Location: Trafalgar Square / Embankment
Top Things to do in Trafalgar Square / Embankment
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What to do and see in Trafalgar Square / Embankment, England: The Best Art Museums
The crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, Camden Market…in London, history collides with art, fashion, food, and good British ale. A perfect day is different for everyone: culture aficionados shouldn't miss the Tate Modern and the Royal Opera House. If you love fashion, Oxford Street has shopping galore. For foodies, cream tea at Harrod’s or crispy fish from a proper chippy offers classic London flavor. Music and book buffs will love seeing Abbey Road and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (at 221B Baker Street, of course).
Restaurants in London
1. Somerset House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 989 reviews
Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London, sitting between the Strand and the River Thames. During summer months 55 fountains dance in the courtyard, and in winter you can skate on London's favourite ice rink. Somerset House also hosts open-air concerts and films, contemporary art, design and fashion exhibitions, family workshops and free guided tours of spaces usually hidden to visitors. The Trust's mission is to conserve and maintain Somerset House to the highest standards and to develop the site as a public space which is universally recognised as a world class visitor attraction and centre of excellence for culture and the arts.
Reviewed By EmmanuelRayLive
London Fashion Week, Emmanuel Ray with Boris Johnson. British Fashion Council. Flashback photo 25th anniversary.
2. National Portrait Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,724 reviews
**This place is temporarily closed** This world-famous museum houses portraits of noted Britons from the Tudors to the present day.
Reviewed By KatC389 - Seattle, United States
We STUMBLED to this museum, needed to kill about 45 minutes before our dinner reservation, oh my goodness! So happy we did. First of all, museum is free (those of us from the US are like WHOA--AWESOME!), donations welcome. We happily donated! As a amateur study of the Tudor & Stewart dynasties, this was FABULOUS. These portraits you only saw in textbooks, to be in the same room was awe-inspiring. The Elizabeth I portraits, the Shakespeare nook and the modern portraits were wonderful. Highly worth it, worthy of coming back, wish it wasn't my last night in town!
3. National Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39,791 reviews
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.
Reviewed By Noraatc - Sudbury, United States
It always happens to me: National Gallery takes much more time than I originally plan. I started with the Renaissance painters, spent plenty of time enjoying my all time favorites, Leonardo’s “Virgin of the Rocks”, Botticelli’s “Venus and Mars” and his portraits. Moved on to amazing El Greco, phenomenal “Rokeby Venus” by Diego Velázquez, Van Eyck and Vermeer, several Rembrandt’s portraits, which I had seen on display recently in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh... the list is very, very long, so I do not want to bore you with it... Around 2 pm the swarms of noisy school children have become unbearable, so I decided to take a break for lunch in the lovely National Gallery Cafe. After much needed lunch, I went to the Impressionists, the reason why I got stuck in the National Gallery for so long. What a stunning collection! The best Cezanne, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, whom I adore... phenomenal Renoir’s portraits, beautiful Claude Monet’s landscapes, famous Manet’s paintings “The Music in the Tuileries” and “Execution of Maximilian”... I stopped paying attention to noisy school kids and completely drowned in the beauty of the paintings forgetting about everything around me. Forgot about time as well... it was already 6pm, the Gallery was closing. Will be back and hopefully soon.
4. The Courtauld Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,407 reviews
"This place is temporarily closed." We are now closed for a period of at least two years while we undertake a major transformation project called Courtauld Connects. This will enable us to significantly improve our visitor experience by putting accessibility at the heart of everything we do.
Reviewed By apester
We love small galleries and the Courtauld is one of the best examples we've seen from different European cities. Quiet, charming and in a great part of town - definitely a must go for the art buff.
5. Gilbert Collection
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
