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National Portrait Gallery

A free collection of portraits of notable British figures from the Tudors to the present day, just behind the National Gallery.

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National Portrait Gallery, museum in London
Photo: No Swan So Fine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you know

Founded in 1856, it was the world's first purpose-built portrait gallery and holds its portraits on the principle of the sitter's historical importance rather than the artistic merit of the work.

Local tip

Go on a weekday morning right after the 2023 reopening refresh, since the new ground-floor galleries and Weston Wing entrance on Ross Place draw fewer crowds than the Trafalgar Square side.

Finding it

Address
Orange Street, St. James's, East Marylebone, Covent Garden, City of Westminster, Greater London, England, WC2H 0HE
Nearest station
Charing Cross (Tube), 184 m away

Details change, so check with the place before you set off.

More places nearby

  • National GalleryMuseum · 50 m awayA free national collection of Western European painting spanning the 13th to 19th centuries, overlooking Trafalgar Square.
  • The HarpNightlife · 150 m awayA narrow, award-winning real-ale pub just off Covent Garden, repeatedly named London's best pub by CAMRA.
  • The SalisburyNightlife · 200 m awayA late Victorian West End pub on St Martin's Lane with etched glass, carved wood and bronze Art Nouveau nymphs, listed on CAMRA's National Inventory of historic pub interiors.
  • Trafalgar SquareLandmark · 200 m awayA public square commemorating the Battle of Trafalgar, dominated by Nelson's Column and flanked by the National Gallery.

More museums

See all 85 museums in London