Tate Britain

The Tate family of galleries has grown significantly over the past couple of decades, with offspring in St. Ives (Cornwall), Liverpool, and just downriver on the Thames. As in any family, it's the younger members who do most of the showing off, and get most of the attention; but the original still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Indeed, the original Tate gallery has been reinvigorated in the 21st century.

Founded in 1897 by the sugar merchant Sir Henry Tate, as the National Gallery of British Art, it spent much of the 20th century building up such a large collection of modern international pieces that it lost sight of its original remit. However, the opening of Tate Modern in 2000 allowed the 20th-century stuff to fly the nest and gave the newly revamped "Tate Britain" the chance to get back to its core values.

Fronting the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge, Tate Britain looks like a smaller and more graceful relation of the British Museum. Within is the country's finest collection of domestic art, dating from the 16th century to the present, with most of the country's leading artists represented, including such notable figures as Constable, Gainsborough, Hogarth, Reynolds, Stubbs, and the incomparable William Blake, as well as modern greats including Stanley Spencer, Francis Bacon, and David Hockney. The collection of works by J. M. W. Turner is the gallery's largest by a single artist, spread over seven rooms. Turner himself willed most of his paintings and watercolors to the nation.

And, just to show the young ones that it can still swing with the best of them, Tate Britain is also the host each autumn of the annual Turner Prize, the media-baiting, controversy-seeking competition for the best contemporary British art.

Free tours of parts of the collection are offered Monday to Friday (at 11am, noon, and 3pm) and on Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 3pm, and the first Friday of each month sees the "Late at Tate" event, which involves extended opening hours and free events, such as talks, film screenings, or live music.

If you want to make an art-filled day of it, the Tate to Tate boat service departs from just outside to Tate Modern all day.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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