Galleries in London when it rains
Art worth standing still for, all of it comfortably indoors.
- Barbican Centre: Multi-arts venue with cinema, galleries, and performances. Barbican direct.
- Somerset House: Neoclassical building with galleries and courtyard. Temple 3 mins.
- God's Own Junkyard: Neon art installation warehouse. Walthamstow Central 10 mins.
- Leake Street Arches: Legal graffiti tunnel and street art. Waterloo 2 mins.
- Tate Britain: The home of British art from 1500 to today. 10 min walk.
- Guildhall Art Gallery: City of London's art collection and Roman Amphitheatre.
- Whitechapel Gallery: Contemporary art gallery for the local community.
- Moco Museum London: Modern and contemporary art museum with rotating exhibitions, bold installations and big-name artist
- The Courtauld Gallery: A compact but world-class gallery with Impressionist highlights in a beautiful indoor setting at Som
- Design Museum: Contemporary design and architecture. High Street Kensington 5 min walk.
- Victoria & Albert Museum: World's leading museum of art, design and performance. South Kensington tube adjacent.
- Royal Academy of Arts: Major exhibitions and a beautiful courtyard.
- Photographers’ Gallery: Strong photography exhibitions with a decent café and bookshop.
- Estorick Collection: Italian modern art in a townhouse setting. Quiet and focused.
- Royal Academy of Arts (winter exhibition): Big-ticket shows and a refined, central London vibe.
- Whitechapel Gallery (free show): Contemporary exhibitions with a café for a warm reset.
- Serpentine Galleries (free show): Free exhibitions with the bonus of Hyde Park nearby.
- Saatchi Gallery (big rooms): Huge rooms for contemporary work and plenty of wandering.
- Tate Modern (late): Evening visits can be calmer, with great views from inside.
- National Gallery (masterpieces): Paintings, warmth, and zero entry fee.
- National Portrait Gallery (new hang): Easy to dip into for an hour between other plans.
- Wellcome Collection: Free museum exploring medicine, life and art. Euston Square direct access.
- Tate Britain Exhibition: Special exhibitions focusing on Turner and Constable works.
- Tate Modern: Britain's national gallery of modern and contemporary art. 5 min walk from Southwark station.
- National Gallery: European paintings from 13th-19th centuries in Trafalgar Square. Direct Charing Cross access.
- Wake The Tiger: An 80,000 sq ft 'amazement park' at Westfield, full of psychedelic rooms you wander through rather t
- Frameless Immersive Art: Multi-sensory digital art experience with projection-mapped rooms and interactive displays.
- Moco Museum: Modern and contemporary art museum featuring Banksy and digital artists.
- V&A East Storehouse: Walk straight into the V&A's working store: half a million objects on open shelves, no glass, no que
- Barbican Conservatory: A jungle hidden inside the Barbican's concrete: palms, ferns and koi under a glass roof. Open select
- Two Temple Place: An Astor mansion off the Embankment, opened to the public only for its winter exhibition. Stained gl
- Dulwich Picture Gallery: England’s oldest public art gallery with a brilliant permanent collection and seasonal exhibitions.
- Foundling Museum: Britain's first children's charity, told through Hogarth paintings and the heartbreaking tokens moth
- London Glassblowing: Watch glass being blown from a few feet away in Peter Layton's Bermondsey studio. Free to walk in an
- V&A East Museum: The Stratford sibling of the Storehouse, opened this April: five hundred-odd objects you can handle
- Camden Arts Centre: Free contemporary shows in a converted library, with a garden and a good cafe. Quiet on weekdays and
- Banksy Limitless London: Two floors of Banksy on Old Brompton Road, unauthorised by the artist and fairly open about it. Good