Tate Modern ★★

Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern
Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
A gallery at the Tate Modern, London, Tate Modern, London (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
Olafur Eliasson's the Weather Project (2003) installation at the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo © Reid Bramblett)
Contemplating a work from the "Bacchus" series (2008) Cy Twombly, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra)
The Tate Modern lives in an old power station on the Thames, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Christine Matthews)
Andy Warhol room, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Robert)
Contemplating a pair of "Red on Maroon" (1959) by Mark Rothko, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Edna Winti)
"Whaam!" by (1963) by Roy Lichtenstein, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Neal Ungerleider)
"Summertime: Number 9A" (1948) by Jackson Pollock, Tate Modern, London (Photo by MO-A)
An exhibit in the turbine room of the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Mr. Pink)
"Nude Woman with Necklace" (1968) by Pablo Picasso, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Mark Colliton)
"Fountain (1917, replica 1964) by Marcel Duchamp, Tate Modern, London (Photo by MO-A)
"Staircase-III" (2010) by Do Ho Suh, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Tammy O.)
A detail of "White Field" (1964) by Gunther Uecker, Tate Modern, London (Photo by muffinn)
Detail from "Autoconstruccion" (2008) by Abraham Cruzvillegas, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Isabell Schulz)
A room in the Tate Modern, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Adrian Pingstone)
Girl with a White Dog (1950–1) by Lucian Freud—depicting his first wife, Kitty Garman, when she was pregnant, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Lucien Freud)
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944) by Francis Bacon, Tate Modern, London (Photo by Francis Bacon)
1934 (relief) by Ben Nicholson, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
June 1937 (painting) by Ben Nicholson, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
1934-6 (painting - still life) by Ben Nicholson, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
La guitare (Mandora, La Mandore) (1909–10) by Georges Braque, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
The Blue Circus (1950) by Marc Chagall, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
Back I (plaster model: 1913; bronze cast: 1955) by Henri Matisse, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
The Snail (1953) by Henri Matisse, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
Studio Interior (1903–04) by Henri Matisse, showing a corner of Matisse's apartment at 19 Quai St. Michel, Paris, where he lived from 1899 to 1907, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
Weeping Woman (1937) by Pablo Picasso, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
Figure dans un Fauteuil (Seated Nude, Femme nue assise) (1909–10) by Pablo Picasso, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate)
Emile Bernard (1885) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Tate Modern, London (Photo courtesy of the Tate Modern)

Fantastic modern art museum in a massive former power plant, with blockbuster exhibitions and a fab gift shop and bookstore

If you're into contemporary art, this place rocks.

The Tate’s famed international modern art collection occupies a huge renovated former power station on Bankside, just across the pedestrian Millennium Bridge from The City and St. Paul’s.

The collection includes art from the Impressionists to today—from Rodin’s The Kiss and dozens of pieces by Picasso, Matisse, and van Gogh to Dalí, Giacometti, and Modigliani, and later works by Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, Henry Moore, Julian Schnabel, Frank Stella, Anselm Keifer, and a host of other contemporary-era artists.

It also puts on showstopping major special exhibits of the sort the entire global art world talks about.

Seriously.

My father was an artist, so I run into this lot plenty, and I have honestly overheard the following conversation:

"I'm headed to London next week."

"Oh yes, why?"

"To see that exhibition at the Tate."

That was it. The entire purpose of a transatlantic trip was just to go to a temporary show at this one museum.

(Awesome gift store, too.)

Tours
 
Tate Modern Tours
 

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How long should I spend at the Tate Modern?

It's really down to how much you enjoy modern art.

The midly curious will likely spend at least an hour making their way through the permanent collections.

Fans will spend a solid 2-3 hours.

I honestly once came in here intending to tour the entire museum and instead ended up spending several hours just in the main entrance hall, marveling at a single temproary exhibit (Eliasson's the Weather Project, in the first picture at the top of the page) until the place closed. Had to come back the next day to see the museum proper. 

Make sure to budget a good 20–30 minutes (and probably a lot more money than you expected) in the awesome book store and gift shop.

Free audio guide with London Pass

Though admission is already free, don't forget to use your London Pass to get a free audio guide (normally £4.50).