Here’s where to find some of the world’s greatest masterpieces in London
London’s up there with the best cities for arts and culture in the world, so it’ll come as no surprise to you that some of the best artworks reside right here in the city. Of course, there are always plenty of excellent exhibitions on in London at any given time, whether they’re headliners at one of the city’s major galleries, or smaller-scale shows where you can discover the best emerging talent. But, most of the larger art institutions have permanent collections that you can always visit – often for free – and it’s here that many masterpieces have found their forever home.
Whether you’re into the impressionist style of 19th-century French painters, want to get up close to a complex and mysterious piece from the Renaissance, or love the more abstract and modernist side of things, keep reading to find some of the world’s greatest artworks at the other end of a Tube trip.
The Water-Lily Pond, Claude Monet
Part of the series of around 250 paintings by Claude Monet of his flower garden in Giverny, this painting features the Japanese bridge that appears a few times throughout the French Impressionist’s other Water Lilies pieces.
Visit for free at The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
nationalgallery.org.uk
Under the Wave off Kanagawa, Katsushika Hokusai
Katsushika Hokusai, who’s often hailed as Japan’s most famous artist, created his ground-breaking series of prints Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji between 1830 and 1832. Under the Wave off Kanagawa (AKA Great Wave) is the best-known print in the series and several originals survive, which are located in various galleries around the world.
Visit for free at the Young V&A
Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PA
vam.ac.uk
Sunflowers, Vincent Van Gogh
One of five versions of Sunflowers on display in galleries across the world, this painting encapsulates Vincent Van Gogh’s signature expressive style.
Visit for free at The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
nationalgallery.org.uk
The Arnolfini Portrait, Jan Van Eyck
This painting by Early Netherlandish painter Jan Van Eyck is considered one of the most famous and complex paintings in the world. While there’s no way of knowing for sure, it may depict Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. Some say this was painted to honour their marriage, others say to honour the wife’s death, with the dog serving as a symbol of her passing.
Visit for free at The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
nationalgallery.org.uk
Ophelia, Sir John Everett Millais
This piece is Sir John Everett Millais’ well-known depiction of Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act IV, Scene vii.
Visit for free at the Tate Britain
Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
tate.org
A Bigger Splash, David Hockney
Painted in 1967, this is one of the several artworks David Hockney made of Californian swimming pools.
Visit for free at the Tate Britain
Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
tate.org
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Francis Bacon
This trio by Francis Bacon was modelled after the figures seen in paintings of the death of Jesus, but they’re said to symbolise the Furies of Greek mythology as well as the horrors of the Holocaust and World War II.
Visit for free at the Tate Britain
Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
tate.org
The Toilet of Venus (‘The Rokeby Venus’), Diego Velázquez
This painting by leading artist of 17th-century Spain Diego Velázquez is famous not only for its content but for being the subject of attacks by both Canadian suffragette Mary Richardson in 1914 and Just Stop Oil in 2023.
Visit for free at The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
nationalgallery.org.uk
Les Hasards Heureux de L’escarpolette (The Swing), Jean-Honoré Fragonard
This striking painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard is said to encapsulate the popular style of 18th-century French art.
Visit for free at The Wallace Collection
Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
wallacecollection.org
A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Édouard Manet
This piece depicts a scene at the famous Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris and was the last major artwork by celebrated painted Édouard Manet before he died.
Visit at The Courtauld Gallery
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
courtauld.ac.uk