So, London is in mid-winter which means that it's not always
pleasant to be out and about in the elements. Our advice is to make
the most of the fantastic indoor space to be found right across
London, in some of the best art museums and galleries in the
world!
Do you know your Turner from your Hirst? Or your manga
comics from your post-impressionists? Read on and we'll show you a
good place to start.
Works by Damien Hirst can be viewed in
Tate Modern's permanent collection, including the
bizarre collections of animals in formaldehyde such as 'Mother
and Child Divided'. Entry to Tate Modern is free and Days Out
Guide has 2FOR1 entry to some of the paid-for special exhibitions,
such as Yayoi
Kusama opening on the 8th February.
After a visit to Tate, why not cross over the Millenium
footbridge towards St Paul's and hang a left down Fleet St and the
Strand where you'll end up in Trafalgar Square, home to the National Gallery and
National Portrait Gallery
where entry to both is free. In the former you'll be guaranteed to
find works by Turner such as 'The Fighting
Temeraire' but also different impressions of bathers by
Monet, Cézanne and
Seurat. If you like Turner then make sure to
download a 2FOR1 entry voucher for Turner Inspired:
In the Light of Claude - a blockbuster exhibiton dedicated to
the artist, opening in March. In the National Portrait
Gallery you'll find 160,000 portraits from the 16th
Century to the present day! Plus we have 2FOR1
vouchers to Lucian
Freud Portraits (opens on the 9th February) when you go by
train to the Capital.
Looking for something more modern? The British
Museum has a free exhibition on
manga drawings by the creator of Professor Munakata, Hoshino
Yukinobu. The V&A Museum has a range of
brilliant free exhibitions, including contemporary Chinese art
showcasing the ceramic and photographic work of
Ai WeiWei: Dropping the Urn. The Whitechapel
Gallery has a
free Rothko exhibition on until 26 February and lastly the
Serpentine Gallery, in the middle of Hyde Park, is
currently showing their latest free exhibition on Brazillian artist
Lygia Pape Magnetized
Space.
As with all of London's galleries and museums, you'll
find the beautiful spaces inside a real haven away from the hustle
and weather on the street outside, making a train trip to London a
worthy winter experience.
Plus, if you plan on travelling in numbers then a GroupSave fare will help you save money, as
3 or 4 people can travel off-peak for the price of 2 as well as
accompanying kids travelling for just £1. A Network
Railcard at £28 for one year is also worth considering
as up to 4 adults can get 1/3 off their rail fares in the Network
Railcard area and up to 4 accompanying children can get 60% off
their fares too! In addition there are also special child discounts
such as kids for a quid with Southern or Southeastern and kids for
£2 with First Capital
Connect.