National Gallery

I count myself an art lover, and I've been looking forward to visiting the National Gallery for years. I surprised myself by packing so much into my London trip that I had only an hour left to do the NG on our last night. I knew, however, that it is open late on Fridays, and having taken advantage of evening museum hours at the Louvre, I expected to be able to move quickly (due to far fewer visitors) and have the works to myself. I was right. By touring the gallery from 7:30-8:30 on a Friday night, I was able to see the museum's list of 15 highlight paintings without difficulty and without anyone in my line of viewing. I just love the experience of standing squarely in front of a DaVinci or Holbein and taking as much time as I want with it. With that said, don't squeeze the NG into an hour if you don't have to! There are tons of fantastic paintings here, and the museum deserves several hours. If you do visit at night, you can look forward to live music in the corridors, which is a beautiful touch to an already heavenly experience. The building itself is also worthy of admiration. The rooms are well-arranged, not overcrowded, and very clearly numbered so that navigation through the galleries is a breeze. I look forward to returning many times and devoting the time that this world-class collection deserves.

We stopped in the National Gallery on our last day in London. It was a quick 2-hour visit to speed through as much as we could see before we were flying out. Great thing about this museum is that it is FREE! That gives us an opportunity to jump in quickly and not worry about getting to see enough to justify an entrance cost.

The museum had a Picasso exhibit while we were there - it was awesome to see his work along with many other great artists including Monet and DaVinci. All in all, worth the visit - just wish we had more time to take it all in. I did score a replica postcard at the gift shop of a Monet painting of London - which I framed and used as my souvenir.