National Gallery London 2026: Free Entry, 200th Anniversary & What's On
The permanent collection is free. The bicentenary festival runs all year from 10 May. Renoir and Love lands October. Fridays open until 21:00. Here's what to know before you go.
Walk into the National Gallery without buying a ticket. Stand in front of Van Gogh's Sunflowers, spend twenty minutes with the Arnolfini Portrait, catch Turner's Fighting Temeraire before the afternoon crowds arrive. Leave. Come back next week. The permanent collection is free, and there's no obligation to see it all at once.
That changes how you visit.
Is the National Gallery London free in 2026?
Yes. Over 2,000 works from 1250 to 1900 — no ticket, no booking required. Temporary exhibitions charge separately. A free online timed-entry reservation is recommended in high season (not obligatory). Walk-up entry is usually possible outside peak hours; on summer weekends, capacity limits can kick in.
Come on a Friday and the building stays open until 21:00. The Impressionist rooms — Room 43 and its neighbours — are noticeably quieter after 19:00. That's the best window in the week for Monet, Seurat, and Van Gogh without a crowd behind you.
The Sainsbury Wing reopened in May 2025
The Sainsbury Wing reopened on 10 May 2025 — the museum's bicentenary — after a renovation by Selldorf Architects. The old dark glazed staircase is gone: floor-to-ceiling clear glass now floods the space, with a double-height foyer 60% larger than before.
Bar Giorgio (espresso bar by Giorgio Locatelli) is on the ground floor. The Locatelli restaurant on the mezzanine takes bookings. The Sainsbury Wing entrance on Pall Mall East is also the quietest way into the building — less signposted, significantly less busy.
The renovation brought the first complete rehang of the permanent collection since 1991. New dedicated rooms for Rembrandt, Titian, and Monet. The Sainsbury Wing now holds medieval and Renaissance painting from 1250 to 1500; everything from 1500 onward is in the Wilkins Building.
The 200th anniversary festival — from 10 May 2026
A year-long bicentenary programme runs from 10 May 2026 — a year to the day after the Sainsbury Wing opened — through spring 2027. Most events are free with timed booking on the official site: late openings, live music in the galleries, talks with curators, and a national programme of touring loans to UK regional museums.
The practical takeaway: if you're in London between May 2026 and spring 2027, the Friday late opening (until 21:00) will often have additional bicentenary programming in the galleries. Check nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on on the day of your visit.
What exhibitions are on at the National Gallery in 2026?
Temporary shows are ticketed separately from the free permanent collection.
Currently on (April 2026). Wright of Derby: From the Shadows runs until 10 May — the first major show of Joseph Wright's candlelit night scenes. Stubbs: Portrait of a Horse is on until 31 May and is free to view.
Summer 2026. Zurbarán (2 May – 23 August) is the first major UK monographic exhibition of the Spanish master Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664) — still lifes, saints, and the white monastic habits that made his reputation. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (2 July – 20 September) is the first UK show for the Austrian Biedermeier painter.
Autumn 2026 — the big one. Renoir and Love (3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027) is the largest Renoir retrospective in the UK in 20 years — over 50 works, tracing how Renoir painted desire, domesticity, and the women in his life across four decades. Book early: this one will sell out.
One item to watch. If the Arnolfini Portrait is on your list, check its room before you visit. From November 2026 to April 2027, it may be moved for the Van Eyck Portraits exhibition.
Prefer a guide? The National Gallery guided tour on GetYourGuide covers the highlights — Van Gogh, Vermeer, Turner, the Arnolfini — in 90 minutes with an art expert. Entry to the permanent collection is included.
The National Gallery guide — ready in 3 minutes
- Friday after 19:00 — the one window when the Impressionist rooms are half-empty
- The room order that gets you to Sunflowers and Arnolfini before the midday crowd builds
- Arnolfini Portrait, Room 52: what the convex mirror in the background actually shows
What to look for
Notice how the Arnolfini Portrait (Room 52) functions as a document. The convex mirror on the back wall reflects two figures not visible in the main scene — likely witnesses to whatever event van Eyck was recording. The Latin inscription above reads "Jan van Eyck was here." It's not a signature. It's a legal record.
Compare the two Leonardo rooms. The Virgin of the Rocks in the Sainsbury Wing and the Burlington House Cartoon in Room 51a share the same subject. The Cartoon is the only large preparatory drawing by Leonardo to survive and is rarely crowded.
Stand in front of The Fighting Temeraire (Room 40). Turner painted it in 1839: a warship that fought at Trafalgar being towed to the breakers by a steam tug. The tug is black and belching smoke. The Temeraire glows white and gold. Voted the greatest British painting in a public poll.
Track the paint surface in Sunflowers (Room 43). Van Gogh painted seven versions. Look at the thickness of individual brushstrokes — it shifts noticeably between the petals, stems, and background. He was building texture, not applying colour flat.
What do most visitors wish they knew about the National Gallery?
The Getty Entrance (north side, Orange Street) skips the Trafalgar Square queue. The main Portico Entrance funnels the crowd from the square through a single security line; on a busy Saturday that can mean twenty minutes standing outside. The Getty Entrance and the Sainsbury Wing entrance (Pall Mall East) almost always move faster.
Most visitors turn right to the Renaissance. Turn left. The 19th-century rooms — Impressionists, Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites — have the same audio-guide anchors as the famous rooms but a fraction of the bodies. You can sit with the Sunflowers on a bench on a weekday morning without anyone behind you.
Friday 19:00–20:45 is the calmest hour of the week. Tour groups have left. Evening visitors self-select for art, not itineraries. Room 43 — Sunflowers, Van Gogh's Chair, Wheatfield with Cypresses — is often half-empty.
The free guided tour at 14:00 (Monday to Friday) covers five or six selected works in 60 minutes. No booking required — it starts in the main hall. Visitors who take it consistently say the guides add context the audio guide doesn't replicate.
- Entry
- Free (permanent collection) · Temporary exhibitions priced separately
- Hours
- Mon–Thu & Sun: 10:00–18:00 · Fri: 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:45) · Sat: 10:00–18:00
- Closed
- 24–26 December · 1 January
- Quietest entrance
- Getty Entrance (Orange Street, north side) · Sainsbury Wing (Pall Mall East)
- Free reservation
- Recommended, not required — nationalgallery.org.uk
- Free guided tour
- Mon–Fri 14:00 · 60 min · 5–6 works · No booking needed
- Paid guided tour
- GetYourGuide: highlights tour with art expert · 90 min · entry included
- 2026 highlights
- Bicentenary festival from 10 May · Zurbarán (May–Aug) · Renoir and Love (Oct 2026 – Jan 2027)
- Nearest tube
- Charing Cross (2 min) · Leicester Square (3 min) · Embankment (5 min)
Hours and details can change — confirm on the official site before you go.
Last verified: April 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is the National Gallery London free in 2026?
Yes. The permanent collection is free and no booking is required. Temporary exhibitions charge separately. A free online timed-entry reservation is recommended in high season but not required.
When is the National Gallery open?
Monday to Thursday and Sunday: 10:00–18:00. Friday: 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:45). Saturday: 10:00–18:00. Closed 24–26 December and 1 January.
What exhibitions are at the National Gallery in 2026?
Zurbarán (2 May – 23 August), the first major UK monographic show of the Spanish master. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (2 July – 20 September), the first UK exhibition of the Austrian painter. Renoir and Love (3 October 2026 – 31 January 2027), the largest Renoir show in the UK for 20 years. Wright of Derby: From the Shadows runs until 10 May and Stubbs: Portrait of a Horse (free) until 31 May.
Is the National Gallery's 200th anniversary in 2026?
The bicentenary year runs across 2024–2026. A year-long festival of free and ticketed programming — concerts, late openings, curator talks, regional loans — begins on 10 May 2026, exactly one year after the Sainsbury Wing reopened, and continues into spring 2027.
Has the Sainsbury Wing reopened?
Yes. It reopened on 10 May 2025 after a renovation by Selldorf Architects — new double-height foyer, natural light, Locatelli restaurant, and the first complete rehang of the permanent collection since 1991.
Which National Gallery entrance has the shortest queue?
The Getty Entrance on Orange Street (north side) is consistently quieter than the main Portico Entrance on Trafalgar Square. The Sainsbury Wing entrance on Pall Mall East is the third option — less signposted, least busy.
Do I need to book the National Gallery in advance?
No booking is required for free entry. The museum recommends a free online reservation in high season. Walk-up is possible but can lead to queues in summer or on busy weekends.
The National Gallery is free, open late on Fridays, and in its bicentenary year. For other free options in the area, see our free things to do in London guide — it covers the Barbican Conservatory, Horniman Museum, and six more beyond the major museums. Or if you're deciding between the two London heavyweights, National Gallery vs Tate Modern makes the call.