The vast quantity of art within London’s National Gallery makes exploring the museum independently an intimidating feat. This private tour of the National Gallery ensures you see all of the collection’s highlights, giving you the opportunity to admire masterpieces and artistic techniques you may have missed when browsing aimlessly. Your guide will lead you to iconic works by Van Gogh, Botticelli, Monet and Rembrandt, while offering insight into the lives of the painters. Plus, receive undivided attention from your guide and customize the itinerary according to your preferences.

Private tour of the National gallery in London
Ideal for art enthusiasts who wish to learn more about the museum's iconic works
See masterpieces by greats such as Van Gogh, Botticelli, Monet and Rembrandt
Receive personalized attention from a private guide
Customize your itinerary to include paintings of personal interest
Choose a morning or afternoon departure time

What's Included

Guided Museum Tour
Tour Guide Exclusively For You (Does NOT apply if you choose "SAVE! BOOK SEMI-PRIVATE" option)
Duration 2.5 Hours
Wheelchair Friendly (Does NOT apply if you choose "SAVE! BOOK SEMI-PRIVATE" option)

Tour price does NOT include hotel pickup or drop-off (we recommend UBER or Taxi)
Tour price does NOT include gratuities (optional)
Temporary exhibitions NOT included

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN, UK
Meet your guide outside the Sainsbury wing entrance by the red telephone booth situated on the sidewalk of Pall Mall E across the street from the Canada House.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Greet your private guide at the impressive front entrance of London’s National Gallery, an iconic cultural institution located in Trafalgar Square. Discuss with your guide the paintings that interest you and then embark on a personalized tour of the museum.

While listening to contextual commentary, marvel at masterpieces by Botticelli, Monet and Rembrandt, and see paintings that range from the 14th-century to the 1900s. Discover iconic works such as Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ and admire lesser-known oeuvres such as ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ by Jane van Eyck.

When your tour draws to a conclusion, receive recommendations on how to tackle the National Gallery’s 2,300-strong collection and continue exploring independently.

National Gallery

2 hours 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible

Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
It is imperative that you provide us with guests MOBILE PHONE NUMBER (including country code)
Notes: National Gallery and other attractions or museums in London may be subjected to occasional closures without previous warning from the museum management. When this occurs, we will provide guests with an appropriate alternative if the museum opening time is delayed more than 1h from the tour starting time. In these cases we are unable to provide refunds or discounts. Appropriate dress is required for entry into some sites on this tour. No large bags or suitcases are allowed inside the museum, only handbags or small thin bag packs are allowed through security. Due to increased security measures at many attractions some lines may form on tours with 'Skip the Line' or 'No Wait' access. Some specific rooms inside the museum are subjected to a very quiet or restricted right to speak inside, in this cases your guide will provide the information about this places before entering the specific rooms where this rule applies. Some collections may vary along the year.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveller Photos

Reviews

5.0

48 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 48 reviews

Very happy

suzanne_T, Sept 2023

Seeing art that I had only read about, up close was wonderful. Matilda, our guide, made our tour delightful. She is knowledgeable, quick witted, energetic, engaging and made our diverse group all feel included.

Fantastic

Anthony_Z, Sept 2023

Luis was amazing Very very friendly and very very knowledgeable We loved our tour with him and would very highly recommend him to friends

Loved having a guide!

Lori_W, Sept 2023

Our guide got us right in! Usherd us to bathrooms and coat check area. She was able to take us to the main things we wanted to see and was a wealth of knowledge that really peaked our interest and so many pieces of art having our guide was a must! It gets crowded and guide will navigate you through thank goodness. Lots of standing!

Amazing Tour Guide

Patrick_C, Sept 2023

A few weeks before our scheduled tour at the National Gallery, I reached out to Babylon Tours via Viator with a question about the tour, but unfortunately, they never responded. This initially made me consider canceling both of my tours with Babylon because their lack of response raised doubts about the tour's quality. However, due to a death in the family, we did not have time to search for and book an alternative tour, so we decided to stick with Babylon. The day before our scheduled tour, we received an email from Babylon, containing details such as our tour guide's name (Stephanie) and her contact information, along with clear and comprehensive instructions on where to meet Stephanie. Our experience with Stephanie exceeded all expectations and was simply AMAZING!!! Although we had booked a semi-private tour, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we were the only participants for that time slot, essentially granting us a private tour. Stephanie's passion for art was unmistakable, as she energetically and effectively explained the artwork to us, providing insights on how to appreciate and interpret the art. Although my wife is an art lover and understood most of the artwork, I was not, but learned more from Stephanie in our tour than I ever had before. After our tour concluded, we decided to explore the National Gallery further, and I noticed many of the things Stephanie had pointed out to us in other paintings. Despite our initial concerns about Babylon, Stephanie's exceptional guidance saved the day, and we would not hesitate to choose Babylon again, especially if Stephanie was our guide!

Just what we were looking for!

sue_d, June 2023

Matilda was very informative and friendly. Good pace and fun to listen to personal insights. Her background is history as well as art really came through.

Really enjoyed the tour. ...

Cassandra_C, June 2023

Really enjoyed the tour. Steph provided a lot of insight and background to the paintings that were on displayed. She made the art feel accessible to a novice art lover. Her passion for art really made the tour enjoyable and was glad that she was ours compared so other tours we saw in the museum.

Tailored Tour of National Gallery

David_R, June 2023

Our guide was knowledgeable and engaging. She kept all three of us engaged throughout with her presentation and questions. Top notch.

Jake is knowledgeable and...

Nandini_K, June 2023

Jake is knowledgeable and guided us through the museum’s highlights very well! I am not sure if we would have done justice to our visit with Jake guiding us through it.

Spectacular tour of the National Gallery!

Jennifer_V, June 2023

Absolutely wonderful tour of the National Gallery! Elle was a wonderful tour guide and really brought the art pieces we focused on to life. Wonderful experience!

An Excellent and Engaging Tour!

Brigitte_Z, Feb 2023

Our family of four had the pleasure of having Anthony give us a guided tour of some of the brilliant works of art at the National Gallery. His deep knowledge is impressive, and he brought the paintings to life. There are so many works of art there that it can be quite overwhelming, and the tour was well worth it. Even my teenage daughter was completely engaged, asked lots of questions, and now would like to learn more about art in other museums. A thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating way to spend an afternoon!

Just a perfect tour by Luis!

Douglas_G, Feb 2023

Luis was great. Very knowledgeable and answered every question. He also adjusted our tour so we could see Cranach paintings, which was not on his agenda.

Great tour, warm, knowledgable guide

Pat_M, Jan 2023

Our tour guide Becky, who has strong art history background, gave us great information about the artwork, the artist and the context in which it was created. It was a great tour and she was very good.

Fantastic guide with great knowledge and passionate delivery

Laura_H, Aug 2022

Sacha was waiting outside for us when we arrived. He was excellent, very knowledgeable, passionate very personable and articulate. The two hours flew by and we had never appreciated looking at paintings like this before. Thoroughly recommend it.

Luis was great! The tour...

Willeen_P, Aug 2022

Luis was great! The tour was informative and fun. One of the best London tours we have had. Made the tour memorable for everyone.

British museum tour

John_F, June 2022

Luis, our guide, very well informed on the venue and items at the museum. Did a fantastic job and kept everyone entertained. Would recommend to anyone

The guide had a unique...

MarcusAllen, May 2022

The guide had a unique ability to show the progression of history though art. I had seen some of the paintings previously but he pointed out many things to look for that put the paintings into greater historical context.

Fuller experience

Kim_J, Apr 2022

Becky brought insight and new viewpoints about the art we were viewing alive! It made touring the gallery so much more than just looking at beautiful paintings.

great experience

tommaso_F, Feb 2022

The guide was impressive ( Becky) Very knowledgeable articulate very interactive all questions answered