Best for modern artWATTB90/100

Tate Modern

Photo: María Jesús Gonzalez Nevado · Google

Our verdict · A dramatic former power station on the South Bank, free to enter and packed with landmark modern art.

Visit if

You love modern and contemporary art and want to combine a gallery with a free South Bank stroll.

Skip it if

Your tastes run to classical or traditional art — the National Gallery may suit you better.

Plan your visit

Tate Modern

WATTB Score

90/ 100

Our research-based editorial assessment.

How we score →

Free (indicative; special exhibitions charge)

Indicative price at the time of review.

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Tate Modern turned a hulking riverside power station into one of the world's leading modern-art galleries, and its free collection displays span Picasso, Rothko, Warhol, Hockney and much contemporary work. The cavernous Turbine Hall hosts rotating large-scale installations, and the building sits at the centre of a superb free South Bank walk taking in the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe exterior and views across to St Paul's. The Blavatnik Building's free Level 10 viewing gallery offers wide city views, though after a Supreme Court privacy ruling brought by neighbouring residents it reopened on only three sides — so it is not a full 360 and the south-facing view is closed. Major temporary exhibitions are ticketed and paid; the permanent collection is free.

The good & the bad

Pros

Free access to a genuinely world-class modern-art collection
Free tenth-floor viewing level with wide City and river views
Anchors an excellent free riverside walk along the South Bank

Cons

Headline temporary exhibitions are ticketed and charged
Level 10's view is three-sided, not a full 360, after a privacy ruling
Modern and conceptual art will not appeal to every visitor

How it compares

Pick	WATTB Score	Price	Best for
1.The British Museum	98/100	Free (indicative; special exhibitions charge)	overall
2.Natural History Museum	94/100	Free (indicative; some exhibitions charge)	families
3.Sky Garden	90/100	Free (indicative; food and drink extra)	free view
4.Tate ModernThis pick	90/100	Free (indicative; special exhibitions charge)	modern art
5.Hyde Park	92/100	Free (indicative; deckchairs and boating extra)	the outdoors

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Good to know

4.5 ★Google · 83,547 reviews

Address: Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Phone: +44 20 7887 8888
Price: Free (indicative; special exhibitions charge)
Booking: Free entry to collection; no ticket usually needed for permanent displays

Opening hours