A veces todos necesitamos un poco de inspiración. Ya sea porque pasamos demasiado tiempo viendo televisión de mala calidad o porque trabajamos demasiado y disfrutamos muy poco, una pizca de inspiración puede marcar la diferencia. ¡Así que sal ahí fuera y déjate inspirar! ¿Y a dónde deberías ir para encontrar ese dulce néctar inspirador? Pues a una galería de arte, ¡obviamente! Por suerte, Londres está repleta de galerías y esas galerías están repletas de arte. ¿Te estarás preguntando cuáles visitar? No busques más. Con una preparación minuciosa, hemos diseñado la lista perfecta aquí abajo, solo para ti. Sigue leyendo y descubre las mejores galerías de arte en Londres. Incluye:
Tate Britain
Tate Britain, el museo anteriormente conocido como Tate Gallery, es una de las galerías de arte más famosas de Londres. ¡Entra y encontrarás un mundo de inspiración artística esperando a que lo descubras! La exposición Spotlights de la galería destaca obras fascinantes de artistas menos conocidos, ¡así que no te la pierdas! La colección Turner también te ofrecerá un buen alimento para el alma.
Tate Modern
Tate Modern, el hermano pequeño y moderno de Tate Britain, es una de las galerías de arte contemporáneo más importantes de Londres. En lugar de los estilos y artistas tradicionales, se centra en las creaciones extrañas y maravillosas que han surgido de la tecnología y la sensibilidad modernas. Encontrarás salas oscuras con vídeos proyectados, esculturas extrañas que se revelan a través de la perspectiva y suficiente surrealismo como para dejarte con la boca abierta. Si buscas algo que te vuele la cabeza, visita la Tate Modern; ¡es sin duda una de las mejores galerías de arte de Londres!
National Gallery
Si te apetece algo más atemporal, no hay nada mejor que la National Gallery. Con más de 2000 pinturas desde el siglo XIII al XIX, es un auténtico festín para la vista. Algunos de los cuadros más reconocibles del mundo se encuentran entre sus muros, como Un baño en Asnières de Seurat, El retrato de los Arnolfini de van Eyck y Sansón y Dalila de Rubens. Así que, si quieres transportarte a lo que muchos consideran la edad de oro del arte, ¡hazte un favor y visítala!
Saatchi Gallery
Volviendo al lado más contemporáneo, la Saatchi Gallery es una de las más juveniles de esta lista. Durante más de 36 años, su objetivo ha sido destacar el talento emergente en el mundo del arte y ofrecerle una plataforma para brillar. Suelen tener algunas exposiciones especiales, así que merece la pena echar un vistazo a their website para ver cuál es la novedad del mes antes de ir para allá. Sin embargo, lo que puedes esperar es que artistas de los que nunca habías oído hablar te dejen desarmado y deslumbrado. La Saatchi Gallery, sin duda una de las mejores galerías de arte de Londres, es una visita que merece la pena para cualquier persona con ganas de inspiración.
National Portrait Gallery
Los seres humanos nos sentimos atraídos por naturaleza por los rostros de las personas. Solo tienes que ver las miniaturas de YouTube para comprobarlo. Entonces, ¿por qué no visitar un lugar que ponga los rostros en primer plano? La National Portrait Gallery es precisamente eso, como su nombre indica. En su interior, encontrarás una mezcla de fotografías y pinturas de rostros, algunos famosos y otros no tanto. Cada imagen cuenta una historia, tanto del sujeto como del creador. Además, con su rotación de exposiciones y los ganadores de concursos que se exhiben durante todo el año, ¡merece la pena visitarla en cualquier momento!
Somerset House
Si tienes gustos variados, una visita a Somerset House podría saciar tu apetito de inspiración. Después de todo, en la variedad está el gusto. Con una enorme mezcla de exposiciones visuales, auditivas e interactivas durante todo el año, Somerset House es una opción fantástica para quienes buscáis algo diferente. Con exposiciones de premios de fotografía, instalaciones artísticas e incluso música en directo, es un festín para todos los sentidos. Y, como se encuentra a un paso del centro, es la galería perfecta si vienes de fuera de Londres.
Royal Academy of Arts
La Royal Academy of Arts es en parte un centro de aprendizaje y en parte un espectáculo de exposiciones. Durante casi trescientos años, esta galería «de artistas para artistas» ha acogido a algunos de los creadores más reconocidos de todos los tiempos. Por ello, puedes esperar una variada mezcla de exposiciones apasionantes de artistas de todo el mundo. Y, si lo deseas, también tendrás la oportunidad de estudiar allí. Eso sí, no esperes entrar por la puerta y conseguir un asiento en el salón de actos así como así.
Whitechapel Gallery
La Whitechapel Gallery se hizo famosa a principios y mediados del siglo XX por su exhibición de arte de posguerra, incluido el famoso —y desgarrador— Guernica de Picasso. Hoy en día, encontrarás una propuesta más variada, con exposiciones dedicadas a artistas británicos, a la contracultura y a la zona circundante del East London. También organizan allí muchos eventos, como charlas, clases de pintura y encuentros de apoyo a la comunidad. Si buscas algo un poco diferente, la Whitechapel Gallery es, sin duda, una de las mejores galerías de arte de Londres.
Hayward Gallery
A continuación, tenemos la Hayward Gallery, situada en la maravilla cultural que es el Southbank. Dentro del brutalista Southbank Centre, encontrarás un altar al arte contemporáneo. Con obras de artistas de todo el mundo que invitan a la reflexión, aquí te espera una mezcla de pinturas, esculturas y grandes exposiciones fijas. Puede que no sea uno de los lugares más conocidos de esta lista, ¡pero es, sin duda, una de las mejores galerías de arte de Londres! Así que abre tu mente y absorbe toda esa deliciosa inspiración.
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Por último, si buscas la combinación perfecta de nuevos artistas desconocidos y pinturas clásicas, visita la Dulwich Picture Gallery. En su interior, encontrarás obras maestras atemporales de la talla de Rembrandt, Gainsborough y Poussin, así como maravillas modernas de los artistas más destacados del momento. También organizan eventos durante todo el año, por si quieres darle un extra de inspiración a tu visita. Y con esto terminamos nuestra lista de las mejores galerías de arte de Londres. Sean cuales sean tus gustos o tu estado de ánimo, seguro que encuentras una que te siente como un guante. Si algunas de las propuestas de esta lista te han dejado con ganas de más historia, ¡there's plenty of that in London too! O, si quieres tiempo para relajarte y asimilar las obras, ¿por qué no try something relaxing cuando termines?
Tate Britain
Tate Britain
The artist formerly known as the Tate Gallery, Tate Britain is one of London's most renowned repositories of modern and contemporary art, its classical portico and dome almost as beloved as the treasures it holds inside. Step into its hushed galleries, and you'll find a wealth of artistic inspiration just waiting to be absorbed! We’re talking some of the UK’s most celebrated art from some of its most renowned painters, sculptors, photographers, and so on. Ever wanted to get up close to pieces by Hogarth, Turner and Tracey Emin? Tate Britain has your back.
Pro-tip: bag a Go City London pass to unlock a one-hour guided discovery tour of the gallery’s highlights.
Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Britain's hip younger sibling, the Tate Modern sits on the south bank of the Thames, its industrial-age brick facade and towering chimney providing a cool counterpoint to the soaring dome of St Paul’s Cathedral, just across the river. Foregoing traditional artists and styles, the Tate Modern instead focuses on the weird and wonderful creations that modern technology (and sensibilities) have created. You'll find darkened rooms with projected videos, bizarre sculptures that reveal themselves through perspective, and enough surrealism to shake a strange stick at. Not to mention the massive Turbine Hall, which has hosted large-scale installations from the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei. You can of course, also seek out more ‘traditional’ art from the likes of Warhol, Dali and Picasso. So, if you're looking to have your mind blown, get yourself down to the Tate Modern. And – top news! – there’s a guided tour available for this one, too.
The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace
The King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace
You probably don’t need an excuse to visit Buckingham Palace while in London, but here’s one for you anyway. The ridiculously lavish King’s Gallery (formerly known as the Queen’s Gallery while dear old ma/grandma was still with us) contains – no surprises here – one of the largest and most valuable collections of private art anywhere on the planet, amassed over a period of hundreds of years. Exhibits rotate between here and various other royal palaces, but at any given time you might expect to be able to peer at pieces from Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, Vermeer, da Vinci, Hogarth and more, as well as an extensive collection of Italian Renaissance drawings and grand portraits of monarchs past. In short: quite the embarrassment of artistic riches.
Moco Museum
Moco Museum
All those graceful masterpieces sound a little too… stuffy for your liking? Then you might be better served by the Moco Museum in Marble Arch, where Old Masters are eschewed in favor of bold visionary works by the likes of Banksy, Basquiat, Warhol, Kusama and Keith Haring. There are around 100 eye-popping pieces to explore here, spanning sculpture, street art and sits-specific installation, each sure to earn itself a place in your Insta reels.
The Courtauld Gallery
If you dig a bit of Impressionism, pay a visit to the Courtauld Gallery. Set inside the magnificent Somerset House on the banks of the Thames, the Courtauld is a wonderful light-filled space with plain white walls that let the artworks adorning them speak for themselves. Cézanne fans in particular will be in clover here; the gallery contains the most significant collection of his works held anywhere in the country. But that’s not all. Far from it: you can also eyeball classics like van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Seurat’s Young Woman Powdering Herself and, well, stacks more in that vein.
Guildhall Art Gallery
Guildhall Art Gallery
No ordinary gallery, the historic Guildhall contains not only an extensive collection of 17th-century portraiture, Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces and eclectic Victorian art, but also the remains of an actual Roman amphitheatre, which you can view beneath the main galleries. Much of the art elsewhere here connects back to London itself, with large-scale pieces depicting Great Fires, Frost Fairs and the like. It also places you within ambling distance of one of the city’s great pieces of architectural art – the mighty St Paul’s Cathedral – also well worth a visit while you’re in the area.
The Painted Hall
The Painted Hall
Ok, this one’s not strictly a gallery, but we’re including it here as it’s as close to the Sistine Chapel as you’re likely to find in the UK. Bonus: it also places you on the doorstep of a wealth of other Greenwich attractions (the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park, to name just a few). Anyway, if you want to ogle the baroque bobby dazzler that is Sir James Thornhill’s Painted Hall, you should get yourself down to the Old Royal Naval College and prepare to put significant strain on your neck as you gaze skywards at the epic murals adorning the ceilings.
Saatchi Gallery
Back to the more contemporary side, the Saatchi Gallery is one of the more youthful cultural hubs on our list. For more than 40 years, its focus has been on spotlighting emerging talent in the art world, and giving them a platform to shine. They usually have a few special exhibitions on, so it's worth having a gander at their website to see what the flavour of the month is before heading there. However, what you can expect is to be disarmed and bedazzled by artists you've never heard of before. Definitely one of the most up-to-the-minute art galleries in London, the Saatchi is a worthy visit for any inspiration-hungry individual!
National Gallery
National Gallery
But, if you're in the mood for something more timeless, you can't do much better than the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. Featuring over 2,000 paintings from the 13th to the 19th Century, it's an absolute feast for the eyes. Some of the world's most recognisable paintings live right here within its walls, including Seurat's Bathers in Asnières, van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, Rubens’ Samson and Delilah, Turner’s Fighting Temeraire, Constable's Hay Wain and Botticelli’s Mars and Venus. So, if you want to be transported back to what many consider the golden age of art – for free, no less! – this is surely the one for you.
National Portrait Gallery
We humans are naturally drawn to people's faces. You only need look at YouTube thumbnails to see that. Well, why not visit a place that puts faces at the forefront? LOcated right next door to the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery is just that… as indeed the name suggests. Inside, you'll find a mix of photos and paintings of faces, some famous, others not so much. Each image tells a story, both of the subject and the creator. And, with a rotation of exhibitions, and competition prize-winners on show throughout the year, there’s always a new selection of fizzogs to gaze upon.
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is housed inside a grand, Grade II-listed Georgian townhouse just off the Holloway Road and, as the name rather gives away, showcases a selection of Italian artists from the first half of the 20th Century. Among pieces by the likes of Modigliani and Boccioni, you can expect to eyeball a substantial number of works associated with the Futurism movement, including Umberto Boccioni and visionary sculptor Medardo Rosso. Eccellente stuff.
Frameless
Frameless
Here’s an option you might want to consider if you’ve got easily distracted kids in tow but still want to immerse yourself in a bit of the good stuff. And immerse you certainly will at Frameless, where complete immersion in some of the art world’s most famous paintings is very much the name of the game. Famous masterpieces are brought to life in glorious technicolor – think van Gogh’s Starry Night transformed to a twirling, swirling, living celestial display, or Kandinsky’s canvases rendered as three-dimensional light projections. The whole thing is soundtracked by a heart-swelling contemporary musical score, adding to the drama of each and every brushstroke. It’s art like you’ve never experienced it before.
Whitechapel Gallery
Whitechapel Gallery became famous in the early-mid 20th century for its showcase of post-war art, including Picasso's famous – and famously distressing – meditation on the violence and brutality of war: Guernica. Nowadays, you'll find a very varied selection, with exhibitions dedicated to British artists, counter-culture, and the surrounding area of East London. They also hold many events there, including talks, painting classes and community support shindigs. If you want something a little leftfield, Whitechapel Gallery is definitely one of the best art galleries in London. Its location also makes a post-gallery curry on Brick Lane irresistible.
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Last but not least, if you're looking for the perfect mix of unknown new artists and classic paintings, take a trip down to south London and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Inside, you'll find timeless masterworks from the likes of Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Poussin, as well as modern marvels from the hottest new artists on the scene. They also run various themed events on throughout the year, if that floats your particular inspiration boat. Bonus: the gallery’s just across the road from Dulwich Park – home of actual boats, plus woodland paths, kids’ playgrounds, ducks, cafés and perhaps more dog walkers than you’ve ever seen anywhere in your entire life.
Looking for more inspiration for your London vacay? Check out our pick of the finest historical attractions in town and keep things chilled with our favorite relaxing London activities.
Step up your sightseeing with Go City®
We make it easy to explore the best a city has to offer. We’re talking top attractions, hidden gems and local tours, all for one low price. Plus, you'll enjoy guaranteed savings, compared to buying individual attraction tickets.
See more, do more, and experience more with Go City® - just choose a pass to get started!
