Statues Where You Can Sit and Stand Beside Singers, Writers and Your Favourite Historical Heroes And Heroines

Mark Twain, USA.

The  bronze statue of Mark Twain sitting reading on a park bench is at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

Similar outdoor literary statues are at Elmira College in Elmira, New York (where he wrote many books).

The Beatles, Liverpool, England. Bronze Life size statues of long-haired lads John, Paul, George and Ringo walking along the historic waterfront at Pier Head in Liverpool, England, UK.

Do you want light relief, an escape from stress? Or serious reflection? Or some of both?

You can create light-hearted souvenirs of stays abroad with distinctive photos of yourself leaning against, or measuring tall landmark buildings. Or sit with statues. Here's a list of possibilities. 

I shall start with those nearest me in the UK.

UK Seats and Statues

London

1 The Swan, Piccadilly

2 Mr Bean, Leicester Square

3 Stephen Fry

4 The Wild Table of Love, Praed Street, outside Paddington Station

5 Brunel, inside Paddington station

6 Paddington Bear, inside Paddington Station

7 Churchill and Roosevelt

8 Charlie Chaplin

9 Spike Milligan

UK - England

Lowry

UK - Wales

UK Scotland

Paddington visits, Edinburgh

UK Northern Ireland, capital Belfast

C S Lewis Square Statues

Driving south you come to Eire, the Republic of Ireland and capital Dublin

Ireland

Dublin

Brendan Behan, Irish novelist

 A monument to Erasmus is in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Why should I care about whether a statue is bronze or marble? What difference does it make?

Ask Gemini told me:

Statues created in materials other than bronze differ fundamentally in how they are constructed, how they interact with people, and how they endure the elements over time.

Material Varieties and Differences

• Stone and Marble: Carved rather than cast, stone statues have a heavy, monolithic presence. Unlike bronze figures that often invite you to sit closely on a lap or squeeze onto a bench, marble or stone figures (such as classical busts or historical monuments) are typically mounted on high plinths or pedestals, separating them from the viewer to prevent natural skin oils and weathering from eroding the detailed carving.

• Laser-Cut Corten Steel: As seen in public art installations like the Sustrans Portrait Benches, these are flat, two-dimensional metal silhouettes rather than three-dimensional sculptures. They rely on negative space, crisp profiles, and intentional weathering—forming a stable rust-orange patina—to frame views rather than mimicking a realistic, touchable human form.

• Resin and Fiberglass: Frequently used for modern, lighthearted, or temporary public art trails (such as painted animal sculptures or pop-culture characters), these materials are lightweight, inexpensive, and easily molded into vibrant, highly colorful finishes. However, they lack the structural longevity of metal or stone and are prone to chipping or fading under prolonged UV exposure.

• Wrought Iron and Steel Fabrication: Used for structural or stylized figures (like abstract public art or welded wire installations), these pieces offer incredible tensile strength and transparency. Instead of a solid mass, viewers can often see right through the sculpture, blending the artwork into the surrounding landscape rather than dominating it.

Useful Websites On Seated Statues, Leaning on Landmarks

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/portrait-bench-https://www.photohound.co/spot/cwmafan-portrait-bench-

https://www.bkor.nl/en/beeld/geboortehuis-erasmus/#gallery-2

See my previous posts on seated statues and leaning on landmarks.

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Sit beside the statue of somebody famous

 You can sit beside

Einstein - Washington DC, USA

Einstein - Vail, USA

AUTHORS

UK

Agatha Christie - Torquay, England, UK

USA

Mark Twain - California, USA

Useful Websites

https://www.publicartinpublicplaces.info/PUBLIC-ART-BY-CITY/Cities-A-to-K

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See my earlier posts on statues of people on benches you can sit beside

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Souvenirs From Travels Worldwide

 

One of the joys of travel is finding new things overseas and bringing them back home. When we were living in Singapore and came back to London, I shopped in London for things to take back to Singapore. 

UK's Unique Finds & Souvenirs

NB Check what you are allowed to bring into your home and places en route and what is banned by transport and countries. Many countries ban certain foods, as well as animals and animal products. You also need to watch out for not importing larger knives, replica guns, magazines or tee shirts with suggestive pictures - even in clothing catalogues in the Middle East, or blasphemous sayings, and drugs, including both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs. You might even get in trouble with chewing gum and poppyseeds in Singapore. Fake watches from Hong Kong, even if you knew you were conned and are not giving or selling it to somebody else, could be classified as contravening the law. What else? Shells from the beach in New Zealand.

 Chewable Adcal tablets. 

Egg cups. (Known in India but unknown in Singapore and China, even though they are often made in China, for the British market.)

Lavender soap, bath gel and stick. (Anti-mosquito.) Yardley and others.

Couscous.  

Self-threading needles. (Hotel sewing kits have tiny needles.)

Christmas cake and Christmas pudding.

Christmas crackers.

Marmalade, thick cut. 

Cadbury's chocolates, Thorntons, and many more.

Biscuits, such as chocolate digestives. 

Cheap clothes from Primark. 

Souvenirs showing the union Jack, red phone boxes, and the Royal Family.

Scotland and Scottish Souvenirs

Tartans and woollens.

Whisky.

What have I saved from my foreign travels?

Australian Souvenirs

Aboriginal art. Boomerangs.

Opals in jewellery. Tim Tams biscuits.

Vegemite.

Lamingtons. 

Hats with corks (to keep off flies)

Soft toys such as koalas and kangaroos.

The classic children's book by May Gibbs, who invented the Sumnut Babies, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie.

Austrian Souvenirs

Mozart chocolates.

Belgium and Belgian Souvenirs

Chocolates. 

Lace.

China and Chinese Souvenirs

Chinese carpets from a factory near Shanghai. I bought one which was old and dirty, and flew home to Singapore with the carpet folded in a suitcase. I used the carpet with a table covering the stain and it looked gorgeous.

Silk clothes.

France - French Wines, Food & Finds

Aligote - dry white wine, and Cassis for, Kir, or Kir Royale. We went around the factory. The smell hits you as you walk through the door. Addictive. Sweet.

Chestnut paste.

Pain au chocolat. We had this for the first time in France when it was a novelty. Now croissants and pain au chocolat, called chocolatine elsewhere in France, is available from Tesco Express in England. We heat it up in the oven and it is delicious. Unbeatable.

Double net curtains with left and right halves of embroidered pictures of city or rural scenes for windows and archways.

Flat pancake pans.

Nougat.

Indian Best Buys and Souvenirs

You can buy sarees in London. 

Religious paintings of gods and Goddesses in bright colours with gold paint.

Indonesian Souvenirs

Carvings

Wooden carvings to hang on the wall, 3D.

Israeli Souvenirs

Metal work, jewellery and tableware with symbols such as the six-point star, known to Jews as the Star of David and to Moslems as the Seal of Solomon.

Other symbols are the seven branch candlestick called the menorah, the eight branch (plus one) candlestick called the hanukiah; and the two biblical spies (or surveyors, if you will) sent by Moses) bringing back a huge bunch of grapes.

Diamonds from a diamond factory.

Northern Ireland, Ireland and Irish Souvenirs

From Northern Ireland and Eire, souvenirs from the Guinness Museum, glassware, clothing and bar accessories,  from Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, Eire, going towards Belfast in Northern Ireland, memorabilia from and the Titanic Museum and Game of Thrones.

Irish Whisky. Claddagh rings, showing tow hands holding a heart with a crown. Connemara Marble jewellery and carvings.  

Italy

Prosecco from Northern Spain.

Venetian Murano glass. Venetian masks inspired by the carnival.

Baci Perugia, chocolates.

 

Japan

Kimonos in embroidered silk. Yukatas (thinner, cotton items). See the videos on Facebook which start, only in Japan.

Wooden dolls, painted, wearing Japanese costumes such as kimonos and clogs.

Fans, circular on flat sticks, can be flat discs of strong paper or card, or pleated and folding.

Malaysia

A Moslem country but not Arabic. Modest styles of clothing with high necks, long sleeves and ankle length skirts, not black but bright oriental colours. 

The Netherlands

Diamonds.

Items decorated with windmills.

New Zealand

 I could not remember the name of the gorgeous green iridescent stone so I asked Gemini for souvenirs and was reminded about all of these (which I have edited and shortened.

• Pāua Shell Jewellery & Decor: Derived from native abalone, Pāua shell features an iridescent blend of blues, greens, and purples. It is commonly used in necklaces, earrings, and home accents.

• Māori Wood Carvings (Whakairo): Intricate carvings made from native timbers like Kauri or Totara, showcasing traditional patterns and stories.

Clothing & Textiles

• Merino & Possum-Merino Knitwear: Soft, warm, and highly durable clothing made from local merino wool. Blends featuring brushtail possum fur are exceptionally lightweight and insulating.

• All Blacks / Rugby Apparel: Official merchandise for New Zealand's famous national rugby team.

Food, Drinks & Sweets

• Mānuka Honey: Renowned globally for its distinctive flavor and natural antibacterial properties. (Check your home country's agricultural import rules before flying back).

• Whittaker's Chocolate: An iconic local brand famous for blocks like the Peanut Slab, Hazelnut, and local flavor collaborations.

• Pineapple Lumps & Toffee Pops: Classic "Kiwiana" candies available at any supermarket.

• New Zealand Wine: Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough or Pinot Noir from Central Otago.

Beauty & Skincare

• Rotorua Geothermal Mud: Mud masks and soaps rich in natural minerals from the thermal region of Rotorua.

• Lanolin Cream: Moisturizing creams made from sheep wool oil.

Novelty & Movie Souvenirs

• Pop Culture Keepsakes: Official replicas or prop items from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series, available from venues like Wētā Workshop or Hobbiton.

• Buzzy Bee: A classic wooden pull-toy featuring bright colors that has been an iconic part of New Zealand childhoods for generations.

Portugal

Madeira from the island of Madeira.

Port.

WOW , a wine theme park, like Disney, a day full of attractions, in Vila Nova (new city) de Gaia across the river from Porto, everything from unbreakable drinking glasses to socks with wine themes. 

Sandeman, merchant of Port (fortified red wine 'the first duty of Port to be red' although there is a white one), has a remote hillside centre which cells capes and hats like the ones on the bottle, some big capes and grand hats very expensive, but I bought a cheaper hat.

Madeira, a fortified white wine, from white grapes, from the island of Madeira, where you can tour the huge shop and production area and historic barrels on the rafters (canteiros)  where the wines are cooking in the heat.

Singapore - Special Items

Tiger Balm. with wonderful aromas of eucalyptus, a bit like Vick's Vapour Rub from when I was a child. One dab under your nose and you breathe more easily. I used it most days and still do.

Durian flavour for ice cream and cakes. 

Mango rice.

Paper lanterns.

Spain

Red wine from Rioja, both a region, like Catalounia, secondly a DOC; wine  Admin, appellation. Another use of the word Rioja, thirdly, a type of wine made there. So, the geography, the grape, the style. Rioja Alta, from the highest area, upstream. Rioja oriental (used to be called lowest but that sounded derogatory, so it was renamed East). DOC is the Controlled attribution of the area it comes from. La Rioja Alta, is a company. 

On the pilgrims' walking route across Rioja and the north, the cathedrals have souvenir shops selling religious items and jewellery. 

White Cava wine.

Flamenco shawls with long fringes.

Castanets, for those who are musical or like decorative objects.

Spanish Extra virgin oil.

Fans.

Spanish nougat.

Thailand

Silk clothes and accessories such as bags. Heavy Thai silk with glamorous  appearance for wrap skirts, tops, dresses.

Jim Thomson house has silk.

Compare prices with various outlets. Shops could have cheaper or dearer fabrics than museums and different styles and colours.

Synthetics, not real silk, but glamorous evening wear.

Elephant motifs on clothes, and accessories.

Switzerland

Swiss army knives. Yes you can buy them overseas. But Switzerland has many more combinations of attachments and sizes of penknives. 

USA Souvenirs

Hershey chocolates. Designed not to melt in the heat. Originally ordered for soldiers in hot countries so that chocolates would not melt in their hands, or pockets or kit bags.

Every style of t-shirt and blue jeans you can imagine, at all prices. Sale rails in most clothes shops and stores including seasonal sales, so that the day after the Spring sale ends, the Summer sale starts..

Webster's Dictionary with American spelling which Webster started and promoted to simplify learning for foreigners and immigrants. You can visit his house.

Useful Websites

Australian authors' homes to visit

https://kids.kiddle.co/Norman_Lindsay_Gallery_and_Museum

https://maygibbs.org/story/snugglepot-and-cuddlepies-underwater-adventure/

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Amusements at IAAPA in Excel

 Rope Kids  brand from a company founded in Turkey making safety nets,  started building more nets,  nets then in 2020 selling children's playground nets.

Their biggest project in Europe is in Warsaw for company Jungle Academy Also France, all over Europe and in the USA.. USA indoor and outdoor oak owners, minimum height 4.5 metres. 

In the UK you can see swings at Hobbledown, Horton Lane, Epsom, KT19 8PT.

They are on Instagram, under Rope Kits Official.

In Orlando, USA, partner with Shock theme parks.

I saw their adorable, eye-catching swings at the IAAPA trade show in Excel, London. 

Useful Websites

https://iaapa.org/

www.excel.london

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Countries I have visited - best places, worst moments, wish lists

 I have visited fifty countries.

 My family have had homes in the UK, the USA, Spain, and Singapore.

We have had au pair girls living with us, who came from France, Germany, Italy and Yugoslavia. 

I speak French fluently. I have restaurant Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Dutch. I am struggling to read menus and signs in Greek, Hebrew and Russian (Cyrillic also in Bulgaria) and Chinese symbolic signs (also used in Japan).

ALBANIA

The Best Thing In Albania? 

The colourful capital is Tirana. The colourful buildings in the capital city centre and throughout the country were designed to raise morale at a time of economic crisis.

The Scary Thing In Albania

- Cliffside roads in the remote north. More near Greece, up to wonderful mountaintop cafe viewpoints, and resort south to busy beach resort. 

ANDORRA

Best Thing about Andorra - learning linguistics, languages.

The country's capital is the city of Andorra la Vella. Like the Latin word villa, the word vella originally meant city. 

Wishlist. 

Three countries tour in one day from Barcelona, covering France, Spain and Andorra. 

The Caldea Spa my daughter in law visited while our son was skiing. The Caldea Spa is the biggest in Southern Europe and has multi-level lagoons.

AUSTRALIA 

The best things in Australia

Super cities, Sydney and Perth. 

Pavlova meringue dessert with fresh fruit in the middle. Lamingtons, sponge cubes covered in chocolate and coconut.

The Twelve Apostles, on the great Ocean Road photo opportunity of rocks in the sea.

AUSTRIA

Best things To See And Do in Austria

 Grinzing wine tasting area in Vienna. Learning about Sachertorte cake. I loved Salzberger Nockerl, a large soft floating meringue. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salzburger_Nockerl. Mozart Chocolates sold on the plane and everywhere.

Worst Moments In Austria: The hotel where are room was on the top floor and you needed a coin to operate the lift going upwards. 

The city map which had south at the top which made me as map reader say turn left when signposts told the driver to turn right. 

Wishlist For Austria

Esperanto Museum of the National, library, Vienna, Austria. 

BAHAMAS

The name comes from the Spanish for shallow water.

Wish List for the Bahamas. Hear calypso and watch dancing to soca music at the New Year parade. 

BELGIUM

We went to the Melipark, based on bees, which is now Plopsaland.

https://www.plopsa.com/en/plopsaland-belgium

Best Things In Belgium

Chips (potato chips). Waffles. Chocolate. Beautiful Bruges. Looking at lace, buying lace ear-rings.

Worst problem in Belgium. We were looking for signs to Ghent and only saw signs to Gand. Place names in two languages, French and Dutch languages. You need to know both when driving and looking for signposts. 

Serious and saddest sites, are all the WW2 area of Flanders, such as the Menin Gate. We always seem to stop at In Flanders Field in Ypers. You can find monuments to various nationalities in the places where they fought.

https://destinationwwii.com/wwii-sites-in-belgium/

https://whichmuseum.com/place/belgium-2/t-war

BRAZIL

Wish list. Rio Carnival. 

BULGARIA

Best. Opportunity to learn Cyrillic script, used in Bulgaria and Russia.

CAMBODIA

Best moment - Siem Reap for a tour of: Ankor Wat. Wat means temple, but it is a walled city, takes most of the day to walk along the causeway and around the walls and into the centre and up a central temple. 

Angkor Thom, approaching South Gate, 

Scary moments. Losing our rickshaw at the entrance. One rickshaw when we said goodbye. At the end of the day, a national holiday, there were hundreds, and our vehicle had been told by police to move to the next car park. 

Second scary moment. I lost my rickshaw. Supposed to meet me by the gold Buddha at the entrance. The route through a temple was in one entrance and out the other side. All four entrances had a large gold seated Buddhas. 

CANADA

Best Views - Niagara Falls. 

Quebec City - you can see history, the cliff climbed to conquer the city, by British General James Wolfe. Historic hotel Chateau Frontenac.

Canada Wish List - see the mural revealed by falling tide on the wall of the St John Harbour at the Bay of Fundy.

CHINA 

Best - Shanghai waterfront. Great Wall. 

Wishlist - Terracotta warriors. 

Scary moment - losing my tour group in China where I could not speak a word of Chinese. Getting on a coach tour bus and half a mile down the road discovering they were a German-speaking group.

CORSICA 

Worst disaster - Guitarists played late into the night keeping me awake. The coach to the airport broke down and we were told to cross the road. I was knocked down by a car, had multiple injuries and was not expected to survive.  (1984.) 

Wishlist - Maison Bonaparte.

CROATIA  

Best - Dubrovnik which I visited with my parents from a cruise ship back when it was Yugoslavia.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Best Moments - in Prague, Charles Bridge statues; Franz Kafka Museum. 

CYPRUS Greek and Turkish. 

Best moments - The wine museum. 

Walking across to Northern Cyprus, Greek to Turkish and back to Greek.

Worst - Embarrassment, first asking for Turkish coffee, then Greek coffee, being told it was Cyprus coffee.

DENMARK 

Best - Hans Andersen's Home

Wish list. Legoland in Billund, Danmark.

ENGLAND 

Flag of the United Kingdon

Flag of England.

Best sights, so many: Brighton Pavilion, York Shambles, Cornwall , Lake District - Wordsworth's House, Waddesdon, Bronte House Museum, Yorkshire, Oxford, Cambridge, Hadrian's Wall, Cadbury's Factory. London's Keats House, Dickens House, National Gallery, Tate Modern Gallery, National Portrait gallery, London Zoo, Windsor Safari Park. 

Worst moments, wondering whether you have missed the last train and wondering there the night buses go.

FINLAND 

Best moment. Meeting Santa Claus. 

Worst moment, finding we were naked in saunas, with a large group of people, journalists I was travelling with.

Worst moment. On the same travel press trip, I was offered beef steak or reindeer meat. The latter is rare and very expensive in the UK, so I ordered the former. Later I learned that reindeer meat is cheap in Finland, whilst beef steak is exorbitant.

Wish List

Music museum - Sibelius Museum, Turku, Finland.

FRANCE  

Best Paris

You can visit the chateaux of the Loire Valley. Do a Champagne cellars tour in Rheims.

Worst disaster. My family drove from overnight at our ex au pair girl's home in Rheims, across France to the border. I then realized I had left my passport behind in a passport neck bag on the back or a chair.

GERMANY

Best sites: Romantic road cities such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

Heidelburg barrel. 

Wish list. Upside down house, Bayern, Germany. Legoland.

GREECE 

Best moments. Restaurant meals in Athen's hillside restaurant district, La Plake. 

Learning the story of Alexander the Great in the tomb at the second city, Thessalonkia. 

Scary moment - Earthquake whilst I was in a hotel on Zakinthos island. The drinks in our glasses shook.

HAWAII

HONG KONG 

Best. Sun Yat-Sen museum. Funicular. Disney. Visiting the famous Peninsula Hotel.

Worst - smog.

HUNGARY

INDIA Scary moment. Losing my taxi at a shopping centre with four entrances. All the taxi drivers had dark skins, dark hair and black moustaches. All the taxis had number plates ending in the same three letters which was code for a taxi from that city.

INDONESIA

IRELAND

ISRAEL 

Best sights: Historic and biblical Jerusalem, Art deco (Bauhaus) beach city of Tel Aviv (founded in 1909), kibbutzim, Ein Gedi waterfall into the water by the cave. 

Worst moments: 

Searched before catching a local bus from the bus station in Jerusalem, riding with teenagers carrying what looked like machine guns. At first scary, later reassuring.

Hitching a lift in a van whose driver fired gun shots into the hills which echoed around alerting everybody for miles that we were there. 

At a university in the 1960s finding they did not take money on Friday night so you had to pre book and pay and get a ticket for the meal. Luckily, a student whose friend did not turn up was able to give me and my friend a spare meal ticket.

In 2026 learning that you might be woken twice or more in the night to sirens warning you to go down to a shelter.

ITALY 

Best Sites

Roman Rome, 

Opera in La Scala Milan, 

Umbria Cliffside Etruscan gateway at the entrance to Perugia. Venice.

Wish List. Trulli.

JAPAN 

Miyajima Torii giant gate on the beach, in the water at high tide in Hiroshima.

Worst moment, being asked to how how to eat a fried egg, with chopsticks.

JORDAN Best sigh - Petra. Scariest moment: getting on and off a camel which knelt down and tried to tip me off.

KOREA (SOUTH KOREA)

LUXEMBOURG

MALAYSIA

Best sites. Hill stations. 

Museum and observation deck in Petronas twin towers centre of Kuala Lumpur.

MALTA

MEXICO

MOROCCO Marrakesh - best moment, pigeon pie, and bread kept under conical rafia hats.

NEPAL Best moments - the domed temples with eyes watching you.

NEW ZEALAND

Best moments. Skiing in New Zealand, at Queenstown, South Island. The maze museum. Lam on every menu. BYO. Vineyard Visits. Op shops (which the Americans call thrift shops and the British call charity shops.)

POLAND 

Best moments: eating Borscht in underground restaurants in rebuilt Warsaw. 

Most chilling moments - Auschwitz  Birkenau, but a little ray of hope in the Schindler's Factory Museum

Wish list - Ludwig Zamenhof museum about the creator of the made up language, Esperanto, in Bialystok. 

Wroclaw dwarfs, tiny pavement statues.

Arthur Rubinstein at his piano, statue in Lodz.

PORTUGAL 

Best site. WOW wine theme park on a city hillside overlooking the river. Restaurant with peacocks parading outside.

Mountainside s-bends along the Douro valley from Oporto to Regua which has a museum with smells of wine and flowers, and onwards to Spain. 

Madeira, saw triangular A frame houses called Casas Tipicas at Santana. Walked along the levadas, cliffside walks originally carrying water to farms, now pleasantly overhung by trees and leading to a waterfall. Madeira wine shop Blany's offering guided tour of their historic building and tastings in the capital, Funchal.

ROMANIA

Best. Second Langauge spoken is Italian. Dracula's castle and tourist area. 

Worst - Dracula's Castle. Beware of bears.

RUSSIA

Wish List

Underground stations.

SAN MARINO

SAINT MAARTEN

Best - two languages, French and Dutch, two experiences. 

Worst - Confusing. You might need two visas or passports.

SCOTLAND 

Best Sites

Edinburgth and Edinburgh Festival. Hilltop Castle. Portrait Gallery. Poets' area of old town and museums.Tartans and bagpipes.

Worst Experience. The first time I had breakfast porridge with salt, as is usual in Scotland, instead of sugar, as in England, and sent it back, resulting in confrontation and embarrassment.

Wish List. Burns House. Shetland Islands.

SINGAPORE 

Singapore Best moments - Giant Jewel waterfall, tallest in the world, in Changi Airport. The airport's free Butterfly Garden (two floors, one way, allow time). 

Any journey on the underground, with glass doors separating you from the rails until the train arrives, protecting people on platforms. Everything running frequently, about five minutes average, so sometimes even less. Free toilets on every station. Demonstrations banned. Litter swept by the elderly attendants given employment in food courts. Durian in season in ice creams and cakes. Hotel and apartment complexes with giant or ornamental swimming pools. Marina Bay Sands with an Observation Deck, and infinity swimming pool at the top, and boats on a created canal in the basement.  Get invited to dinner at the Tanglin Club.

Night Safari. Gardens by the Bay. Botanic Gardens, free, containing the Orchid Garden (paid?) 

Raffles hotel. 

The museums including the history museum, with docents (guides) Philatelic (stamps) museum.

Singapore Worst moments, a live crocodile under a boardwalk.

SLOVENIA

Slovenia wish list - Cliffside castle in a cave. Train ride through caves. Poppyseed pastries.

SOUTH AFRICA 

Johannesburg. Pretoria. Cape Town's Table Mountain, with inquisitive dassis (a bit like squirrels) ogling crumbs when we had cake. Memorable Moments in South Africa. Table Mountain. Nelson Mandela sites. Jewish museum mentions Mandela hidden on a farm bought for that purpose by his Jewish supporters.

Wishlist for South Africa - wine trail.

SPAIN

My parents had a one bedroom home in Marbella for years.

Best Moments:In Spain, weirdly shaped hotel Marquez de Riscal, Rioja region. 

In the Canary Islands in 2026, Tenerife, Hotel La Joia Mirador, Absurdia illusions attraction. Vino Museum and Honey Bee museum. 

Worst Moment in Spain - my bag stolen in Marbella. Previously my mother's bag was stolen.

Spanish wishlist - Barcelona's Gaudi Cathedral and other Gaudi monuments in Barcelona and other cities. Some of them require you to park your car and can't be seen from the road. 

Spanish Scary Moments. Cliffside S bends in Picos de Europa.  

SWITZERLAND 

Best Sights

Alprose Chocolate Factory. 

Covered bridges.

THAILAND 

Best sites - Royal Palace. Floating Market.

TUNISIA

TURKEY 

Best sites:

Istanbul Blue Mosque; and Green Mosque

UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Best site: Dubai, largest city

Huge hotels, opulent and gold. Shopping.

UK

Best: London Tower Bridge, British Museum, Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum. Handel and Hendrix museums, Madam Tussauds, Trafalgar Square, Bethnal Green Museum, Horniman Museum and mini zoo, London Zoo, Dickens House. Out in the suburbs, Ruislip Lido train. Harrow School. Sherlock Holmes Museum. Get invited do dinner at the Cavalry & Guards Club or the Civil Service club, or one of several clubs, some with military or overseas associations.

Day trips to Roald Dahl Museum. Waddesdon Manor, 

Lake District. Cornwall, St Ives.

Wishlist Charles Rennie Mackintosh House, Northampton, England. Optical Illusion museum in London. Any Winehouse statue in Camden. Museum of Illusions. Paradox Museum. Twist Museum. Legoland, Windsor. Last Night of the Proms, promenade concert in the Royal Albert Hall.

USA

Best Sites

New York. Empire State Building. Boat tour. Smithsomian Museums, DC. Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada. Blue Ridge Mountain drive along the East coast. Washington DC. Florida art deco. Disney. House museum of Webster who gave us the dictionary and American spelling. House museum of Nobel prize winning author Pearl Buck. Peabody Ducks. Bryce Canyon. Dallas. San Francisco. Golden Gate Bridge. LA Disney. Hollywood stars walk.

Wish List - Graceland, home of Elvis. Napa Valley Wine train. Hemingway House at Key West, Florida. Houdini Museum at Niagara. Queen Mary on Long Beach, LA.

Worst list - crocodiles in Florida.

VIETNAM 

Halong Bay. best sight

Scary moment - first tuk tuk ride at speed from airport to checking at hotel.Tuk-tuk (motorcycle carriage) transfer to hotel in Siem Reap. 

YUGOSLAVIA Dubrovnik, now CROATIA

WALES Brunel's bridge Fishguard Last Invasion Tapestry, Caerleon Roman Museum. Worst disaster. I was driving to my annual writers summer holiday in Caerleon, Wales. On the M4. Another car drove into the back of my car. I had to transfer by train to my destination.

USA Disneyland LA, Disney World Florida, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon.  New York's Jewish Museum, Sex museum and many more.

WISHLIST

CHINA

Terracotta Warriors are on my wishlist.

UKRAINE

BEST TRANSPORT

Tuk-tuk (motorcycle carriage) transfer to hotel in Sien Reap. 

TRAVEL TIPS

1 Keep a track of your own best and worst holiday experiences.

2 Make an Excel document of trips, hotels, museums, favourite food.

I am compiling this all week. Come back every day for updates on mine.

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.

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