National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery sits just behind the National Gallery at the top of Trafalgar Square, and it tells the story of Britain through the faces of the people who shaped it. Founded in eighteen fifty six, it was the first gallery in the world devoted to portraits, and it still collects on the same principle: the sitter matters more than the artist. Kings and queens hang near poets, scientists, footballers and pop stars, and the result is less a history of art than a national family album.

The gallery reopened in twenty twenty three after a three year transformation that gave it a new entrance on the north side, brighter rooms and a fresh hang. The collection is arranged in time order from the top of the building downward, so the usual route is to take the escalator to the top floor for the Tudors and Stuarts, then work down through the Georgians and Victorians to the twentieth century and the contemporary portraits near the entrance. Paintings, sculpture, miniatures, drawings and photographs sit side by side.

A first time visitor should not try to see everything. The Tudor rooms, the Romantics and Victorians, and the ground floor contemporary galleries give the full flavour in about two hours. Entry to the collection is free, the building is compact, and the rooftop restaurant has one of the best views in London, looking down Whitehall to Big Ben.