Leave your map and heavy guidebook at home! On this visit to one of the greatest collections of Western and European paintings in the world, your professional guide is a walking, talking guidebook you can interact with to your heart’s content. Even the greatest masterpieces of all time can seem dry if you don’t have an expert by your side to bring the stories and history behind the paintings to life. This is precisely what this guided National Gallery highlights tour aims to do.
The Gallery is the definitive London address for famous artistic masterpieces. The expertly-crafted itinerary invites you to get up close and personal with the highlights of this collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.
As you explore the collection, you’ll instantly recognize Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers. Your guide will share the story of how this innocent looking still-life painting led to an angry exchange between Van Gogh and an old friend. We’ll also encounter Rembrandt’s Self-portrait, one of a series he painted throughout his life. This particular self-portrait is notable for its somber qualities and is filled with subtle hints about the inner life of the artist, which your guide will reveal to you. Of course, no collection is complete without a piece from the prolific Italian master, Leonardo da Vinci. One of his two nearly identical paintings named the Virgin of the Rocks is here; the other can be found at the Louvre. Once again your expert guide’s insight becomes invaluable as you discover details of the long life of this painting from its humble beginnings in a chapel in Milan to the prestigious halls of London’s National Gallery.
Expert English-speaking tour guide
