National Portrait Gallery
Art Gallery and Art Museum
Piccadilly, London
The folks at Michelin Travel & Lifestyle and Time Out London like this place. Would you agree?
"... it's right behind the national gallery. Tons of paintings and sculptures from..."(9 Tips)
"vintage photos from the masters and Vogue 100 years celebrations"(4 Tips)
"annual taylor wessing photography prize"(3 Tips)
"Man Ray portraits exhibition is really good - he knew everyone!!"(3 Tips)
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My favourite museum in London. If you like portraits, it's definitely a must visit!
Chris PhillipsOctober 31, 2015Fascinating place - one can learn so much about history from the people who shaped it.
Johanan OttensooserDecember 31, 2015Really fun gallery with a great selection of temporary exhibitions
Randall & AubinMarch 14, 2013A host of activities available at this historical British Institution, including free art classes. And let's not forget the portraits themselves!
National Maritime MuseumJuly 11, 2011The NPG’s collections feature 85 portraits of Nelson, including Gillray’s 1798 caricature depicting him clubbing a group of writhing crocodiles representing French warships. Find your maritime story. Read more
Josef SzottenDecember 28, 2014The Taylor Wessing Portrait Photography Prize is always a good choice. Lots of talent and beauty in these images.
The Portrait Gallery Restaurant has a great little bar for a decent cocktail and a great selection of gins!
The New Yorker ManagerFebruary 1, 2013Read Janet Malcolm on the creation of Thomas Struth's monumental photograph of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, created in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee: Read more
Chris R (thechristophe)May 14, 2018The exhibitions aren't the most ground breaking. Permanent collection is worth seeing.
Katya MatveevaOctober 23, 2014The gallery itself is very nice, but the restaurant on the third floor is awful! 30f for the set of miserable sweets for person? 25minutes of whiting for some more water?? Sights in window are great
HaeAn SungMarch 24, 2015A lot of portraits! Enjoyed especially the Narrative portrait of Sir Unton and David Beckham's short film of his sleeping ☺️.
Sarah TaylorFebruary 16, 2015Great Grayson Perry at the moment. Get a coffee before going as navigating internally is a nightmare
Tom MaxwellDecember 10, 2016Interesting the personal qualities valued over different centuries, and the physical positions portrait subjects took to emphasize them.
Victor ChernyavskiyMay 12, 2012Visit at Thursday and Friday till 21:00 (late night) and get a chance to have a drink and see a performance.
- K BJune 24, 2023Just reopened after a revamp
MirandaFebruary 13, 2010Open til 9pm on Thurs and Fridays. It's mostly free. Only bother with the ground floor exhibits. Get up close and personal to Sir Paul Maxime Nurse in Room 35. Fabulous view from top floor bar.
Purple FrogMay 21, 2011Find the small but perfectly formed portrait of the great Ronnie Corbett in Room 41a and the iconic Blur album cover by Julian Opie in Room 35. Read more
- prima filiNovember 12, 2017It’s great for practicing your portrait sketching skills. Staff won’t make a fuss about you drawing.
Hanna KayJanuary 14, 2016It's free and even if you don't like the paintings you can get a history lesson.
ChrisJanuary 3, 2017My favorite portrait: Lord Nelson. It's interesting to put faces to all the names in the history book
Temporary exhibitions are a hit or miss. I recommend researching a bit before spending 15£ on a ticket. Permanent collection is free.
Stephanie FosterNovember 28, 2015In the shop- some of the prettiest Christmas tree decorations - historical figures
Tom DepypereJanuary 13, 2013On the top floor there is a restaurant with a magnificent view. Just magnificent. Why not have dinner there?
Jess BurvillApril 6, 2012Go to the gallery lates to avoid tourist hordes, and of course dont leave without stopping for a cocktail at the bar updstairs first
Harald B.August 20, 2014Representative cross section of portrait painting of every century of every style
Kasia KoczułapSeptember 27, 2016Impressive collection of portraits. Kate is here nowy, so I wait for the royal children.
BLOUIN ARTINFOAugust 22, 2011The Gallery was founded in 1856 as the first in the world - quite independent from collections of royal, family or business portraits. Read more
Y KimJanuary 24, 2015You might think a gallery filled with portraits must be boring but actually it is not. One of the must-see galleries/museums for sure.
KellyApril 24, 2014The gallery actually closes ten minutes before the posted time. Arrange your visit accordingly.
HISTORY UKFebruary 15, 2011One of the gallery’s most famous pictures is the Chandos portrait, which is said to be of William Shakespeare by his friend Richard Burbage. But some dispute its provenance.
Sherie SwerdlowApril 6, 2014It's not just old stuffy portraits. Lots of younger, cool, hip portraits as well.- Natasha 'Tashster' BrassingtonFebruary 25, 2011Be sure to try to get someone to do one of you before you leave; state that you feel it's an insult you aren't on the walls and watch the reaction!
Nico MacdonaldOctober 17, 2010The cafe/restaurant at the top has a great view but if it's busy try the cafe in the crypt of St Martin-in-the fields, opposite.
Cass ArtAugust 16, 2012Vote for your favourite portrait at the BP Portrait exhibition and be in with the chance of winning a Cass Art Artists' oil box set
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Open until 6:00 PM (Show more)
- Mon–Wed, Sat–Sun
- 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
- Thu–Fri
- 10:00 AM–9:00 PM
+44 20 7306 0055
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Free
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- 8.3
"I was really quite impressed. Good exhibitions and friendly staff. Open late on Thursdays."
Alistair - 9.2
"Loved the gallery and its content, its easy and cosy to go through it"
Giorgi Merebashvili - 9.0
"The ICA offers free wifi and great coffee ideal for a causal working meeting or arty elevenses."
Dave Marshall
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- 9.2
"My favorite area, beautiful location. Close to Leicester square, and several great food stops."
Chelsea Bradley - 9.4
"Absolutely love it!! Extensive collection of paintings from a multitude of different artists. Entrance is free ;)"
Alex Curiel - 8.7
"Very nice fountain and gardens. The place is the heart of London. Extremely crowded during weekend nights! People from all over the world meet there! :-)"
Andrea Lazzarini
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