If you love art, then London is definitely the place to be.  There are some fantastic art galleries to explore containing every type of art from classical to contemporary.  This is after the city that brought the world Damien Hirst as well as Constable!

The vast expanse of the National Gallery dominates the north side of Trafalgar Square.  Its cavernous rooms are home to an incredible collection of art works covering every period from the mid-thirteenth century to 1900.  This is where you can find paintings by Delacroix, Constable, Van Gogh, Titian, Rubens, Botticelli and many more.  Exploring the rooms takes time as each one offers new delights.  Special exhibitions are often held such as Dutch Flowers containing works by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder and Jan Van Huysem which celebrates the beauty of flowers as portrayed through the eyes of artists.

Just round the corner is the fascinating National Portrait Gallery. A must visit place, while you are a resident at beautiful Regency House Hotel London. If you have ever wondered just what some of those famous people in British history looked like – this is the place to go.  Amazingly, it was the first portrait gallery of its kind in the world when it opened back in 1856.  What makes this gallery particularly interesting is the fact that the portraits are not always fully sympathetic – caricatures can also be found here.  The British are, after all, known for making fun of people in the news and have done so for many, many years.  On a serious note, there are many famous portraits to be seen including a charming one of Elizabeth I as a young girl.

Only a few minutes’ walk takes you to the splendor of the Courtauld Gallery, within Somerset House on the Strand. Displayed amid really elegant settings, you can discover the beauties of art from the Renaissance onwards as well as incredible masterpieces by Monet and Cezanne. Impressionistic paintings are one of the strengths of this Gallery. For people staying in hotels gower street London, equally worth seeing here are the collections of drawings and prints. 

The Tate Modern is the exact opposite of this style of art.  This is where you can find the ultimate in contemporary art.  Set in a former power station, it contains works by Picasso, Rothko, Dali and Matisse as well as Damien Hirst and Tracy Ermin. One of the most eyecatching exhibits is always the display in the Turbine Hall containing massive sculptural projects or installation art. Sometimes these have been highly controversial including a pile of bricks. This is a museum which does challenge ideas as to what exactly is art?

Over on Kings Road, Chelsea the Saatchi Gallery also focuses on contemporary art.  Spread across four floors, the installations tend to change every four months or so, with carefully curated shows of eye catching, innovative art works.  Equally innovative is the Brick Lane Gallery in Brick Lane, East London focusing on contemporary British and international artists These are undoubtedly the sites where you will find the most cutting edge art of the period.

Visitors traveling to London especially to explore art often seek hotels near Covent garden London for an easy access to all these popular spots.