18 Best Sights in London, England

The National Portrait Gallery was founded in 1856 with a single aim: to gather together portraits of famous (and infamous) Britons throughout history. More than 150 years and 200,000 portraits later, it is an essential stop for all history and literature buffs, especially following a major overhaul that includes a rehang and plenty of new, better designed, gallery spaces. If you visit with kids, swing by the new Learning Centre to take part in family activities. 

Galleries are arranged clearly and chronologically, from Tudor times to contemporary Britain. Look out for treasures such as the enormous portrait of Elizabeth I—bejeweled and literally astride the world in a powerful display of imperial intent—plus portraits of Shakespeare, the Brontë sisters, and Jane Austen. More of the photography collection is on display since the rehang, including Annie Leibovitz's striking photograph of Queen Elizabeth II. On the top floor, the Portrait Restaurant has one of the best views in London—a panoramic vista of Nelson's Column and the backdrop along Whitehall to the Houses of Parliament.

This handsome, early-18th-century villa, which was the Greenwich Park ranger's official residence during the 19th century, is home to the Wernher Collection, nearly 700 artworks that were amassed by the diamond millionaire Sir Julius Wernher (1850–1912). Once housed in his fabulous stately house, Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire, the collection ranges from old master paintings to Renaissance jewelry and assorted pieces of decorative art and curios from the medieval period onward, including the gorgeous Madonna of the Pomegranates from the workshop of Sandro Botticelli. The Ranger's House is just under a mile's walk from the DLR station at Greenwich, or you can catch a bus there from Greenwich or Deptford DLR.

First opened in 1897, and funded by the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate, this stately neoclassical institution may not be as ambitious as its Bankside sibling, Tate Modern, but its bright galleries lure only a fraction of the Modern's overwhelming crowds and are a great place to explore British art from 1500 to the present. The museum includes a couple of galleries staging temporary exhibitions, and a permanent collection on the upper floors. And what a collection it is—with classic works by John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough, Francis Bacon, and an outstanding display from J. M. W. Turner in the Clore Gallery. Sumptuous Pre-Raphaelite pieces are a major draw, while more recent art historical periods are represented with works by artists such as Rachel Whiteread, L. S. Lowry, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Barbara Hepworth, and David Hockney. Tate Britain also sometimes hosts the Turner Prize exhibition, with its accompanying furor over the state of contemporary art. When taking place in London, as opposed to other cities around the U.K., you'll find it here from about October to January.

The café is a good spot for a reviving cup of tea and a cake. Look out for semiregular Late at Tate Friday evening events, when the gallery is open late for talks or performances; check the website for details.

Craving more art? Head down the river on the Tate Boat ( £9.10 one-way) to Tate Modern; it runs between the two museums every 20 to 40 minutes.

Anyone with even a passing interest in art will want to put this near the top of their to-do list while visiting London, for it is truly one of the world's great art museums. More than 2,300 masterpieces are on show here, including works by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Turner, Monet, van Gogh, Picasso, and more. Enter through the grand portico overlooking the north side of Trafalgar Square to delve headlong into the highlights of the collection, although the Sainsbury Wing (the modern building immediately to the left), which focuses mainly on medieval art, is invariably less crowded.

You could easily spend all day discovering what The National Gallery has to offer, but among the best-known highlights are The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein (1497–1543), a portrait of two wealthy visitors from France, surrounded by objects laden with enough symbolism to fill a book—including, most beguilingly, a giant skull at the base, which only takes shape when viewed from an angle; The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck (1390–1441), in which a solemn couple holds hands, the fish-eye mirror behind them mysteriously illuminating what can't be seen from the front view; The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), a magnificently sculpted altarpiece commissioned in 1480; and Rain, Steam, and Speed—The Great Western Railway by J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), which seems, in its mad whirl of rain, steam, and mist, to embody the mystical dynamism of the steam age (spot the fleeing hare).

Special exhibitions, of which there are several every year, tend to be major events. Generally they're ticketed, so booking is advisable if it's a big name. The permanent collection, however, is always free. Guided tours of the collection and curator’s talks take place regularly, both in the gallery and online; check the website for details. Audio guides can be purchased (£5) to play on your own smartphone. 

London's first gallery dedicated to photography offers cutting-edge, established, and provocative exhibitions. Open since 1980, the space has shown everyone from Robert Capa and Sebastião Salgado to Nick Knight and Corinne Day. The prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize is exhibited and awarded here annually. The gallery also has a print salesroom, an archive, a well-stocked bookstore, and an enticing café-bar—a great spot to chat photography and escape the crowds on nearby Oxford Circus.

Technically speaking, the sovereign doesn't "own" the rare and exquisite works of art in the Royal Collection: he merely holds them in trust for the nation—and what a collection it is. Only a selection is on view at any one time, presented in themed exhibitions. Let the excellent (and free) audio guide take you through the elegant galleries filled with some of the world's greatest artworks.

A rough timeline of the major royal collectors starts with Charles I (who also commissioned Rubens to paint the Banqueting House ceiling). An avid art enthusiast, Charles established the basis of the Royal Collection, purchasing works by Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, and Dürer. During the Civil War and in the aftermath of Charles's execution, many masterpieces were sold abroad and subsequently repatriated by Charles II. George III, who bought Buckingham House and converted it into a palace, scooped up a notable collection of Venetian (including Canaletto), Renaissance (Bellini and Raphael), and Dutch (Vermeer) art, and a large number of baroque drawings, in addition to patronizing English contemporary artists, such as Gainsborough and Beechey. The Prince Regent, later George IV, had a particularly good eye for Rembrandt, equestrian works by Stubbs, and lavish portraits by Lawrence. Queen Victoria had a penchant for Landseer animals and landscapes, and Frith's contemporary scenes. Later, Edward VII indulged Queen Alexandra's love of Fabergé, and many royal tours around the empire produced gifts of gorgeous caliber, such as the Cullinan diamond from South Africa and an emerald-studded belt from India. Tickets are valid for one year from the date of entry.

Founded in 1901, this internationally renowned gallery mounts exhibitions that rediscover overlooked masters and showcase tomorrow's legends. Painter and leading exponent of abstract expressionism Jackson Pollock was exhibited here in the 1950s as was pop artist Robert Rauschenberg in the 1960s; the 1970s saw a young David Hockney's first solo show. The exhibitions continue to be on the cutting edge of contemporary art. The gallery also hosts talks, film screenings, workshops, and other events; First Thursdays is a regular event designed to highlight monthly openings at more than 150 local galleries, with the Whitechapel offering curated tips about where to visit on the first Thursday of the month. Pick up a free East London art map (also available online) to help you plan your visit to the area. Townsend, the gallery's on-site restaurant, serves good-quality modern British food in a bright and pretty room.

Two artistic societies—the Royal Society of Painter–Printmakers and the Royal Watercolour Society—have their headquarters in this gallery next to Tate Modern. Together they mount exhibitions of current members' work, which is usually for sale, along with art books, making this a great place for finding that unique, not too expensive gift. There are also regular themed exhibitions.

This is just one of several influential New York gallerists to open a London space in Mayfair in recent years, a trend that has revitalized an area that's been losing ground to edgier neighborhoods like Bethnal Green, Hackney, and Peckham. Zwirner's roster contains the likes of Bridget Riley and Jeff Koons, and modern masters such as Piet Mondrian are exhibited in this grand converted town house, too.

Owner Nicholas Logsdail represents about 50 blue-chip artists, including the minimalist Sol LeWitt and performance artist Marina Abramović, at one of the most respected art galleries in London. The gallery is most associated with New Object sculptors like Anish Kapoor and Richard Deacon, many of whom have won the Turner Prize. There's another branch down the road at 27 Bell Street.

This veteran of the Mayfair art scene has been presenting exhibitions by masters old and new since it was founded in 1946. Great living artists, like Christopher Bramham and Frank Auerbach, plus exhibitions of graphic works from a whole host of starry names are showcased in the main first floor space, while the contemporary gallery on the second floor puts the spotlight on a younger generation of artists from the United Kingdom and abroad.

Inspired by the DIY punk aesthetic and the funky galleries of New York City's Lower East Side, Maureen Paley started putting on exhibitions in her East End home back in 1984, when it was virtually the only gallery in the area. Since then, this American artist and gallerist has shown such respected contemporary artists as Gillian Wearing, Helen Chadwick, Jenny Holzer, Peter Fischli, and Wolfgang Tillmans, and today she is considered the doyenne of East End gallerists. Paley now has two London spaces, one in the midst of a cluster of galleries in Bethnal Green and another in a former school building in Shoreditch. 

Charles Saatchi, who made his fortune in advertising, is one of Britain's canniest collectors of contemporary art, credited with discovering the likes of Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. His current gallery, still largely devoted to contemporary art by emerging artists, is in the former Duke of York's HQ, just off King's Road. Built in 1803, its grand period exterior belies an imaginatively restored modern interior transformed into 15 exhibition spaces of varying size and shape. There is no permanent collection other than a few ongoing site-specific installations; at any one time, there are between one and three concurrent, imaginatively curated exhibitions that normally run for up to six months. There's also an excellent café, which is open late.

Showcasing the work of both established and emerging British and international artists such as Sarah Lucas and Martine Syms, this all-white and light-filled art space overlooking busy Regent Street is a major expansion for respected British gallerist Sadie Coles. A second Sadie Coles exhibition space operates nearby at Davies Street in Mayfair, while a third is also found close by across Piccadilly on Bury Street in St. James's.

Taking its name from the artificial recreational lake that curves its way through Hyde Park, the Serpentine South Gallery, housed in a brick 1930s tea pavilion in Kensington Gardens, is one of London's foremost showcases for contemporary art. Just about every reputable modern artist has exhibited here: Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. A permanent work on the gallery's grounds—eight benches and a carved stone circle—commemorates the gallery's former patron Princess Diana.

The Serpentine North Gallery, a second exhibition space in a converted Georgian gunpowder storeroom just across a small bridge, has a dramatic extension designed by Zaha Hadid as well as a stylish restaurant. If you're in town between May and September, check out the annual Serpentine Pavilion, where each year a different leading architect is given free rein to create a temporary structure, always with imaginative results. Past designers have included Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, and Jean Nouvel.

This large, important commercial gallery, in a former furniture factory, has exhibited some of the biggest names on the British contemporary art scene: Grayson Perry, Chris Ofili, the Chapman Brothers, Paula Rego, and many others. Some exhibitions spill out into the gallery's garden. It also brings in exciting talent from abroad.

The English role in the exploding contemporary art scene has been major, thanks in good portion to Jay Joplin's influential gallery, whose location has hopped around London since 1993. Its latest site, this striking modern concrete structure was the first freestanding building to be built in the area for 30 years when it opened in 2006. It is home base for an array of British artists who have won the Turner Prize, including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, and Antony Gormley.

When the United Kingdom's highest-profile commercial gallery moved to this huge converted 1970s-era warehouse on Bermondsey Street, it sealed the area's reputation as a rising art-scene hot spot. This is the home gallery of some of today's top contemporary artists, including Tracey Emin, Georg Baselitz, Antony Gormley, Isamu Noguchi, Gabriel Orozco, Harland Miller, Anselm Kiefer, and several other artists with international reputations. An antiseptic central cuboid gallery, the "white cube"—also called 9 x 9 x 9 (meters, that is)—rests between two other spaces that host smaller exhibitions. There is also a bookshop and auditorium.