Tate Modern, London

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Tate Modern is said to be the most popular modern art gallery in the world. I am not that into modern art, but I wanted to go there anyway, and didn´t regret it.

Tate Modern is a very special gallery in a big former power station right on the banks of Thames. It mainly exhibits modern and contemporary art, some of which I don´t understand at all. And I so want to understand it. But here are also paintings by the masters, Monet f.ex. And surrealistic work by Dalí, Ernst and Miró. Here is also a Picasso collection and works by Mondrian, Giacometti, Pollock, Bourgeois, Rothko, Moore and Matisse. So it is well worth a visit.

Tate Modern is on 6 floors - and it is so spacious. There are exhibitions on 3 floors and they are so extensive and different from one another that I think everybody will find something there that they will like. I just rattled my brain over some of the modern art work and thought that the artist was maby taking us for a ride. But that is just my opinion, nobody forced me to go to Tate Modern, there are plenty of other traditional galleries if one is not into modern art. There was one art work though that made me think. In one showroom there was a big thingy (in lack of a better word) lit up, I would say 2 big lights, one on a table and one coming from above slowly approaching the light on the table. When they touched the light went out. The artist is showing the act of taking a photo and I kind of agree with him here. One can be so occupied with taking a photo that one doesn´t really enjoy what one is looking at. I have felt like this when I am traveling, instead of really absorbing the beauty of a place the first thing I do is take a photo.

This is what I love about art, when it makes you wake up and think. But most of the modern art work there didn´t do the trick, maybe some other time I will be more inclined to understanding this kind of art. There are free daily guided tours at 11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00 and I am going to go on those tours next time I visit Tate Modern. Maybe that will make me appreciate this kind of art form more, or at least understand it.

There is a café there with fantastic views of London and the Milennium bridge. And Tate Modern is so lively, I would go there just to be around people and have some coffee and wander around in the show-rooms. Here are also interactive activities and films so there is plenty to do here and a visit will take ca 2-3 hours.

Photos are allowed without flash.

Admission: free. Some exhibitions are not free of charge though.

Opening hours: Sunday-Thursday: 10:00-18:00. Friday and Saturday: 10:00-22:00.

There is a boat, the Tate boat, which takes people from Tate Modern to Take Britain. But I wouldn´t recommend visiting both galleries in one day, my mission was to visit 2 galleries/museums every day... it just proved to be too much. One cannot take it all in, especially in such big museums/galleries.

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I’m pretty sure that to say the Tate Modern is a controversial, even polemical, gallery is not exactly a bad thing when referring to an institution that houses and displays contemporary art. Its collections and its exhibitions are certain to cause discussion, at the very least, and are usually very interesting from a number of points of view, the artistic being only one among many. Prominent along the south side of the Thames, the Tate Modern is housed in what was initially built as the Bankside Power Station. The modernist, functional yet ugly design of the building, together with attendant smokestack, meshes well with the ability of the Tate Modern to question and probe modern trends and ideas relating to aesthetics and the place of art in society. The Tate Modern’s collection is not displayed in chronological order, but is arranged according to themes, which, grosso modo, mean that the curators have tried to group various schools and trends in art around core concepts. Thus, although Pop Art might be separated from Futurism by Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism, Pop Art and Futurism are grouped together, while Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism each find themselves in separate spaces. The Turbine Hall, located at the bottom of the building, functions as a temporary exhibition space, generally given over to commissioned works of art by famous contemporary artists, such as Ai WeiWei, Anish Kapoor, Louise Bourgeois and Doris Salcedo. The Tate Modern works on a voluntary admission fee scheme, which encourages visitors to stop by multiple times and to allow the works and their impact to sink in before taking on the rest of the collection.

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The Tate Modern now occupies the old Bankside Power Station and has a formidable collection of British Art from the last five centuries. The power station closed in 1981 and was converted since then by architects Herzog and De Meuron and now has seven floors, the bottom five having the galley space (opened in 2000). The exhibits are arranged in five sections and there are also temporary displays. Outside the Tate Modern seems to be a place where street performers gather but there was one interesting fellow who seemed to be working up to complete 5,000 squat thrusts. Today's target was 2,500 and the fellow seemed to be doing it so people are more aware for the need of exercise.

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The Tate Modern is housed in an old power station on the south bank of the Thames in central London. It doesn't sound like an appealing location, but strangely it actually is. The scale of the building with it's old chimney is quite impressive and the vastness of the space inside in the Turbine Hall lends itself to creating a very atmospheric exhibition space.

I'm no expert in art of any description, but I do like looking at nice things and I tend to prefer more modern stuff to older more traditional stuff. The Tate Modern has lots of stuff that I thought was great, other stuff that was more interesting or challenging rather than being immediately visually appealing (but still good) and other stuff that is (in my very humble and unrefined opinion) just plain weird. But all of it will give you something to talk about.

This isn't an elitist place and it's usually very busy if not crowded. It's also not a quiet place like many museums and galleries, there always seems to be noise and children running around.

Admission is free except for the temporary exhibitions (which can be very expensive). Donations are requested however.

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Tate Modern is housed on a former Bankside Power station that turned into a big museum for modern art. I have visited the museum many times as there are often different installations and exhibitions. Sometimes I get bored some other times I get excited here but that’s a risk that you take with modern art.

The museum is usually full of young people that enjoy this amazing gallery, I guess for some of them may be the only museum they have ever visited :)

The collection is big with thousands of paintings, photos, video installations, sculptures etc Of course it includes some masterpieces of famous people like Picasso, Hirst etc

It is open Sunday-Thursday 10.00-18.00 and Friday/Saturday 10.00-22.00

There’s no entrance fee
There are more than one cafes inside the museum but the one at the 7th floor is great even if you don’t want to order something because you will have amazing view over Millennium bridge (and for free!)

For quite a few years, the power station stood neglected on the river opposite St Paul's Cathedral. That was until the Tate Modern Gallery decided that it would make a stunning art gallery.

The gallery has lots of weird and wonderful examples of modern art from artists such as: Thomas Struth, Eduardo Paolozzi, Damien Hirst and Pablo Picasso. All of the main rooms are free to visit but there is a fee to enter the special exhibitions. When we visited it was the last days of the Matisse and Picasso exhibition.

Exhibits include paintings, photos, sculptures and films. Even if you are not a great fan of modern art it is still worth looking around at the surroundings of the exhibits.

The gallery opens at 10am though closing times vary and are late evening at weekends.

Did you know this is the most visited modern art gallery in the world? and it is free!

The Tate Modern is housed in the former Bankside Power Station and for me, as much as I love to wander around the works of art, I love just as much to stroll through the building admiring it's construction.

It is a relaxed gallery which strives to reach people who may not ordinarily visit an art gallery. It is also an incredibly child friendly gallery which frequently runs childre groups, between the galleries and an especially devoted studio.

There are 2 eateries within the Tate Modern. The best one has to be on the top floor due to the exspanse of glass and stunning views along the Thames.

It closes for 3 days a year 24, 25 & 26th December.

One of the newest public contemporary art galleries in the UK. established in 2001. It quickly establised itself as one of the most visited places in the UK, attracting 5 million people in the first year.

A converted power station on the banks of the Thames, the building itself is as interesting as some of the exhibitions, with a stunning central interior concourse.

As well as the permanent collection which is rotated frequently to ensure its extensive collection is seen, it hosts some of the most important names in contemporary art: Warhol established itself as the most popular in ithe gallery's short history, the Matisse & Picasso exhibitions resulting in the galleries been open 24 hours over the weekend!

And what's more, except for the major exhibitions, access is free.

Opening times: 10am-6pm, Sunday-Thursday, 10am-10pm, Friday & Saturday
Closed 24 & 25 December

On the south bank of the Thames just beyond St Pauls via the Millennium bridge, the Tate Modern is, as the name suggests, a museum of modern art. Even if you don't like modern art, it's an amazing space and is a great place to go and take some time to yourself. You need at least a full day to experience it all properly as it is huge! It has a massive high ceiling in the entrance, known as the Turbine Hall, giving a feeling of immense space and freedom and people use the place to meet up with friends, read or soak up the arty atmosphere for hours on end.

The Turbine Hall is where several contraversial installations have been situated. You may have heard of the giant crack in the floor, closed due to health and safety concerns when someone fell into it and the sea of porcelain seeds, roped off due to the fine dust they gave off when walked on.

It has many quiet areas for contemplation or study and is another real haven from the hectic city outside. It also has great views over the Thames from the balconies. There are a few cafes and restaurants there too and entrance is free, as with other London museums.

There are usually special exhibitions some of which are chargeable, but you can access the rest of the museum without paying. Donations are of course welcome.

I just love the Tate Modern. I never need an excuse to visit this art gallery.
Currently showing the amazing Gaugin (until 16th Jan 2011) - I will be reporting back after our next visit.

Tickets aren't cheap at £13.50 (concessions £10)

There is more to do than just the exhibitions. Interactive corner, reading, sketching, filem and media, shop and it's family friendly with changing facilities and buggy parking etc

If you are visiting London - It's a must do.