Statues of Famous People in the UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, HK, Australia, S Africa and more

Statues of favourite, famous people as well as religious figures and heroes and heroines of mythology are all around.  Let's start with where I am now, writing this in London, England.

London, England

You can sit next to comedian Spike Milligan in a pleasant park in Finchley, NW London, or pose beside author Oscar Wilde right in the city centre near Trafalgar Square.

For inspiration see the bust of Einstein in the sculpture section of the Victoria & Albert Museum. On a fine day, see the outdoor statues. On a dull day see Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street station and the waxworks in Madame Tussaud's.

Statues In London

Nelson's column is a landmark in Trafalgar Square. You need to set your camera to multiply times three to get more detail. 

The world has many statues of Queen Victoria, royals, world famous figures, and local heroes. 

In London we have statues of Oscar Wilde in the centre, and  Amy Winehouse in Camden. I have a book just on statues of London.

Sigmund Freud sits in Hampstead near the Freud Museum, London, England.

Photo by Mike Peel and another in Wikipedia.

A temporary Freddy Mercury memorial picture is on the Spanish steps at Wembley, London, England, in the autumn of 2026. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4z8mzx7gwo

Shakespeare's bust is outside the free Guildhall Art Gallery in Guildhall Yard in London. 

Engineer Brunel sits on Paddington station. the other side of the station is a small statue of Paddington Bear.

A statue of Abraham Lincoln is in Parliament Square, London, England.

You can also see a bust of Mandela in London, outside the Festival Hall on the South Bank (of the river Thames).

 The Three Graces by Canova in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, UK

National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh (jointly owned, moving between these two museums), UK

Statues in England

Up north in Manchester, England, is a statue of Chopin at a piano, commemorating his visit to the city in the last year of his life.

A statue of Queen Elizabeth II with her corgi dogs is in Rutland, England.

Another is in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Queens Gardens, England.

Another is on York Minster, in York, England.

Manchester England, has a statue of Abraham Lincoln on Lincoln Square. Recalling the support Manchester gave Lincoln in the American Civil war.

The Beatles statue is in Liverpool.

And politician Margaret Thatcher's statue is in Grantham Lincolnshire, by the Grantham Museum, England.

The statue of playwright J B Priestley, who wrote An Inspector Calls, is on Princes Street outside the Museum of Science & Media in Bradford, England, UK. He was born in Bradford.

Scotland Statues

Statues of Robbie Burns who wrote Auld Lang Syne, sung by people all over the world on New Year's eve, are in Ayr, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Wales Statues

A statue of Gandhi is in Cardiff, Wales, UK.

A statue of seated Dylan Thomas, poet who wrote Under Milk Wood and poem Do not go gentle into that goodnight, is by the Dylan Thomas theatre in Swansea, Wales, UK.

David Lloyd George, statue standing by Caernarfon Castle, Wales. Prime Minister, credited with introducing the National Health Service.

Statue of Aneurin Bevan in Cardiff, Wales, jointly credited with founding the National Health Service.

Australia's Statues

Questacon (Canberra, Australia): A prominent Albert Einstein statue marks the entrance to Australia's National Science and Technology Centre.

Statues In Canada

A statue of Queen Elizabeth II is in Toronto, Canada.

A statue of Queen Victoria is on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Statues of several Canadian Prime Ministers are on Parliament Path. 

Some statues may have been moved or removed. Check before taking a trip to see them.

Denmark Statues

The Little Mermaid, immortalised by Hans Christian Andersen.

A statue of the author Hans Christian Andersen is in Roseborg Gardens in Copenhagen.

Statues in France

The statue of the thinker is in the Rodin Gallery in Paris, France.

Dreyfus statue, Paris, France.

Burghers of Calais, group statues, in Calais France, by sculptor Rodin.

Statues In Greenland

Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, explorers.

Australian Statues

Captain Cook statues are in Sydney and Melbourne.

Belarus

Statue of Marc Chagall, famous for his paintings, stained glass windows and sculptures. A statue of him is in

Bosnia Statues

Bruce Lee (Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina): A notable bronze statue of Bruce Lee stands in Zrinjevac Park, erected as a universal symbol of youth, solidarity, and pop culture neutrality across ethnic divides. [1]

Canada - Statues

See a statue of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson seated at his piano in Ottawa, Canada.

A-maze-ing Laughter statue is a popular photo spot in Vancouver.

China - Hong Kong

Bruce Lee Hong Kong: A famous life-sized statue honouring the martial artist stands in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong,

Czech Republic statues

See the statue of author Kafka in Prague. There are several statues associated with Kafka.

Germany's statues

Goethe Monument, Liepsig, Germany.

Walhalla Temple (Donaustauf, Germany): A bust sculpted by Ulrich Uhlig is displayed inside this hall of fame honoring distinguished Germans.

Israel

A replica of the Washington DC monument to Einstein is in the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem, Israel. 

Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel): A bronze sculpture of Einstein created by Georgy Frangulyan stands at the Edmond J. Safra Campus, honoring Einstein's role as one of the founders of the university.

Italy & The Vatican Statues

Outdoor statue of biblical David in Florence, Italy.

The Muses from Classical Antiquity (Roman) in The Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy.

Lithuanian Statues & Busts

The Three Muses statue, Vilnius, Lithuana. Situated above the main entrance to the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre on Gediminias Avenue.

Monument to John Lennon.

Monument to Frank Zappa.

Monument to Leonard Cohen.

Monument to the Vilna Gaon. (Child prodigy and later leader of Jewish community thinkers, who had memorised the entire bible at the age of 9.)

Mexico's Statues

Monument to Christopher Columbus in Mexico City.

Parque México (Mexico City, Mexico): A bronze bust of Einstein sculpted by Tosia Malamud stands in the Condesa neighborhood.

New Zealand Statues

A statue of Queen Victoria is in Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand.

A statue of Captain James Cook is in Christchurch on the south island of New Zealand. I nearly got run over by a tram, as I was trying to photograph the statue, backing across the road to get it all in.

A statue of Burt Monroe, world motorcycle speed record holder, is shown on his motorbike in Invercargill, the southernmost city on the South Island of New Zealand.

Norway's Statues

Henrik Ibsen, playwright, has a statue in Oslo, outside the theatre.

Statues In Poland

A giant statue of composer Chopin in Warsaw is a landmark which you pass, or stop at, in guided tours of the city.

A statue of pianist Arthur Rubinstein at his piano, 

Portugal

Monument to the Discoveries, has Prince Henry the navigator and a series of statues of other famous explorers including Vasco da Gama. 

Christ the King.

Russia's Statues

Statue of Lenin in St Petersburg, Russia.

The Three Graces by Canova, neoclassical sculptor (1757-1822) in The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia,

Singapore Statues

Singapore has a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. 

Many more outdoors statues include a bird, a horse.

I love the children jumping into the water. 

The giant statue of the mythical Merlion spouts water. 

A plaque honours writer Joseph Conrad.

In Madame Tussauds on Sentosa Island you can see Lee Kuan Yew.

South African Statues

Statues of Mandela are everywhere, for example, in Cape Town, 

Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, 

Nelson Mandela in Durban.

Nelson Mandela, in Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg 

and more. 

Statues in Spain

A statue of seated Maimonides is in Maimonides Square in Cordoba, Spain.

The Three Muses are in The Prado, Madrid, Spain.

Statue of Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, in Madrid, Spain.

Statue of painter Velazquez in Madrid, Spain.

Monument to Columbus, Salamanca.

Monument to human towers, Tarragona, Spain.

Sweden's Statues

In Malmo, Sweden, you might want to see the jolly multi-person parade of statues in the Optimist Orchestra.

Switzerland's Statues

Freddie Mercury (Montreux, Switzerland): A famous 3-meter bronze sculpture by sculptor Irena Sedlecká stands overlooking Lake Geneva. It depicts Mercury in his iconic 1986 Wembley Stadium live pose. 

Rosengarten (Bern, Switzerland): A statue located in Bern's Rose Garden park commemorates the city where Einstein developed his Special Theory of Relativity while working at the Swiss Patent Office.

William Tell statue, Altdorf, Switzerland.

USA Statues

Visitors to New York are greeted by the giant Statue of Liberty. 

A statue of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point, was placed in Times Square, New York, on September 10th 2026, the first anniversary of his death.

A statue of Scottish poet Robbie Burns is in New York, USA.

Another popular place, memorable and recognizable is the Lincoln Memorial, a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln seated outdoors in Washington DC in the USA. 

Albert Einstein Memorial (Washington, D.C., USA): Created by sculptor Robert Berks and located at the National Academy of Sciences, this massive, 12-foot bronze statue depicts Einstein seated on a three-step granite bench with a paper displaying his equations ($E = mc^2$, the photoelectric effect, and general relativity).

University of South Alabama (Mobile, Alabama, USA): Features the "Einstein Bench," a bronze sculpture depicting Einstein sitting on an outdoor campus bench.

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is well known. A more recent mountain carving is Crazy Horse.

In the USA another statue of Einstein which you can sit next to is in Los Angeles at the Griffith Observatory.

Bruce Lee in Los Angeles: Famous life-sized statue honouring the martial artist is along the Avenue of Stars.

More Statues Worldwide

Useful Websites About Famous People and Statues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Hall_of_Fame

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2017/05/wheres-statue.html

https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/artist-sergio-furnari-reveals-his-statue-of-turning-point-founder-charlie-kirk-in-times-square-in-new-york/

https://www.stephenshouseandgardens.com/visit/spike-milligan-statue

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Statues_in_Spain

https://www.un.org/ungifts/pianist (About Arthur Rubinstein)

https://www.mayflowercruisesandtours.com/iceland-greenland-erik-and-leif/

See Tripadvisor for top ten monuments or sites in each country, and Wikipedia for statues in each country.

America has many statues, as well as carvings of presidents, not only Mount Rushmore.

-ends-

Where to follow Alfred Hitchcock in the UK and USA - and remember what he said about actors, audiences, bangs and Cinderella

 UK

1 Tube station, Leytonstone, East London. Depicting the film psycho. The famous symbol of the shower.

2 Plaque Marks His Birthplace in Leytonstone, East London, England, UK.

The birds mural opposite.

3 Statue in Hoxton East London

English Heritage blue plaque marks where Sir Alfred Hitchcock, 1899-1980, lived from 1926 to 1939.

153 Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW5 0TQ, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Photo by Spudgun67.

USA

1 Mount Rushmore

Hitchcock on the set of North by North West.

2 LA Hollywood

Hitchcock Quotes:

Mystery is when the spectator knows less than the characters in the movie. Suspense is when the spectator knows more than the characters in the movie.

I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them.

Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.

I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.

I'm not against the police; I'm just afraid of them.

I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut it.

Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.

This award is meaningful because it comes from my fellow dealers in celluloid.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock

https://www.biography.com/filmmaker/alfred-hitchcock

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is London born and bred and has lived in the USA and visited Hollywood and Mount Rushmore.

Wall Drug, South Dakota - world famous - why?

You stop at Wall Drug driving to Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. Mount Rushmore is 60 miles west of Wall Drug. Photo of Mt Rushmore in public domain because taken by a federal government employee. See Wikipedia for details.

Problem
When we stopped at a giant supermarket in South Dakota and the Tourist Board told us it was one of the state's main attractions, known throughout the USA - and world-famous, I was slightly puzzled.

Now I know why it was world-famous. They started small, with so few customers they were on the point of selling. Until the wife thought of advertising free iced water. Their selling point was 'free iced water'. Their water came from a well in the backyard.

The husband installed advertising wherever he could, non-stop, everywhere. The 3,000 signs along the highways had something to do with it. The great American success story.

They advertised on buses in Britain, buses in New York.

It's a story about the power of advertising, of believing in yourself. The religious couple provided a chapel, where travellers could give thanks for their safe journey, and pray for further safe journeys. A bit like modern chapels in airports.

The son took things one stage further. The store became more like a theme park, full of big models, moving models, photo opportunities. Free water, cheap coffee, and every kind of clothing and souvenir you could think of.

I wanted a cowgirl shirt - or a cowboy shirt. They were too expensive. Eventually, I admitted that I wanted something cheaper. Somebody found me a bargain corner. I bought a shirt.

The moral is, for tourist attractions, advertise, offer something free or cheap. For tourists, if you want a cheaper souvenir, ask for it. As they say, those who don't ask, don't get. They have had ads from as far away as Afghanistan and the Arctic.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Sign for Wall Drug
Date	10 June 2004 (original upload date)
Source	From http://foreversummer.escf.com/pics.html (permission granted under GFDL) Previously at en.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
Author	The original uploader was Jkeiser at English Wikipedia

Licensing[edit]

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License. Subject to disclaimers.

More details on Wall Drug from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Drug
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2216
visitusa.com

July 4 in the USA: what did you and I miss? A quiz for you on the USA.

Map of the USA from Wikipedia.

Problem
I wasn't in the USA on July 4 this year, 2017. The British papers which I read on line, the BBC News and the Daily Mail, did not report much. I found a few people and places in London, such as pubs and American theme restaurants which were offering American food and drink.


In Hatch End we have Baskin Robbins. Their website says:
Headquartered in Massachusetts, USA, Baskin-Robbins is part of Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) along with sister brand Dunkin' Donuts. 

We are forever indebted to the Americans. I remember going to the USA in 1967 and being astonished to see shops selling several varieties of ice cream. Back in London, England, post-war, an ordinary shop or restaurant only had vanilla ice cream. The top places offered you three sorts, vanilla,  chocolate and, if you were lucky, strawberry.

B, back to July 4th, 2017. It was too late to go there because I was out all day in London at Imbibe at Olympia. I had hardly had time to notice it was the 4th of July, and looking at families with children whose faces are painted feels like I'm introducing on somebody else's family party.

One reason for the shortage of news from the USA on July 4th could be that London, England is five hours ahead of New York. So it's still 1pm, lunch time in New York when Londoners get home from work at 6 pm.  New York is still early evening, 7 pm, if we go to bed in London at midnight, if we stay up that late. The West coast, San Francisco is even further away, timewise.

July 4 Picnic
When I lived in the USA, in Rockville, Maryland, in the late 1980s, on July 4th we went for a picnic on a hillside in the south near the military cemetery overlooking Washington DC.  The fireworks were not until late in the evening, a long wait, and they were far away. Now I understand why we saw so little festivity.

We didn't realise that family picnics are just that, like Christmas Day, a day off work when families can get together. We expected parades or events all day everywhere. Nothing much happened in our park. Just a lot of families having picnics. We would have seen more at home all day enjoying our swimming pool in the morning then watching morning parades from the west coast on TV in the east coast in the afternoon.

Never mind. No point thinking about the past. Learn from that. Plan to be where you can see something happening next time.

Another member of my family had a picnic in Central Park on the 200th anniversary in 1976.

July 4 Plans
Nowadays everything is on line for you to enjoy, even if you are in another city or another continent. So what can you see of the 4th of July celebrations that you missed this year?  What could you look out for or join next year?

Answers
1 Don't rely on other people. For your selfie photos stock up on American flags and face paint and keep everything together in a bag with stars and stripes on it, as you would for Christmas. Note where in your attic or basement the American theme items are kept.
2 Check your dirty ahead and see which clubs are meeting that week so you can suggest an American theme. Bake red white and blue cakes or biscuits or put flags on the food. Ask all your friend to bring red white and blue. Find a flag for your emails, websites, newsletters and blogs.

Quiz on America
Plan a quiz for children or adults on:
1 American states.
2 American state capitals.
3 American Presidents.
4 Who was your favourite American President and why?
5 Which President did the most for America?
6 Which First Lady most inspired you?
7 Make a quiz on American quotations.

My Quiz
1 Which year was the Declaration of Independence? 1666, 1776, 1886, 1996?
2 America declared independence from: Canada, France, Great Britain, Mexico, Russia, South America, all of the above?
3 Who was the first American President? Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Washington?
4 Who are the four Presidents on Mount Rushmore? Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson, ....?
5 The National anthem is: America the beautiful. The Star Spangled Banner.
6 The motto is: All for one and one for all. In God We Trust.
7 Where is Mount Rushmore? Washington state? Colorado? North Dakota? South Dakota?
8 Which of these states are on the west coast? California. Washington. Oregon. California. New Mexico? Alaska?
9 Which of these states are on the East coast? New York. Virginia. West Virginia. Florida. Texas. South Carolina, North Carolina. Maryland. R h o d e Island. Massachusetts. New Hampshire. Vermont. ...?
10 Which of these states border Mexico? New Mexico. Texas. California? ...?
11 Which states border Canada? New York State. Michigan. Washington State. North Dakota?
12 Name an American film star who became a President.
13 How many American states are there? And how many stars on the American flag?
14 Name an American female film star with the initials M M.
15 Name an American singer with the initials E P.
16 Buffalo wings are made of what? Chicken. Buffalo.
17 Which American President said: the business of America is business.
18 Which President said: Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.
19 Name three to ten ten tourist sights in the USA in NY, Washington DC, Dakota. Add one American connected site in London, England.
20 Name the previous and current presidents of the USA.

Answers
1 1776
2 Great Britain. Being independent, all of the above also applies, but specifically America wanted independence from Britain. (And from the taxes. Remember the Boston Tea Party?)
3 The first President was Washington. Maybe that's why the capital is called Washington DC. Maybe that's why there is a Washington state, but no state named after others.
4 George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt.
5 The Star Spangled Banner.
6 In God We Trust. All for one and one for all is from the novel The Three Musketeers.
7 South Dakota.
8 See map above. I can tell you. But you will remember better if you look at the map and memorise it.
9 See map above.
10 See map above.
11 New York state - of course, Niagara Falls is both sides.
12 President Reagan
13 How many states in the USA, 50, (although some say, 52, but only if you count 'territories' etc, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC. The stars on the American flag are therefore 50. (13 stripes - recalling the early days of the USA.)
14 Marilyn Monroe.
15 Elvis Presley.
16 Chicken. The dish of chicken wings was invented in Buffalo. I discovered this when I lived in the USA. At the Grand canyon we saw lots of Buffalo. Buffalo wings was on the menu. I was disappointed when I got chicken and not Buffalo. I complained that the server had brought the wrong dish. She thought I was crazy. I discovered my error a year later when I met a lady from Buffalo and asked her if her state had any national dish. Thinking about it, I still blush and wince and cover my mouth and shake my head and tut and run my hands through my hair.
17 President Calvin Coolidge.
18 President J F Kennedy.
19 Statue of Liberty. Mount Rushmore. Lincoln Memorial. Washington Memorial. Benjamin Franklin House museum in London, England.
20 Barack Obama. Donald Trump.

Use as many questions as you like, one, five, ten, or fifteen. Add your own questions. Award prizes or certificates or titles such as Top of the Class and Last But Not Least or Last But Not Lost. (I just made up 'last but not lost'. If you use it, please attribute it to me.)

You can use the quiz to entertain the family when travelling by car or train or plane, having a party or picnic or when hiking. You could make prizes for the winners, which a small certificate. Or list everybody's score and time answering.

On July 4, 2017, I did a competition at Imbibe exhibition at Olympia, London, on the WSET stand. (WSET stands for Wine and Spirits Education Trust.) I was immensely pleased to have my name up on the wall.  Even if everybody's name is on the wall, and you are last, your name is still on the wall.

Photo of Angela Lansbury Proudly Pointing to Her Name on the Top of the Class board at WSET stand at Imbibe, London, July 4, 2017, England. 

Tips For What To See In The USA or UK on July 4

Morning - see parades in person or on TV news. Parades:

Evening - see fireworks. Fireworks: San Francisco. New York.

All Day: Lights on Miami Tower in Florida.

MORE INFORMATION FROM

http://www.baskinrobbins.co.uk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States

US visitor and visa information:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visiting-united-states/

https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en

http://www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org

https://americanmuseum.org (near Bath, England, UK)

WSET

http://www.westlondonwineschool.com/catlist.

Imbibe.com

FLIGHTS

www.virginatlantic.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Author of Quick Quotations (Lulu.com)
Author of Who Said What When (Lulu.com)
My two previous posts are on the IMBIBE exhibition and one post mentions Prince Charles and Camilla. If you work for a tourist board please keep me updated with new attractions, museums, hotels, restaurants, films and books. I have several other posts on Benjamin Franklin, quotations, the USA, and London, England and tourism worldwide, everything from monuments to tips on packing your suitcase. Please share links to your favourite posts.