National Gallery - Introduction

By Travel & Places Last updated Saturday, March/23/2024

National Gallery - Introduction

The National Gallery in London takes up the entire north side of Trafalgar Square. It houses one of the finest collections of Western European paintings in the world from around 1250 onwards. Its masterpieces include artworks from Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Cezanne, Hogarth, and Gainsborough.

The neoclassical National Gallery is not based on a former royal collection which is why we do not call it the Royal Gallery.

It started as late as 1824 when the British government agreed to buy 38 paintings belonging to the Russian banker, John Julius Angerstein for £57,000 (US$112,000 approx.). Initially the paintings were displayed in Angerstein's home on The Mall (the road between Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace) but a larger site was needed and Trafalgar Square was chosen.

The National Gallery was established for the benefit of all, not just the privileged. It has always been committed to maintaining free admission as well as keeping a central London location with access for everyone, plus extended opening hours. The paintings belong to the public.

How to Get to the National Gallery

Address:
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5DN
Location map

Nearest Tube Stations:

Charing Cross
Leicester Square
Embankment

Telephone: 020 7747 2885
Email:information@ng-london.org.uk

Web:www.nationalgallery.org.uk

For more information, see the National Gallery Getting Here page.

Find out what other visitor attractions are close to the National Gallery.

National Gallery Opening Times

Free every day from 10am to 6pm and open late on Friday to 9pm. (Closing commences 5 minutes before time stated.)

The quietest time to visit is early on a week day morning.

Closed: 24, 25, 26 December, and 1 January.

National Gallery Ticket Information

Entrance to the National Gallery's permanent collection is free, although a suggested donation is requested.

Some major temporary exhibitions have to charge an admission charge. This is because large temporary loan exhibitions cost an enormous amount to organize, including the cost of transporting paintings from abroad, research, publicity costs, and producing supporting information.

Each charging exhibition has its own address for purchasing tickets, check the Future Exhibitions and Current Exhibitions areas of the National Gallery web site for individual details.

Tickets for charging exhibitions can be bought online (booking fee), by telephone through a booking agent (booking fee), or by post from the National Gallery.

National Gallery - Shopping + Food and Drink

Shopping

Don't forget to buy your souvenir Van Gogh's Sunflowers T-shirt or your Monet's Water Lily Pond mug!

There are three shops in the National Gallery, each offering an individual selection from the huge range of collection-related merchandise.

The National Gallery shops are open daily from 10am until 5.45pm.

Sainsbury Wing
(Level 0 = Ground Floor)
This is the largest shop and has an extensive bookshop as well as an exclusive range of jewelry, gifts, postcards, posters and Print on Demand - the technology to print your own art reproduction from the collection.

Portico
(Level 2 = Top of the main entrance stairs)
The shop by the main entrance to the Gallery offers everything you need for a visit, including guidebooks, postcards, posters and gifts.

Main Building
(Level 0 = top of stairs/lift access)
By the Sir Paul Getty entrance for art magazines and periodicals, as well as a range of guidebooks, gifts and postcards.

Food and Drink

There are three places for food and drink in the National Gallery:

National Dining Rooms
Sainsbury Wing - Level 1
A modern British restaurant - best for real 'dining'.
The National Cafe and Bar
East Wing - ground floor (near Getty Entrance)
Open till 11pm most days. Self-service area (usually busy), waiter service brasserie (own entrance on St. Martin's Lane), offers Afternoon Tea.
Espresso Bar
East Wing - Level 0
Self-service light snacks with hot and cold drinks. My personal favorite as it's good if you are visiting alone as there are no real tables - you simply sit in front of an ArtStart touch screen and search the National Gallery's collection and plan your visit.

National Gallery - Access

More than 1,000 paintings from the National Gallery's collection of Western European artworks are on display on Level 2.

Check the Access page on the National Gallery web site for the latest details or pick up an Access Guide from the Information Desk on the ground floor (Level 0) of the Sainsbury Wing. Also see the Visitor Facilties and Access Events, Tours, and Services pages on the National Gallery web site.

Entrances and Lifts
The Sainsbury Wing

level access from Trafalgar Square
one internal automatic door
wide swing doors
two revolving doors
There are large lifts with low-level controls giving access to Level 2
This entrance is most convenient for taxis and set down and pick up, and closest to the parking bays.

The Getty Entrance

automatic doors
platform lift give access to Level 0 where there are café, shop, visitor facilities, information and Audio Guide Desks, and a large lift with low-level controls up to the paintings on Level 2.

Main Portico Entrance

an elegant route to the main staircase and the galleries on Level 2.
There are two information desks and visitor facilities, including toilets and cloakrooms, are situated close by.
The Portico Entrance is the only entrance/exit with no level access.

Education Centre Entrance

close to the reserved parking space in Orange Street.
This entrance is used by many school groups and can be crowded and noisy.

Signed Guided Tours

BSL (British Sign Language) tours are on the first Saturday of every month at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

Blind Sessions

Art Through Words is on the last Saturday of every month and examines one painting in detail. Check the Art Through Words page on the National Gallery site for forward planning.

National Gallery Family Activities

There are free paper trails available every day plus the ArtStart (multimedia screens) tour ideas and audio guides. Paper trails are available from the information desks. Audio trails are available from the Audio Guide desks (a small returnable deposit is required). Weekends and UK school holidays mean a lot more stuff for the kids so it's a great time to visit with the whole family.

The Activities for Families page on the National Gallery web site provides up-to-date details of all activities, tours, and trails for families and young people.

National Gallery - ArtStart

ArtStart is the National Gallery's multimedia system that allows you to search the collection and helps you plan your visit. I strongly recommend starting your visit to the National Gallery with a short time getting to know your way around on the ArtStart system. It offers lots of themed tours and even allows you to choose ten paintings you would most like to see and then prints a map of where they are in the Gallery!

On the front screen there is an I've got one hour option which offers a great introduction to the National Gallery.

ArtStart gives you information on every painting in the National Gallery's extensive collection. It is well-written so you do not need to be an art expert to understand. Nor do you have to be good with technology; ArtStart is a touch screen system so there's no mouse to use and it is well-designed so you do not need to read instructions - you can just get on with checking what you would like to see.

ArtStart features 30 paintings which are highlights of the National Gallery's collection and gives more in-depth information on these, including video and audio clips. (These 30 paintings are also on the free paper floorplan available at the Information Desks in six languages).

ArtStart Locations

Espresso bar and multimedia room (my favorite hang out!) - visitors can browse the collection at their leisure over a coffee (Level 0, East Wing)
Sainsbury Wing - Level 1, next to the National Dining Rooms restaurant

Two screens in the Sainsbury Wing foyer
Two screens on the link between the Sainsbury Wing and the main building - Level 2

The National Gallery has an incredibly large collection of Western European paintings from 1250 onwards.
The free floorplan (in six languages) available from the Information Desks has thumbnail images of 30 paintings considered to be the most well-known of the paintings on permanent display. These include:

The Arnolfini - Van Eyck (much smaller than you imagine)
Venus and Mars - Botticelli
The Virgin of the Rocks - Leonardo da Vinci

The Madonna of the Pinks - Raphael
Bacchus and Ariadne - Titian
Samson and Delilah - Rubens Self Portrait at the Age of 34 - Rembrandt
The Supper at Emmaus - Caravaggio
Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame - Drouias
'The Stonemason's Yard' - Canaletto
Sunflowers - Van Gogh
Bathers at Asnieres - Seurat
'The Rokeby Venus' - Velázquez

Use ArtStart - the National Gallery's multimedia touch screen system - to plan your own personalized tour and print a free map.

Peepshow

In room 17, Level 2, there is a 17th century peepshow/perspective box by Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678). Inside you can see the interior of a Dutch house through peepholes on two sides and it has a 3D effect. Fun for everyone.

Glass Roof

Rooms in the main building (not the Sainsbury Wing) have some stunning glass roofs. See rooms 35, 36, 37, 39, and 40.

Audio Guides

An audio highlights tour is available in six languages. This is free but a donation is suggested. Special tours for families are also available.

Free Guided Tours

Meet at the Information Desk in the Sainsbury Wing.

Daily at 11.30am and 2.30pm.
Check for more free events.

Use the cloakrooms (suggested donation) as the gallery is warm.
Start your visit by using ArtStart. It offers themed tours and even allows you to choose ten paintings you would most like to see and then prints a map of where they are in the Gallery!
If you use the Getty entrance go to the Espresso Bar (cloakroom and toilets nearby).
If you start at the Sainsbury Wing, the cloakroom is on the ground floor, then go up to Level 1 to the ArtStart room (next to the National Dining Rooms - restaurant).

On the front screen of ArtStart there is an I've got one hour option which offers a great introduction to the National Gallery.
No photography permitted so make good use of ArtStart where you can print information about the paintings.
The quietest times to visit are early on a weekday morning and 6-9pm on Friday.
For easy access use the Getty Entrance to the right of the main stairs (Portico Entrance).
Take photos of Trafalgar Square from the top of the Portico Entrance steps - great view of Big Ben in the distance.
The National Dining Rooms (the restaurant on Level 1 of the Sainsbury Wing) has a children's menu.
The National Cafe (Level 0 of the East Wing) has extra seating in a side room. Walk through the self-service area from the Getty Entrance and turn right before the waiter-service area. This room also has highchairs for feeding small children.

Understanding the Floorplan

Available in six languages, all including 30 highlights of the collection. The rooms are color-coded by date, e.g. blue = paintings from 1250 to 1500 and orange = paintings from 1600 to 1700.

National Gallery Introduction

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