National Portrait Gallery
the faces of a nation, reopened
Portraits of the people who shaped Britain, free just off Trafalgar Square, reborn after a three-year revamp.
Free to visit · Trafalgar Square · Leicester Square · WC2H 0HE
Opening: Daily 10:30am–6pm · Fri & Sat to 9pm
The National Portrait Gallery is the nation's family album, a building full of the faces behind the history. Henry the Eighth and his doomed wives, the Brontës, Shakespeare, Bowie, Stormzy, all hung in one free collection tucked just behind Trafalgar Square.
It reopened in 2023 after a three-year overhaul and it has never looked better. A new entrance, reordered galleries and a top-floor café with a cracking view down Whitehall, none of which costs a thing to walk into.
It is the perfect pairing with the National Gallery next door, the art in one and the people in the other. Do them both in a morning and you have seen the best of British painting and the best of British faces for the grand total of nothing.
Getting there: Just behind the National Gallery, a minute from Leicester Square or Charing Cross.
Best time to go: Weekday mornings, or the Friday and Saturday late openings. The top-floor Tudors are the quiet highlight.
Insider tip: Take the lift to the top and work your way down. The Tudor rooms up there are the jewel of the place, and the café terrace gives you a free view straight down Whitehall towards Big Ben.
Official site: https://www.npg.org.uk
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