National Portrait Gallery is now offering early hours tours

The National Portrait Gallery has started offering new tours of the art collection, aimed at people who want a quieter visit before the crowds arrive. The new early-access tours will focus on the Gallery’s most popular portraits in spaces that are often busy during regular gallery opening hours.

The 45-minute tours start at 10 am, giving you half an hour in the empty gallery before it opens to the public at 10:30 am.

The Before the Crowds tours will take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 10am from Friday 21st June, marking one year since the National Portrait Gallery reopened following its refurbishment.

The tours will cost £15 per person (£16.50 including a donation), and you can book up to 4 tickets per tour.

The maximum tour capacity is 30 people – and tickets are on sale now from here.

Note: These are not the same as quiet mornings for people with sensory disabilities — there are free sensory tours available.