National Gallery & Trafalgar Square
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
Van Gogh's Sunflowers for free, then the lions outside
- Hours
- Daily 10am–6pm, Fridays to 9pm; closed 24–26 December and 1 January
- Tickets
- Free (a free timed ticket gives fast-track entry); some exhibitions charge
- Address
- North side of Trafalgar Square; main entrance through the Sainsbury Wing facing the square
Da Vinci, van Eyck, Turner, Monet, Van Gogh: textbook paintings all under one roof, and no admission fee. Crowds gather in front of Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Monet's Water-Lily Pond, Turner's Fighting Temeraire and van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait. Walk out onto the steps and you're in Trafalgar Square with Nelson's Column, the bronze lions and the fountains, a good place for photos and a sit-down. Big Ben is about 15 minutes' walk down Whitehall.