National Gallery of Canada Reviews

Great art gallery in a lovely building. Interesting special exhibitions. Free entry on Thursdays after 6pm.

I really enjoyed my time there. They had everything from the very weird to paintings I enjoyed. Sculptures wer cool, too. We went the end of May so some parts were not open yet. That's the only downside.

The national gallery is always a bit of a disappointment. If culture and varied art is what you want, go to the AGO. The NAG rarely has pieces of real interest in their collection.

Great place to visit. I went one Thursday evening (admission was free). You really need several hours to work your way through the gallery. There's so much to see. Gift store has lots of nice things too.

if you go to Ottawa this is the first place that you should visit without a doubt

A little too biased on Art,I thought it is supposed to be a National Gallery for all types of artifacts.

It was a weird exhibition, with noisy screens plopped among the paintings. Really messed up the flow.
Some of the video clips also seem to be much ado about nothing. 5 seconds of No Country for Old Men, cycling endlessly, and the same for the 2 or 3 minutes of Moonrise Kingdom? And the JFK funeral procession? And then a huge triple screen of 2 boys wrestling -- this one, in particular, seemed a pointless addition.
The paintings by others were just plopped in without warning, too.

I have seen many very well put together exhibitions at the National Gallery, but unfortunately, this wasn't one of them.

Visited over a decade ago; still a subpar artistic experience. When the best things people have to say are about the building, parking, and food, you know they continue to fail on being an art gallery. Doesn't compare with the Getty in LA, or the Met, or even the AGO. Almost none of the works here speak of skill, knowledge, or genius.

I go here to use the Parking. Its expensive but its patrolled by Security and its safe.

You can find a few Van Gogh paintings in this museum. Different periods of Western paintings are shown. Very educative..

Fabulous collection! Reasonable price. Went early and it wasn't busy at all.

This is a real gem. Amazing pieces from Rembrandt, Picasso, Van Gogh, Klimt, Matisse, Monet, Cezanne and so many more -- and the native and indigenous gallery is also a must see. Just a gem of a museum!

The National Gallery and the famous spider Mom. All a show, next is the basilica.

Feels really empty, exhibits are so spaced out that it feels boring.

Great displays. You probably will need more than one day to appreciate all of the museum.

Beautiful place to visit. Free on Doors open Ottawa.

Absolutely adored visiting this place. Art there is awesome and made my day!

Superb building. From Native American art to modern art with an emphasis on Canadian painting.

I visited the remarkable exhibition of artist Alex Janvier, master of indigenous modern art on Thursday, April 13.

Wanted to see the Canadian gallery, including my favorite art pieces. Well laid out with the paintings and complemented by artifacts and clothing adjacent to the works, a better historical context. The exhibition works backwards in time from contemporary to earlier periods. It was a quiet relaxing visit without crowds first thing in the morning.

Beautiful building and stunning bit of modern architecture. It s worth visiting even without looking at the exhibits which are expensive and interesting. Parking is a little expensive so if you have the option to take public transit, it s within easy walking distance of the Byward market and Many of the downtown hotels.

Good place to relax after long walks in the downtown. Staff at the museum was quite friendly.

One of the most beautiful and interesting places to visit in Ottawa

Beautiful building in downtown Ottawa. Free place to leave your belongings. Great giftshop with perfect ideas for gifts. On Thursdays it is free on the afternoons.

Always on the to do list. Gift memberships for students are a great deal.

Amazing museum, it is huge! There is a lot to see! From contemporary to native to european, it would take a few hours to see everything.

I love the exhibits at the national gallery, but when we went as a school tour in spring 2018 the staff were incredibly rude to our students and were not supportive in answering our questions. The guide we had was lovely and did a nice job of showing kids how to analyse and look at art in a critical manner. Many of the pieces we wanted to see were off display due to renovations, like the Death of General Wolff.

The gallery is the only public museum open during the pandemic and is doing an excellent job of both ensuring that people are wearing masked and limited the numbers. I felt perfectly safe while viewing the collection with few people there.

Accustomed to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts where everything is always impeccable and stimulating, I was disappointed by the poor signage and the installation without creativity. The exhibition GAUGUIN deserved better enhancement.

Super interesting place to visit with my personal favorite the chapel but it has tons of different art styles from everywhere such as Inuit art Impressionisms and a lot of other great places to visit it also has a nice little lunch area to have a break and it s air conditioned

Huge gallery , needs more than one whole day to fully appreciate it's beauty

Such an awesome gallery with lots of masterpieces from Picasso, Dali, Munch etc. There were a number of mediocre art exhibited maybe to promote less known artists. Overall, totally recommend to those who visit Ottowa.

We love coming here to read. It's the perfect place to do homework, read a book and get to see the exhibits with a beautiful view to boot. Membership, well worth it.

Great gallery and collection. Complimentary coat check is greatly appreciated. Very friendly staff!

Most beautiful Art Gallery that I have visited in Canada. The permanent exhibit is fascinating, and aboriginal art is at its forefront. The temporary exhibits are also often masterful, such as Monet's bridges. If you are looking for a Museum in Ottawa, this should top your list.

It was ok, we went for free and stayed only for a couple of hours. I expected more from a National Gallery. As others have noted, the collection is surprisingly sparse, surpassed by the AGO in Toronto, and there are no "destination" pieces here that are must sees. I would not pay to attend. The huge spider out front is a little misleading.

Outstanding collection. Confusing layout but worth exploring every corner

The National Gallery of Canada is great. It has many famous paintings from Canada such as the group of seven and Warhol.
The National Gallery also has many great Canadian paintings from First Nations. I highly recommend you to visit the National Gallery of Canada if your going to Ottawa. Make sure to checkout the Maman

Beautiful building with a wonderful Canadian collection, albeit it was quite small when I went to visit obviously due to renovations. The climate change exhibit was very moving and the highlight of my visit! Free on Thursdays after 5PM

One of the art worlds great treasures. Great for an afternoon outing.

The near section and Indeginous art is fantastic. Good to see all my old favourites.

Don't forget to get there on Thursday 4pm~8pm for free.

This is a great museum. It is right downtown, within walking distance of the market and a lot of parks. There are also some installations outside, which makes for a great place to sit and relax in the summer. The building itself is beautiful and the art is always interesting. There are also interactive projects and crafts to keep kids busy. I would recommend this museum to anyone no matter their age or interests. I think there is something for everyone here. Also, thursdays there is free entrance

The North American art exhibition inside is very distinctive and the whole space is very comfortable.

A must see mecca for modern art lovers, but today punctuated by a moving, emotional journey through the Impressionist visiting collection.

Great presentation of the arts.. could have a bit more varity painting wise....mostly historical period painting

I just love to spend the day here. Art all around. It's Canada's national gallery. The best!

The gallery also contains works by Italian painters. Free admission on Thursdays after 16.00.

My kids love to visit this gallery almost every year. The arts on display are amazing! Admission fees are reasonable.

Barely anyone. Guides & staff are super polite, helpful & creative. It is also FREE now. Come to check it out.

The National Art Gallery of Canada was established in 1985 it is a mobile accessible building with ramps.

DOORS automatically open, as you get closer to the building.

WASHROOMS are clean and have an accessible toilet stall for those who need to use it.

GIFT SHOP has been nicely re-designed to make it easier to find gifts alike.

Prepare for a half to full day when you want to explore the galleries. It's helpful that they have chairs you can bring with you, and with scooters available for people with mobility challenges. Grab a map if you're a first-timer. Just ask for the nearest washroom and water fountain. Please do not touch installations or pieces without asking. Make sure to hydrate, snack for a while at the cafe, and look around the gift shop. Try to reduce visit time to the contemporary gallery/ies if you have vision-triggered conditions.

Can't say enough about this iconic gallery. Not to be missed: free coat check and great gift shop, the gospel chapel (this place has beautiful music playing all around you - feels like sound therapy), the group of seven painters in the Canadian collection, the contemporary art, and Indigenous art collection is wonderful. It really is the best of Canadian art.

Your typical gallery. Big and pretty crowded. Every floor has different type of paintings/pictures. There's a sitting area/indoor pond & garden in the middle. Standard souvenir shop. Good service. The ticket counter lady is very nice and accommodating. They seem to have sensory play/learning area and I'm sad that I didn't have the chance to check it out.

I loved it so much, I'm visiting it twice this week. Worth the admission.

I loved. You have to visit at least once in your life.

Wonderful art, obviously. Some great interactive displays and self portrait sets. Very helpful security guards and info desk staff. Grear gift shop too.

The museum's building has very interesting architecture. Big arts collection with interesting special exibitions.

Very well we stayed 4:30 and we go back to see the top floor Thursday at 5 pm is free.

Interesting exhibits, modern architecture,
Highlight: Rideau Street Chapel