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So Much Art, So Little Time
On your first trip to London most of your first 3 days should be spent viewing the magnitude of art that is so easy to access from the city centre. From the Masters to modern artists, contemporary exhibitions, galleries and museums are something London visitors should not miss.
To get you started here's a list you can use for your first 72 hours trip planner in London.
DAY ONE
 british museum |
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3DG
British Museum
Located in Bloomsbury next to Russell Square is the grande dame of European art collections, the historical and iconic British museum. Spanning over 2 million years of the human experience, the British museum contains treasures like the famed Rosetta Stone that helped unlock the hidden secrets of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the well preserved Lindow Man and the glittering, mysterious treasures of Sutton Hoo. Not all is old. A stunning renovation to the magnificent Greek Revival building added a stunning tessellated glass dome to the British Museum Reading Room giving it an infusion of contemporary style.
 sir john soanes museum |
Sir John Soane Museum
13 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London
WC2A 3BP
Sir John Soanes Museum
Snug in the heart of Chancery Lane Quarter and overlooking the monumental Lincoln’s Inn Field is Sir John Soane Museum, the classical and quirky former home of the man who helped define the look of London in the 18th and 19th century. Influential London Architect Sir John Soane was not only a champion of the neo-classical style that became his trademark but an inveterate collector and tinkerer who continued to renovated his house. The fascinating mansion, a veritable maze of interconnected rooms, is filled with his vast collection of acquisitions including Egyptian sarcophagus, tons of Greek and Roman antiquities and a picture gallery with ingenious folding walls.
 courtauld gallery staircase |
The Courtauld Gallery
Somerset House
Strand
London
WC2R 0RN
Courtauld Gallery
A stone throw from the Soane Museum is the jewel known as the Courtauld Gallery. This lovely museum contains some of the most famous and sublime images ever painted. The recently completed renovation of the main gallery makes the staggeringly sublime works by Degas, Van Gogh and Renoir among others, even more profoundly beautiful.
 tate modern |
Tate Modern
Sumner Street
Bankside, London
SE1 9TG
Tate Modern
Once home to the Bankside powerhouse, the thrilling Tate Modern now generates a different kind of electricity. Easily, the most popular modern art gallery in the entire world, the Tate Modern thrills with key pieces of art that reveal the history and essence of every major art movement since the beginning of modern art. From Picasso to Pollock, from to Duchamp to Rothko, the Tate will leave you weak in the knees as you confront masterpiece after masterpiece.
DAY TWO
 national gallery |
National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
London WC2
National Gallery
This Trafalgar Square landmark began its run in 1824 with a humble mission
to inspire young artists with a small collection of works by Titian, Rubens, Rembrandt and Hogarth has grown into one of the most coveted collections in the world. The much beloved building was actually ridiculed when construction was completed. The art however was, and still is, astonishing. From Botticelli and Raphael to Da Vinci and Michelangelo, the collection of famous blue-chip work is seemingly endless. This is a living textbook that spans the complete history of European art from Gothic to Post Impressionism.
 national portrait gallery at trafalgar square |
National Portrait Gallery
Spend an afternoon with Shakespeare, Dickens, King Henry VIII and Paul McCartney. If you have made your mark on British history there is a good chance your face is hanging in the world famous National Portrait Gallery. Located behind the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery contains over 5,000 personalities on its walls. While most people come for the subjects, the painters themselves are equally as impressive. Artists include masters like Joshua Reynolds and William Hogarth.
The Wallace Collection
Hertford House
Manchester Square
London
W1U 3BN
Wallace Collection
A favorite of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, the Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. Experience the spoils of four generations of British high society at Hertford house, the former home of Sir Richard Wallace. The sumptuous location manages to be at once opulent and approachable. The collection includes stunning painting by artists such as Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velázquez. The collection of eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes, is the most remarkable display found anywhere outside France.
DAY THREE
 tate britain |
Tate Britain
Millbank
London
SW1P 4RG
Tate Britain
The Tate has an extraordinary collection of art that ranges from 1500 to present day. Most importantly it is home to England's most revered artist, J.M.W. Turner. The pre-Raphaelite collection is fantastic. Stunning romantic paintings like Ophelia by John Everett Millais and King Cophetua by Edward Burne-Jones will transport you to another time.
 saatchi gallery |
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ
King's Road
London
SW3 4RY
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery changed the way people think about contemporary art. Since 1985, Saatchi has continued to celebrate, promote, and discover the best in British contemporary art. Always controversial, Saatchi Gallery is always intriguing. Saatchi gave birth to the Young British Art movement whose edgy practitioners included Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor Wood. Here you will find sculpture, painting, photography, video and installations in a soaring 70,000 square-foot space in Chelsea.
 victoria and albert museum |
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
SW7 2RL
Victoria And Albert Museum
The world's largest museum dedicated to decorative arts and design, the Victoria and Albert houses a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Since it was opened way back in 1852, the museum now covers over twelve acres, whose 145 galleries span 5,000 years of art. From ancient pottery to modern fashion, the V&A has design delights around corner after endless corner. One of the jewels of the collection is the collection of Italian Renaissance items, which is the largest grouping outside of Italy. Make sure you stop for tea; the cafe is one of the best in London.
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