Fodor's Expert Review Parliament Square

Accessing Parliament Square, the green space opposite the Palace of Westminster, isn't always easy—it's regularly filled with protestors hoping to get the attention of the lawmakers across the road. But it's worth the effort to get a closer look at the statues of political figures that line the square. Notable among the 12 are Winston Churchill; Sir Robert Peel, the 19th-century prime minister who created the modern police force (it's because of him that British police officers are known as "bobbies"); U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (this statue is a replica of the one in Chicago's Lincoln Park); Nelson Mandela; and Mahatma Gandhi. The newest statue, erected in 2018 as part of celebrations of the centenary of British women being granted the right to vote, portrays the women's rights campaigner Millicent Fawcett and is the first statue of a woman in the square; it was designed by Turner Prize–winning artist Gillian Wearing.