National Portrait Gallery
The collection at the National Portrait Gallery celebrates the people who have helped to shape British life and culture since the early 16th century - who prove to be a fascinatingly motley crew.
Here you can meet the curious gaze of Sir Winston Churchill, make eyes at rosy-cheeked, saucily attired Nell Gwyn, mistress of Charles II, or watch a sleeping David Beckham, courtesy of artist Sam Taylor-Wood's oddly intimate video installation.
The gallery starts with Tudor paintings on the second floor (the Chandos portrait of Shakespeare, Henry VIII by Holbein and the Ditchley Elizabeth I among them); as you approach the present day, the collection starts to include the familiar faces of contemporary sporting heroes, pop stars, actors, writers, politicians and artist.
There are sculptures as well as paintings and photographs; in Room 38, you can't miss the bust of Marc Quinn, Self, made from the artist's own blood.
St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE (7306 0055, www.npg.org.uk)
Leicester Square Tube or Charing Cross tube/rail
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