Walker Art Gallery and Waterloo Column, Liverpool

The Walker Art Gallery and the Waterloo column, in Liverpool

The Walker Art Gallery is one of the largest art galleries of the United Kingdom outside London, neighbour of the tall Waterloo column. The Liverpool audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this free museum with its rich collections of European painting, and the monument raised in memory of the victory of Waterloo, that together crown the neoclassical cultural district of the city.

The great art gallery and its monument

Here is the Walker Art Gallery, one of the jewels of the cultural district of Liverpool. This art gallery counts among the largest of the United Kingdom outside the capital, and, like most of the great institutions of the city, its entry is free. It shelters a remarkable collection of European paintings, from the Italian and Flemish Renaissance to the British masters and the modern artists, by way of fine sculptures. It is sometimes nicknamed the National Gallery of the North, so much the quality of its works is recognised. The building itself, of neoclassical style, impresses with its columned façade and its allegorical statues. Just in front rises the Waterloo column, a tall monument erected in memory of the famous battle of 1815, where the coalition troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington put an end to the Napoleonic epic. The column, surmounted by a statue, pays tribute to this victory that durably marked the history of Europe. The ensemble, between culture and memory, illustrates the civic pride of Liverpool in the nineteenth century, when the city, enriched by its port, endowed itself with great buildings worthy of the finest capitals. Today, this corner of the cultural district, classified partly by UNESCO, offers an ideal halt between art and history. An art gallery and a commemorative monument, the Walker Art Gallery and the Waterloo column are a fine stop of the discovery of Liverpool.

What to see

Here you admire one of the largest art galleries of the United Kingdom outside London, free, with its rich collections of European painting from the Renaissance to the moderns, nicknamed the National Gallery of the North; in front of its neoclassical building stands the tall Waterloo column, erected in memory of the battle of 1815. The Walker Art Gallery crowns the cultural district of Liverpool. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Walker Art Gallery lies on William Brown Street, in the cultural district of Liverpool, reachable on foot; the Waterloo column stands nearby. The entry of the gallery is generally free and follows the hours in force, which vary. It is best to enquire before coming.

What to see at the Walker Art Gallery of Liverpool?

This great free gallery, nicknamed the National Gallery of the North, presents a remarkable collection of European paintings, from the Italian and Flemish Renaissance to the British masters and modern artists, as well as fine sculptures; in front of its neoclassical building stands the Waterloo column, erected in memory of the battle of 1815 that put an end to the Napoleonic epic.