The National Gallery

Published 18 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square holds one of the world's great collections of European paintings, from the 13th century to about 1900, and general admission is free. You can walk in without a ticket, but a free online booking gives you fast-track entry; plan on one to three hours.

If you only see one art gallery in London, most people would point you here. The collection runs from early Italian altarpieces through Leonardo, Titian, Rembrandt and Velázquez to Turner, Monet and Van Gogh, with more than 1,000 paintings on display. It is a gallery of paintings only: no sculpture halls and no modern art, which makes it easier to take in than a giant general museum.

The building fills the north side of Trafalgar Square, and since the Sainsbury Wing reopened in May 2025 its main entrance has been on the left-hand (west) corner as you face the gallery. That change catches out visitors who still head for the grand portico steps in the middle.

Free entry, fast-track tickets and paid exhibitions

The permanent collection costs nothing to see. The gallery offers an optional free ticket that you book online for a time slot; it gives fast-track entry and sends you practical updates before your visit. Without one you simply join the walk-up queue at the Sainsbury Wing. On weekday mornings outside school holidays the walk-up line is usually short, but at weekends and in summer the free booking is worth the thirty seconds it takes.

Temporary exhibitions are usually ticketed. The big autumn show in 2026 is Renoir and Love, running from 3 October 2026 to 31 January 2027, with about 40 paintings including Bal du moulin de la Galette on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, shown in the UK for the first time. Standard tickets cost £20 off-peak (Sunday to Thursday) and £25 on Fridays and Saturdays and on every day of the first two weeks. Under-18s go free. Check the exhibition page for current prices and availability.

The paintings you should not miss

The gallery arranges its rooms roughly by date and region, and every painting page on the official website shows its current room. The list below was checked against the gallery's own collection pages in September 2026. Paintings are sometimes moved, lent or taken off the walls during building work, so check any picture that matters to you before you go.

Why these ones

The Arnolfini Portrait is small, far smaller than most people expect, and rewards a close look: find the convex mirror on the back wall, which reflects the whole room and two figures in the doorway. The Ambassadors has the famous stretched skull across the floor. Stand close to the right-hand edge of the painting and look back along it, and the skull snaps into shape.

The Fighting Temeraire shows an old warship being towed to the breakers by a small steam tug at sunset. It hangs in the same room as Turner's Rain, Steam and Speed, a blurred train crossing a bridge in the rain. The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving female nude by Velázquez, and the Leonardo room holds both the painted Virgin of the Rocks and the large chalk drawing known as the Burlington House Cartoon, which has its own small room next door.

Famous paintings that are away in autumn 2026

Two of the gallery's best-known pictures are not in London at the time of writing. Van Gogh's Sunflowers is on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition that runs until 11 October 2026, and Constable's The Hay Wain is on loan to Christchurch Mansion in Ipswich for Constable 250, until 4 October 2026. Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne was also listed as not on display. Other Van Goghs, including A Wheatfield, with Cypresses, remain in Room 43.

A one-hour route through the highlights

An hour is enough for a focused walk past a dozen masterpieces if you keep moving. The rooms are numbered on the free floorplan and on signs above each doorway, so pick up a map or open the online floorplan on your phone before you start.

1. Rooms 51 and 51a (Sainsbury Wing). Start with Leonardo in the Sainsbury Wing galleries: The Virgin of the Rocks and, in the small side room, the Burlington House Cartoon. About 10 minutes.
2. Room 52. Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait and his probable self-portrait, the man in the red turban. About 5 minutes.
3. Room 62. Botticelli's Venus and Mars, a long, playful panel probably made to celebrate a marriage. About 5 minutes.
4. Room 4. Cross into the main building for Holbein's Ambassadors and its hidden skull. About 5 minutes.
5. Rooms 19 and 22. The Rokeby Venus, then Rembrandt's late self-portrait. About 10 minutes.
6. Room 32. Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, with its basket of fruit about to fall off the table. About 5 minutes.
7. Room 40. The two great Turners side by side. About 10 minutes.
8. Rooms 43, 44 and 46. Finish with Van Gogh, Seurat and Monet's water lilies. About 10 minutes.

Some rooms along this path may be closed on the day. In September 2026 the floorplan listed Rooms 7, 8, 16, 17, 17a and 31 as closed and Rooms 9 and 30 as open but empty, as part of building work for a new Research Centre due in 2028. Detours are short, and staff at every doorway can point you to the next room.

If you have two or three hours

Slow down in the Dutch rooms (Vermeer in Room 25, still lifes of flowers in Room 28), spend time with the Venetian painters in Rooms 10 and 14, and look at the 18th-century British portraits in Room 34. The free Smartify app lets you scan paintings for background information, and the gallery offers bookable expert-led tours if you want a guide.

Getting in: the Sainsbury Wing, security and bags

The Sainsbury Wing is now the main entrance for everyone. It faces Trafalgar Square on the corner of Pall Mall and Whitcomb Street, to the left of the main portico as you look at the building. Every door has a walk-through metal detector and bags are checked.

Come with as little as possible. The cloakroom takes bags up to 56 x 25 x 45 cm at £3 per item, but wheeled luggage of any kind, including cabin bags, is not allowed. If you are travelling between a hotel and a train, leave your cases at a left luggage service first. Baby buggies are fine.

Photography for personal use is allowed unless a sign says otherwise, and there is free Wi-Fi. You may bring your own food, but there is little space to eat it and you cannot eat it in the gallery's cafés and restaurants.

Friday evenings and quieter times

The gallery stays open until 21:00 every Friday. After about 18:00 the tour groups have gone and the rooms feel calmer, which makes a Friday evening the most pleasant time for a long visit. Our guide to museum late openings in London lists other galleries that open into the evening.

Otherwise, the first hour after 10:00 on a weekday is usually quietest. Weekends, rainy afternoons and school holidays are the busiest times; the gallery is an obvious choice for a wet day in London, and many other visitors have the same idea.

Getting to Trafalgar Square

Charing Cross, on the Northern and Bakerloo lines and served by mainline trains, is the closest station. Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly lines) and Embankment (District, Circle, Bakerloo and Northern lines) are both a short walk. If you are new to the Tube, our Underground guide for visitors explains touching in and out, and our page on step-free travel covers lifts and assistance. Many bus routes stop around the square, and from Westminster it is an easy 10-15 minute walk up Whitehall.

Making a day of it around Trafalgar Square

The gallery sits at the centre of a very walkable part of London. Directly behind it, and sharing the same free admission, is the National Portrait Gallery, where the faces of British history hang from the Tudors onwards. Out front, Trafalgar Square has Nelson's Column, the fountains and the Fourth Plinth, where Tschabalala Self's sculpture Lady in Blue was unveiled in September 2026.

For lunch or dinner, Chinatown is five minutes north, and the shops and street performers of Covent Garden are about ten minutes east. On a Friday you could see the gallery until early evening and then walk to a show; our West End theatre guide explains how tickets and curtain times work.

If Turner is your favourite, his biggest collection is not here but at Tate Britain in Pimlico, reached by the Victoria line to Pimlico or by a pleasant walk along the river. And for more ways to fill a day without spending money, see our list of free things to do in London or the full guide to London's museums and galleries.

Is it good for children?

It can be, in small doses. The gallery has a dedicated family space at weekends and in school holidays, and children tend to enjoy spotting details: the skull in The Ambassadors, the dog in the Arnolfini Portrait, the steam train in Rain, Steam and Speed. Keep visits under an hour with younger children. Our family guide to London suggests museums that are more hands-on.

Frequently asked questions

Is the National Gallery in London free?

Yes. General admission to the National Gallery is free every day, and donations are welcome. Some temporary exhibitions charge for entry; in autumn 2026, Renoir and Love costs £20 or £25 for adults, with under-18s free.

Do I need to book a ticket for the National Gallery?

No, walk-up entry is available. The gallery offers an optional free ticket that you book online for a time slot, which gives you fast-track entry. It is useful at weekends, in school holidays and on rainy days, when the entrance queue is longest.

Is Van Gogh's Sunflowers on display at the National Gallery?

Not in September 2026. The painting is on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for an exhibition that runs until 11 October 2026. Check its page on the National Gallery website before you visit to see when it is back on the walls in London.

How long do you need at the National Gallery?

One hour is enough for a focused route past the most famous paintings. Two to three hours lets you explore at a relaxed pace, and art lovers can easily spend a whole day. The gallery is open until 21:00 on Fridays, which suits a longer visit.

Which entrance should I use at the National Gallery?

Use the Sainsbury Wing entrance, which is now the main free entrance for all visitors. It faces Trafalgar Square on the corner of Pall Mall and Whitcomb Street, to the left of the central portico. It has security checks and metal detectors.

Sources

• The National Gallery - Plan your visit (checked September 2026)
• The National Gallery - Floorplans (checked September 2026)
• The National Gallery - Renoir and Love (checked September 2026)
• The National Gallery - Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers (checked September 2026)
• The National Gallery - John Constable, The Hay Wain (checked September 2026)
• The National Gallery - Access (checked September 2026)
• Mayor of London - Lady in Blue unveiled on London's Fourth Plinth (checked September 2026)