arch
The ceremonial gateway from the square onto The Mall, built for Queen Victoria.
2min
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St Martin-in-the-Fields
Free lunchtime concerts, a crypt cafe, and the church clock you can see from the square.
2min
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National Gallery
Van Gogh, Turner and Vermeer, free to walk into, right on the north side of the square.
3min
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Benjamin Franklin House
The only surviving Franklin home anywhere, on a quiet street off the Strand.
3min
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Theatre Royal Haymarket
A John Nash portico and a 200 year old auditorium, the closest West End theatre to the square.
4min
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London Coliseum
English National Opera, everything sung in English, one street off the square.
4min
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National Portrait Gallery
Faces of British history from Tudor kings to modern pop stars, free and tucked behind the National Gallery.
5min
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His Majesty's Theatre
Home of The Phantom of the Opera since 1986, on the Haymarket.
5min
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Institute of Contemporary Arts
Art house cinema and contemporary shows on The Mall, inside Nash House.
5min
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Leicester Square
Film premieres, half price theatre tickets and the cinema that hosts them.
5min
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Banqueting House
All that is left of Whitehall Palace, with a Rubens ceiling and the window Charles I stepped out of.
6min
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Horse Guards Parade
Mounted sentries and the daily Changing of the Guard, on the parade ground behind Whitehall.
7min
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Golden Jubilee Bridges
Footbridges either side of the railway, and the classic view back towards St Paul’s.
7min
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Victoria Embankment Gardens
A narrow riverside strip of benches and bandstand, two minutes from Embankment station.
8min
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Piccadilly Circus
The lit billboards, the Eros statue, and the gateway to Regent Street.
8min
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The Cenotaph
The national war memorial, standing in the middle of Whitehall.
8min
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Household Cavalry Museum
Working stables you can see into, behind Horse Guards Parade.
8min
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8min
10 Downing Street
You cannot walk in, but the gates on Whitehall are two minutes from the square.
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St Paul's Church
The actors’ church in Covent Garden, where the first Punch and Judy show was recorded.
9min
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9min
Chinatown
Gerrard Street and the lanes around it, roast duck windows and bakeries, gates at each end.
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Seven Dials
Seven streets meeting at a sundial pillar, with the best independent shops in the West End.
9min
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Cleopatra's Needle
A genuine 3,500 year old Egyptian obelisk on the Embankment, flanked by Victorian sphinxes.
9min
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Covent Garden
Street performers under the piazza portico, and the old market hall full of stalls.
10min
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St James’s Park
Pelicans, deckchairs and the best view of the palace from the bridge over the lake.
10min
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Royal Opera House
Opera and the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden, with cheap day seats if you queue.
10min
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Churchill War Rooms
The underground bunker where the war was run, left much as it was in 1945.
10min
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10min
Neal’s Yard
A hidden courtyard of painted walls and cafes, easy to miss from Shorts Gardens.
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The Courtauld Gallery
A small, dense collection of Impressionists inside Somerset House, including one of the Manet bar scenes.
11min
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Theatre Royal Drury Lane
The oldest theatre site in London still in use, restored to full gilt.
12min
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Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)
Big Ben is the bell, this is the tower. Best photographed from the north end of Westminster Bridge.
12min
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Southbank Centre
Free foyer spaces, riverside food stalls and concerts in the Royal Festival Hall.
12min
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London Eye
Thirty minutes a rotation, and the clearest way to see how close all of this really is.
12min
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Somerset House
A courtyard of fountains in summer, an ice rink in winter, and free exhibitions most of the year.
13min
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Jubilee Gardens
Lawn under the London Eye, and the easiest place on the South Bank to sit down.
13min
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Westminster Abbey
Coronations since 1066, and Poets’ Corner. Free to enter for a service, ticketed otherwise.
14min
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Houses of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament. Tours run most Saturdays and the public galleries are free when the House sits.
14min
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Waterloo Bridge
Londoners’ favourite bridge view, the City one way and Westminster the other.
14min
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Royal Academy of Arts
Big ticketed shows and the Summer Exhibition, in a courtyard off Piccadilly.
14min
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St James’s Palace
Tudor brickwork and the official royal court, still guarded, viewable from the street.
14min
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14min
Westminster Bridge
Green ironwork to match the Commons benches, and the postcard angle on Big Ben.
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National Theatre
Three stages in a concrete landmark, with standing tickets and a good riverside terrace.
14min
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The Photographers' Gallery
Contemporary photography over three floors, a short walk up into Soho.
17min
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Victoria Memorial
The marble and gilt roundabout in front of Buckingham Palace, and the best spot for the balcony shot.
18min
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Sir John Soane's Museum
An architect’s house crammed floor to ceiling with antiquities, kept exactly as he left it.
18min
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British Museum
The Rosetta Stone and the Great Court, free to enter, at the far edge of a comfortable walk.
18min
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Green Park
Plane trees and deckchairs, and the quiet way to walk between the palace and Piccadilly.
18min
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Buckingham Palace
Straight down The Mall from the square. The State Rooms open in late summer.
19min
Nothing matches those filters. Try a longer walk or another category.
Walking times from Trafalgar Square
Real routed walking distances, not straight lines on the map. Tap a walk to see the route.
- Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace 1.5 km · 19 min
- Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly Circus 632 m · 8 min
- Trafalgar Square to Covent Garden 761 m · 10 min
- Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square 427 m · 5 min
- Trafalgar Square to London Eye 998 m · 12 min
- Trafalgar Square to Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) 968 m · 12 min
- Trafalgar Square to Westminster Abbey 1.1 km · 14 min
- Trafalgar Square to British Museum 1.5 km · 18 min
Distances are real walking routes from TfL's journey planner, measured from the centre of Trafalgar Square to the centre of each place, so a large site like St James's Park starts a little sooner than its number suggests. Times assume a steady 4.8 km/h and no stops at crossings, which is a touch quicker than TfL's own cautious estimates. Opening hours and ticket prices change, so check the official site before you set off.
Walking from Trafalgar Square: common questions
What is within walking distance of Trafalgar Square?
48 places worth stopping at sit within 1.6 km of Trafalgar Square on foot, which is roughly 21 minutes at a normal pace. That includes Nelson's Column, Admiralty Arch, St Martin-in-the-Fields, National Gallery and, a little further out, British Museum, Green Park, Buckingham Palace. Every distance on this page is a real walking route, not a straight line on a map.
How long does it take to walk from Trafalgar Square to the London Eye?
About 12 minutes. The walking route is 998 m, down to the river and across the Golden Jubilee Bridges next to Charing Cross station.
How far is Big Ben from Trafalgar Square?
968 m, about 12 minutes walking straight down Whitehall past Downing Street and the Cenotaph.
Can you walk from Trafalgar Square to Covent Garden?
Yes, easily. It is 761 m, about 10 minutes on foot, up past the National Portrait Gallery and along one of the lanes into the piazza. Taking the Tube for that hop makes no sense.
How far is Buckingham Palace from Trafalgar Square?
1.5 km, about 19 minutes. Walk under Admiralty Arch and straight down The Mall, which is the longest single stretch on this page but also the most pleasant.
How far is Piccadilly Circus from Trafalgar Square?
632 m, about 8 minutes up Haymarket. Taking the Tube one stop costs more time than the walk does.
Can you walk from Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square?
Yes, it is 427 m, about 5 minutes on foot, straight up Charing Cross Road past the National Portrait Gallery. The Tube covers it in one stop, but by the time you are down on the platform the walk has already won.
What can you see near Trafalgar Square for free?
28 of the 48 places on this page are free to enter or simply out in the open, including Nelson's Column, Admiralty Arch, St Martin-in-the-Fields, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Leicester Square. Filter the list by "Free entry" to see them all.
Which station is closest to Trafalgar Square?
Charing Cross is a two minute walk from the south east corner of the square, with Embankment, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus all within about five minutes. If you are working out how late you can stay out, check the last trains from each of them.
What is the closest thing to see from Trafalgar Square itself?
Nelson's Column, 74 m, about 1 minute on foot. The furthest place listed here is Buckingham Palace at 1.5 km, so everything on this page fits inside one afternoon on foot.
What is on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square?
The plinth in the north west corner of the square was built in 1841 for an equestrian statue that was never paid for, and it stood empty for over 150 years. Since 1999 it has carried a rotating contemporary art commission that changes every year or two, so what is on it depends on when you visit. It is free to see, like the rest of the square.
Staying out until the end?
Charing Cross and Embankment are both a couple of minutes from the square. Find out the latest you can leave and still get home.
Plan my journey → Tonight's last trains →Image credits (44 photos via Wikimedia Commons)
- Nelson's Column: Beata May, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Admiralty Arch: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St Martin-in-the-Fields: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- National Gallery: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Benjamin Franklin House: Ridiculopathy, CC0
- Theatre Royal Haymarket: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
- London Coliseum: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0
- National Portrait Gallery: No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0
- His Majesty's Theatre: AirshipJungleman29, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Institute of Contemporary Arts: The original uploader was Denis Barthel at German Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Leicester Square: Romazur, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Banqueting House: en:User:ChrisO, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Horse Guards Parade: Lcw27, Lucia Constance Wallbank, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Golden Jubilee Bridges: No machine-readable author provided. Nichtbesserwisser assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain
- Victoria Embankment Gardens: Alexrk2, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Piccadilly Circus: Lily.Smith, CC BY 2.0
- The Cenotaph: Adrian Pingstone, Public domain
- Household Cavalry Museum: Joyofmuseums, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St Paul's Church: Steve Cadman, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Seven Dials: Mike Quinn, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Cleopatra's Needle: Unknown author, Public domain
- Covent Garden: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- St James’s Park: Ugo Cuesta, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Royal Opera House: Russ London (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0
- Churchill War Rooms: en:User:Jdhowens90, CC BY-SA 3.0
- The Courtauld Gallery: Stephen Richards, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Theatre Royal Drury Lane: Sue Adair, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower): DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Southbank Centre: Ungry Young Man from Vienna, Austria, CC BY 2.0
- London Eye: Khamtran, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Somerset House: Stephen Richards, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Jubilee Gardens: joinai, CC BY 3.0
- Westminster Abbey: Σπάρτακος, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Houses of Parliament: Terry Ott from Washington, DC Metro Area, United States of America, CC BY 2.0
- Waterloo Bridge: The original uploader was Secretlondon at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
- Royal Academy of Arts: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0
- St James’s Palace: Steven Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0
- National Theatre: Aurelien Guichard from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0
- The Photographers' Gallery: The wub, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Victoria Memorial: Loco Steve from Bromley , UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Sir John Soane's Museum: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0
- British Museum: Ham, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Green Park: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Buckingham Palace: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0