The National Gallery Reviews

Huge museum, rich collection, well thought recessed lighting - no flickering light on the paintings. The last one is really important - I've been to too many museums with great collections and terrible lighting (Uffizi comes to mind, where they have beautiful Botticelli paintings under glass placed right in front of windows - can barely see what's there)

Paintings in the National Gallery are well placed, in logical order - the museum is really easy to navigate.

I spent 3 hours there and could easily spend twice as much - so big is the collection. Holbein, Raphael, Van Dyck, Renoir - every big European painter is there and well represented.

On top of it, the museum is open 7 days a week and the entrance is free.

IMHO, the National Gallery is must-see when in London.

Most exibitions for free, very educating place to spend time with visitors to London or your family

A wonderful experience. You need to spend a whole week there.

One of the must see monuments in London. And usually beautiful exhibitions here as well

Absolutely amazing. So many iconic works on display. A visual feast

Spend as much or as little time as you have. It's worth it.

Great and spacious exhibitions - would recommend a visit if in the area

A must visit whenver I in London. In particular on a rainy day. Good collection of various periods of European painting. Impressionist not that many but highly representative. And it is unimaginable free!

Best Gallery in London. Take your time and gather inspiration. Turner exhibition is amazing.

Very good place for visit the and explore different types of paintings. I really love the Spanish ones . You must go if you are in London . Is free

This is one of my favourite galleries anywhere, not least because of the highly informative tours they give twice daily. I keep returning again and again, especially for James' tours!

Great paintings from Da Vinci, to Picasso, Velazques and many others.

This place is a very nice place to visit for art lovers. The gallery has a fantastic collection of paintings. We have to go back a few times to absorb a small fraction of the paintings displayed in the gallery.

Notable permanent collection. Van Gogh's sunflowers my personal favourite. Don't miss Michelangelo while it lasts.

Its big, and there is a ton of art! That is an Americans take, lol. It was absolutely gigantic! I am not an art lover, but even if you swiftly walk through every room its likely to take you several hours. Google the number of items on the wall, and multiply by 30 seconds per piece and you might get the average time if you are really browsing fast. There is a lot of good comfy seating though, so be sure to take advantage of that. You feet will thank you! There are also these awesome portable chairs you can carry with you! Those are worth grabbing!

Some beautiful paintings.. Couple of hundreds year old.

The impressionist exhibits are fantastic. And for no cost, awesome!

Amazing collection of the big names , well captioned, in a stunning building with great cafe. And it s free.

One of the best things you can see in London - FOR FREE!

Fantastic collection of artwork with a large range of famous paintings.

Good collection and best thing is the top cafe with great views and it's FREE

Cafe is good for before theatre. National art collection is unrivalled.

Amazing gallery with very friendly staff. Collection is vast and very impressive. Would recommend to pick out what you wish to visit before you go because it s difficult to see everything in one visit!

We saw the Monet & Architecture exhibition in the Sainsbury's wing of the National Gallery. I'd say that it is very badly signed as to where you pick up pre-booked tkts. The arrow pointed to the shop, the shop asst. had no idea what I was talking about. Grrr. The tkt counter was out of view from the entrance. Finally, we saw it by luck.
Exhibition was interesting to us, didn't realise Monet had travelled so much out of France to Holland, Italy & London. So learning curve, but about 5 people deep around the gallery so not the best this time!

One of the greatest Galleries I have ever seen. So much Art!
There is a very nice App for the National Gallery I can recommend.

- lot of master piece
- free admission
- easy to get
- shopping malls nearby
- good learning opportunity

Wonderful historic place. Many portraits. Worldly. They had some famous paintings, like the sunflowers Van Gough painting, others from him, Degas, Monet, etc. Very much worth a visit & numerous return visits.

One of the best Art Galleries the World. Free entry.

A true national treasure and free entry too. A real gem in Trafalgar Square

A must. Look out for the children's guide tour: it's as heartwarming as surprisingly educational.

It's a lovely way to spend an afternoon and it's free!

I love this place. You can just spend a whole day here, enjoy the arts and have peace of mind.

Amazing art pieces, I love the Bible section where they display pieces of art in the Bible stories! Clean wash rooms as well and staff are friendly!

Was amazed last time I came up here. Still really good, although not quite as good as last time

The museum features paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to 19th centuries, including Italian Renaissance masterpieces and French Impressionist works. Beautiful architecture outside and stunning paintings inside

What a place. Amazing!!! Spent about 4 hours inside.

Perfect program for a rainy day.

Great museum, however the audioguide in foreign languages is only partly translated and the paper guide that comes with it is completely wrong and misleading.

Wonderful art museum. It s free but do leave a donation if possible. Not a huge museum so it is possible to bounce around quickly to catch highlights or just focus on your personal interests or spend several hours. Has 2 Rembrandt self portraits that make for interesting comparison of young and energetic Rembrandt and older Rembrandt. Has a few Van Gogh. Sunflowers and Vincent s Chair, 2 Vermeer s, Da Vinci Virgin of the rocks, wonderful landscapes and maybe the best horse portrait of all time - Whistlejacket. There is something for everyone.

One of London best attractions that is fantastically free for visitors! Some exhibitions are paid for, but are generally worth the ticket price as they're extra special. Easy to come here and lose yourself for a few hours!

Just one of the best arts museums in whole Europe that I have visited.

Just stunning displays of art from centuries past. Spent hours looking, relooking, and absorbing the history and inspirations.

Beautiful place packed with masterpieces!
If you live in London or you a travelling, you have to stop here! It's for free. It could take couple of hours to visit the whole place especially if you are into paintings. I really advise you to visit it alone, so that you could lose your self in this magic world full of art and history!

Amazing, entry is free. Donations strongly recommended and well worth it. Very nice mix of classic and contemporary art

Great if you like art galleries. The entrance hall is spectacular for anyone's eyes.

Amazing collection of art. Large crowd for Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

Monet in Architecture exhibition - absolutely superb!!! The free stuff was terrific too.

Amazing museum if you like paintings, free admission.

Wonderful. Exhibitions are very good and audio tour guide is well worth the money. Toilets are few and far between as are benches to sit on but I think you can borrow or hire folding camp stools.
The restaurant looks very elegant but the prices have prevented me from watering there hence the 4 stars not higher.

I doubt I will visit the Gallery any time soon.
This review is to raise attention to the management about stuff members and their behaviours. Specifically one stuff member at the cloak room who's rudeness made me regret my visit to the Gallery.
I visit the Gallery frequently and the stuff has always been polite, even suggested to visit specific exhibitions. The Gallery is not just the home of art, it is also the place where art is being created.
Having a stuff member shouting, being rude and insulting, just because he thought he was in my photo -he was not- was extremely irritating and frustrating. What is also sad and ironic is that the Gallery is a host of photographic exhibitions and they sell books about photography.
Anyway, although I deleted my photo in front of the rude employee the purpose of this review is to remind to the management that i) the stuff as well as other visitors will be photographed unintentionally in such a public place and ii) the rude behaviours coming from/to the stuff or visitors should be addressed.

The National gallery always deserves a visit if you're in London.

A treasure full of exceptional pieces of arts from all over the world. The dutch exhibition is highly recommended.

Always very impressed every time I go there. A place that you can go back from times to times!

Wonderful gallery with a lot of paintings who might make you speechless. There are well known paintings, all of them are really beautiful. Every-one should take a look in The National Gallery!! It is really worth a try.

A true classic, with a huge quantity of top notch works of art by a multitude of great masters. Has to be visited. Entrance is free.

A very large collection of the most famous and beautiful paintings in the whole world

Not that big, good selection but pretty narrow. Doesn't compete with other top notch art museums.

First things we did upon arriving to London! What a great building and collections. Positively great.

Big and quiet place. A lot of different paintings. As place is big and you can take more then one route you can get lost sometimes. The place is divided to sections by years, info tables provides good basic informations about works and artists in rooms. Works are only on room walls so you can easily walk. Chairs/bench are provided in some rooms to rest or just enjoy. Also you can connect to free WiFi.

There is a lot to see. The gallery hosts many famous paintings from artists such as Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, and more. The building itself is a piece of art as well.

The visit to the National Gallery was remarkable !!!

Excellent place to check in a fast visit to the city!

Staff are not polite here, but the gallery is lovely.

Amazing museum with a broad spectrum of art. Compares well to US national gallery, NY met, or Paris D Orsay

A beautiful gallery with some of the best Art in the World, and free too! It s a must visit!

Thank you lovely Nova for helping me with a query about disabled access. I'm now really looking forward to my visit on Friday, thanks to your kind assistance!

National Gallery is another of my favourite place. It is magic and infinite. You just need time, and time again. I've been there every couple of week, and even if I left London I can still see places like this one. Just remember to put some money when you get in!

Well laid out. Option to pay to view new exhibition but plenty to see for free.

Good lots of interesting art, however many paintings of women lactating... bit odd art but good gallery over all.

Great masterpieces and free entry. Exhibitions also good.