The National Gallery in London is the place for the art lovers that is located in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. This art museum houses a great and wide collection of art that is over 2,300 paintings and which date back from the mid 13th century to 1900.

The National Gallery opened back in 1824 which is considered one of the most visited museums around the world, coming after the Louvre, the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When one compares this to the other European museums, the collection is considered small, but encyclopedic in scope, most major developments in western painting "from Giotto to Cezanne" are represented with important works.

The National Gallery started when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein in 1824, and then after this first purchase, the gallery was shaped by its directors and by private donations which are now shaping about two-thirds of the collection.

Throughout the history of the National Gallery in London, we reached this point where the building that houses the gallery is the third one, which is the present one today. This building - the present one - was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838, but this building has been expanded throughout its history, the facade onto Trafalgar Square is the only thing that remains the same. Actually the building was being criticized for being small and that it won't be able to hold everything inside the gallery, and that was the reason why Tate Modern Museum or Gallery was opened back in 1897 ([ Ссылка ]).

This gallery in London is open for the visitors on a daily basis from 10 AM to 6 PM, except Friday it opens from 10 AM and closes at 9 PM. The National Gallery is not just about the artwork that one will get to see inside, but there are other experiences that one could have in this place, such as sitting at a place during the visit for something to eat or drink, shopping for books, prints and gifts.

Almost all the people love to check art in every single country they visit and this is usually because they want to check the history of the place and know about the artistic side they used to belong to. The National Gallery in London is one of the places that would bring people closer to the artistic world and let them know more about its history.

There are different reasons why the tourists in London should visit the National Gallery: first of all, it gives people the permission to come inside for free and enjoy the work of different artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh. Second, it is a place that all the family members with the different ages could have some fun inside for the workshops, talking and drawing that happens there. Third, this place gives people the chance to get inspired, know more about art and at the same time run away from the city and its chaos outside. And eventually, this is the great place for art shopping and also for listening to music.

There are other places to be visited in London and these might be related to art, they might be related to history and they might be general touristic places that attract tourists to them. We have been to some of these and our recommendations would include Royal Albert Hall where different concerts are held and usually the most important of them ([ Ссылка ]), there is also Albert Memorial and the art of the statues that form it and this is located in Kensington Gardens ([ Ссылка ]), we have also been to the South Bank in London which has always been considered the place where art, culture and entertainment is found ([ Ссылка ]) and we also checked the National Theatre and we definitely recommend you go there and choose a show to attend in it ([ Ссылка ]).

These recommendations are in some kind of way related to art and they are the right choices for those who are art lovers and who lose themselves while they are standing in front of paintings and portraits.

In addition to these, there are also some other touristic attractions in London which are not much related to art - that's of course if you are not going to consider the buildings themselves as art - such as the famous Big Ben clock ([ Ссылка ]), Buckingham Palace ([ Ссылка ]), the Tower of London ([ Ссылка ]) and all the other attractions that one could come across in this beautiful city, the city of fog.

Have you ever been to the National Gallery in London or even visited Tate Modern Museum before? What did you enjoy looking at the most? Share your experience with us and tell us more about it all.

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