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 Nearly all of London's major public galleries are completely free so you know you're not compromising on quality by choosing the cheaper option. Lots offer free talks and tours if you time your visit cleverly. Some special exhibitions do attract an admission fee but there's more than enough in each gallery to keep you well and truly absorbed without having to pay to visit these.
 National Gallery Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN The National Gallery dominates over London's Trafalgar Square as it dominates all other galleries in the city in terms of world renown. Some of the finest examples of European art, ranging from 1260 to 1900, are included among the 2300 paintings filling its halls and rooms. Holbein's 'The Ambassadors', 'The Hay Wain' by Constable, and Jan Van Eyck's 'Arnolfini Marriage' are just some of the major attractions. Works on display also include those of Botticelli, Monet, Constable, Van Gogh and Rembrandt. This really is the place to come for top quality artwork spanning a wide spectrum of styles and periods. From the Early Renaissance to the Post-Impressionists, every significant stage in the development of painting is represented in its collection, often by masterpieces. Originally established by Parliament in 1824, the collection belongs to the British public and every effort is made to encourage the public to visit, view and experience the art: free entry, free events, free talks and free tours support this ethos of encouragement and enthusiasm. Regular weekend activities include: guided tours at 11.30am, 2.30pm with extra tours at 12.30pm and 3.30pm on Saturdays, lunchtime talks on Saturdays at 1am, and Art Through Words sessions for visitors with a visual impairment at 11.30am on the last Saturday of the month. Address: Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN Phone: 020 7747 2885 Timing: Daily 10am-6pm (Wed 9pm) Nearest Station: Charing Cross Tube / Rail National Gallery - Information   National Portrait GallerySt Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE This isn't the place to come for serious works of exceptional artistic merit - the overriding aim of the National Portrait Gallery is to reflect the status of the sitter, not the artist - but where else in London could you hope to find The Beatles, Henry VIII, Sir Richard Branson and JK Rowling all hanging out together? The appeal of this gallery (opened in 1856) rests simply in its comprehensive commemoration of British history from the late 15th century to the present day through the medium of portraiture. The sense of progression and the feeling of familiarity with many subjects are what make the gallery so appealing. Having said that, critically acclaimed self-portraits by William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds and other notable British artists are also displayed alongside the 10,000 portraits of everyone from statesmen to showbiz stars and media barons. The collection represents Britain and is arranged thematically, starting with the Tudors and ending with present day politicians and pop stars. Look out for the only surviving portrait of Shakespeare taken from life in The Ondaajte Wing, the Hans Holbein cartoon of Henry VIII, the anamorphic portrait of Edward VI, and the sculpture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in medieval costume. Photographs, caricatures, drawings and sculpture are included in the collection which also boasts 250,000 archived images. The National Portrait Gallery also hosts the annual Portrait Prize competition alongside ever-changing collections of contemporary work. Address: St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE Phone: 020 7306 0055 Timing: Daily 10am-6pm (Thu & Fri 9pm) Nearest Station: Charing Cross Tube / Rail National Portrait Gallery - Information  Photographers' Gallery16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW Tucked away on a small side street near Oxford Circus, the Photographers' Gallery is Britain's leading centre for contemporary photography. With a year-round programme of fantastic free exhibitions and events, the core collection of classic and contemporary photographs is boosted by a more eclectic selection of work by emerging photographers. This compact venue with its defined collections lends itself to short visits and is great for filling in an hour or so in the centre of town. Having said that, the reputation of this small gallery is high, hosting as it does the Deutsche Borse Prize, the photographer's equivalent of the Turner. This is accessible art in every respect. Address: 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1F 7LW Phone: 0845 262 1618 Timing: Mon: Closed; Tues, Wed, Sat: 11am-6pm; Thurs & Fri: 11am-10pm; Sun: 12pm-6pm Nearest Station: Oxford Circus Tube Photographers' Gallery - Information  Serpentine GalleryKensington Gardens, W2 3XA The Serpentine provides a platform for contemporary artists, both British and international, with changing exhibitions. There's a permanent work comprising eight benches, a tree-plaque, and a carved stone circle by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay in the grounds of the gallery which is dedicated to the Serpentine's former Patron Diana, Princess of Wales. In July, the annual Summer Party is a highlight on the party circuit, attracting celebrities, fashionistas and models showing the latest designer dresses. Rather more artistically important is the Summer Pavilion; each year a distinguished architect is invited to build a temporary structure which sits alongside the gallery for the summer months. Often controversial and always a talking point, the Summer Pavilion is arguably one of the most interesting exhibitions that the Serpentine presents. Address: Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA Phone: 020 7402 6075 Timing: Daily 10am-6pm. Tours Sat 3pm Nearest Station: Lancaster Gate Tube Serpentine Gallery - Information  Tate BritainMillbank, SW1P 4RG Overlooking the River Thames, Tate Britain was originally founded through the philanthropy of the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate. The Tate legacy now encompasses three other galleries around the UK, including Tate Modern also in London. Dedicated to showcasing Britain's artistic talent, Tate Britain is home to the greatest collection of British art from 1500 to the present day. Since it opened in 1897, the collection has expanded to include works from Blake, Rossetti, Spencer and Stubbs. It also hosts the Turner Prize - the contemporary art world's premier award. Turner's Gallery (another tribute to the artist himself) is a virtual reconstruction of the room in which Turner showed his own paintings. Address: Millbank, SW1P 4RG Phone: 020 7887 8888 Timing: Daily 10am-5.50pm Nearest Station: Pimlico Tube Tate Britain - Information  Tate ModernBankside Power Station, 25 Sumner Street, SE1 9TG Located along the banks of the River Thames, Tate Modern opened to great acclaim in 2000 and has since welcomed millions of visitors through its imposing doors. If you are visiting for the first time, you should approach from Blackfriars station, crossing Norman Foster's 'Blade of Light' footbridge walking towards this spectacular modernist masterpiece with the dome of St Paul's Cathedral behind you. Housed in the former Bankside Power Station, the gallery pays homage to art from 1900 to the present day. The awesome Turbine Hall creates a stunning entrance and a vast space, used to display temporary installations on a grand scale. There are three levels of galleries enclosed by a spectacular two-storey glass roof that provides fantastic views of London and a great cafe. Full of the jokey eccentricities of contemporary art, it's one of the few art galleries that children and teenagers will enjoy, but it also offers the full set of iconic twentieth century artists, from Matisse to Moore, Dali to Picasso. Justifiably the most popular art gallery in Europe. Address: Bankside Power Station, 25 Sumner Street, SE1 9TG Phone: 020 7887 8888 Timing: Sun to Thu 10am-6pm, Fri & Sat 10am-10pm Nearest Station: Blackfriars Tube / Rail Tate Modern - Information  Wallace CollectionHertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN Free art classes and workshops, talks and tours, bring alive to visitors the varied works of art on display in Hertford House - the original family home of The Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace. European paintings, miniatures and sculpture, French 18th-century furniture, Sevres and Meissen porcelain, goldsmiths' work and Oriental and European arms and armour combine to form one of the finest collections of art amassed by one family. Sir Richard Wallace - the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquess of Hertford - built up the original collection left to him by his father. Several Old Master paintings, notably 'The Laughing Cavalier', works by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Reynolds, Rubens, Gainsborough, Titian and Romney make this gallery a worthy rival of others in the city. Renovations to the town house, which uniquely occupies the whole side of a garden square, include a glass-roofed courtyard - home to Oliver Peyton's brasserie - four new galleries and educational facilities. The acquisitions, bequeathed to the nation by Wallace's widow in 1897, are all free to view. There are regular tours during the week and weekend tours take place on Saturdays at 11.30am and Sundays at 3pm. Address: Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN Phone: 020 7563 9500 Timing: Daily 10am-5pm Nearest Station: Marble Arch Tube Wallace Collection - Information  The Wapping ProjectWapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, E1W 3SG Built in 1890 and originally used to power machinery using steam and later electricity, this unique space is now a thriving centre for the arts. After its closure as a pumping station in 1977, it emerged as a multi-purpose exhibition and performance space. What makes this east London venue so interesting is that, as well as featuring newly commissioned, ever-changing works by visual artists, choreographers, composers, writers, poets, designers and film makers, it still boasts much of the original hydraulic equipment and machinery. The Wapping Project - unlike the Tate Modern which removed all of its turbines - has made a feature of its inheritance. Bathed in atmospheric pools of natural light, pressure pipes, rusty chains, huge hooks, valves and bare brick walls form the backdrop for changing exhibitions of paintings, photographs and performances. The original square boiler house, with its cracked, crumbling walls makes a refreshingly real gallery space. A restaurant and bar are also open in the Engine and Turbine Houses, while the historic pub The Prospect of Whitby can be found on the other side of the road. Address: Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, Wapping Wall, E1W 3SG Phone: 020 7680 2080 Timing: Mon to Sat midday-10.30pm, Sun midday-6pm Nearest Station: Wapping Tube The Wapping Project - Information  White Cube Hoxton Square48 Hoxton Square, N1 6PB A leading part of the ferociously fashionable East London art scene, the first of White Cube's two galleries is invariably filled with some of the world's most cutting-edge art. Owner Jay Jopling is as A-list as the artists he collects. Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Gilbert & George and his wife Sam Taylor-Wood are all represented and their works shown at the two galleries and beyond. Together with the second gallery (at Mason's Yard, Piccadilly), White Cube has over 1,000 square metres of exhibition space. Head down to this Hoxton Square venue for the opening nights of new shows to enjoy free beer with the cream of London's starving young artists. Address: 48 Hoxton Square, N1 6PB Phone: 020 7930 5373 Timing: Tue to Sat 10am-6pm Nearest Station: Old Street Tube White Cube Hoxton Square - Information  Whitechapel Gallery80 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX Designed in a distinctive Arts and Crafts architecture style by Charles Harrison Townsend, the Whitechapel, Britain's first purpose-built arts gallery, is renowned both for the beauty of its light, airy space and for embracing the local community in its work. Founded in 1901, extensive refurbishment saw the gallery, reopened in April 2009, double in size. The gallery does not have a permanent collection, preferring instead to host a constantly evolving programme of works and there is always something free to see. Community projects and retrospective exhibitions now rest alongside landmark examples of contemporary work. The Pop Art 'This is Tomorrow' exhibition of 1956 is often hailed as the gallery's most iconic event, although there are a number of other exhibitions worthy of note. Picasso's 'Guernica' was displayed here in 1938, Jackson Pollock had work exhibited at the gallery in the 1950s, David Hockney's first show was held here in 1970 and Lucian Freud had a major exhibition in 1993. With its pillared supports and high ceilings, The Lower Gallery, in particular, is a fantastic exhibition space. Address: 80 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX Phone: 020 7522 7878 Timing: Wed Fri Sat Sun 11am-6pm, Thu 11am-9pm Pricing: FREE Nearest Station: Aldgate East Whitechapel Gallery - Information |
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