St Martin's Place, London WC2
Tel: 020 7306 0055
The National Portrait Gallery, which opened to the public in 1856, houses the portraits of famous men and women in British history and culture: poets and princesses, pop stars and performers, artists and statesmen are on display in paintings, drawings, miniatures and photographs, selected on the basis of the significance of the sitter.
The collection includes caricatures as well as sculptures. There are self-portraits by William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds and other British artists of note.
The Gallery moved to its present building, which is adjacent to the National Gallery in 1896. An escalator takes visitors to the earliest part of the collection - the Plantagenet and Tudor portraits.
In addition to its permanent galleries of historical portraits, the National Portrait Gallery exhibits a rapidly changing collection of contemporary work, with a programme of special exhibitions, acquisitions and commissions.
In the basement the Portrait Cafe serves tea, coffee and light snacks while the third floor Portrait Restaurant has stunning views of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
Admission: Free
Tube: Charing Cross or Leicester Square.
Website: www.npg.org.uk
