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    National Portrait Gallery

    Is this your business?
    3,213 Reviews
    #11 of 439 things to do in Washington DC
    Museums, History Museums, Art Museums
    Closed Now: 11:30 AM - 7:00 PM
    F Street NW, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, DC 20560
    Open today: 11:30 AM - 7:00 PM
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    Traveler Overview
    4.53,213 reviews
    • Excellent73%
    • Very good22%
    • Average3%
    • Poor1%
    • Terrible1%
    Travelers talk about
    “american art”(154 reviews)
    “covered courtyard”(48 reviews)
    “famous americans”(48 reviews)
    About
    Visitors can view the portraits of all the U.S. presidents.
    Closed Now
    Hours Today: 11:30 AM - 7:00 PM
    See all hours
    Suggested duration: < 1 hour
    As featured in DC Art Lovers Guide
    Contact
    F Street NW, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, DC 20560
    Downtown / Chinatown
    Website
    +1 202-357-2700
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    Ways to Experience National Portrait Gallery
    Smithsonian American Art Small Group Adventure
    from $40.00
    More Info
    DC Tour with Wine on a Rickshaw
    from $60.00
    More Info
    Washington DC Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley, plus...
    1,389 Reviews
    from $46.95
    More Info
    Hop-On Hop-Off Washington DC Bus Tour
    24 Reviews
    from $39.00
    More Info
    Reviews (3,213)
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    All reviews american art covered courtyard famous americans presidents portraits patent office michelle obama bill clinton third floor historical figures civil war great art verizon center permanent collection special exhibit couple of hours on display across the street
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    1 - 10 of 3,007 reviews
    Reviewed yesterday
    Great atake in for all

    Visited the National Portrait Gallery in December, have never been before. Quite impressive. View many portraits, had a light snack in the covered atrium, a wonderful experience.

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank Christine E
    Reviewed 2 days ago
    Unable to visit the Smithsonian Museums

    We arranged a weekend in Washington DC during a visit of several days in order to explore our favorite Smithsonian Museums. Unfortunately, due to the President's shutdown of federal offices and buildings, there was no access. We were left to recall vivid memories from earlier...More

    Date of experience: January 2019
    Thank gomenn
    Reviewed 4 days ago
    Pure glimpse into American Art experience

    This museum is fantastic if you wish to have an overview of the history of our American leaders. We were with an excellent docent who took us thru the American Art Gallery ,which is in one side of the same building, and then dropped us...More

    Date of experience: November 2018
    Thank mildredSantaFe
    Reviewed 1 week ago
    Great place to visit

    it's not the best known museum but it certainly is worth the detour. There are so many incredible paintings in this amazing museum.

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank EasternCanada
    Reviewed 1 week ago
    Surpringly cool!

    The gallery is a great museum of art! I thought it was simply the place to see the presidential portraits, but it is much more.it is certainly American art, but terrific pieces. The wing with the presidential portraits was a surprise and filled with a...More

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank Jim R
    Reviewed 1 week ago
    You must go here to see the presidential portraits

    I thought this would be a less-interesting museum, but I was very pleased with the presidential portraits - you must see them.

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank VAseawitch
    Reviewed 1 week ago
    Off the main drag but worth visiting

    My friend and I went to see the new Obama paintings and enjoyed viewing all the presidential portraits. Especially loved the painting, The Four Justices, a portrait of the women who have served on the Supreme Court. This is a stop worth making when you...More

    Date of experience: June 2018
    Thank Marilyn S
    Reviewed 1 week ago
    Burning Man exhibit was great!

    we live in NorCal but have never been to Burning Man ...not our scene ...but this did a great job of communicating about the art and the artists - which has always been a major point of BM - good job!

    Date of experience: September 2018
    Thank KennedyBrooks
    Reviewed 2 weeks ago
    My favorite museum!

    This is a must see museum in DC! The Presidential portraits and many other incredible exhibits are so interesting! Don't miss this one!

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank LesleyMoP
    Reviewed 2 weeks ago
    A fantastic museum

    I hadn't been to the portrait gallery in a number of years and was blown away by what it contains. In addition to the presidential gallery of portraits and the highlight of the new Obama portraits, the second floor contains paintings and some photos of...More

    Date of experience: December 2018
    Thank luxlovernyc
    View more reviews
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    Questions & Answers
    Ask a question
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    Heather W
    September 27, 2018|
    AnswerShow all 16 answers
    Response from WeloveParisfor3 | Reviewed this property |
    All smithsonian museums are free
    2
    Votes
    Marisie007
    June 22, 2018|
    AnswerShow all 13 answers
    Response from RustonTraveller | Reviewed this property |
    No wait to enter. I’ve seen a 10-15 minute wait to stand in front of President Obama’s portrait (Weekend), Mrs Obama’s portrait was just crowded.
    1
    Vote
    vanemburghsusie
    May 4, 2018|
    AnswerShow all 3 answers
    Response from bobphillips32 | Reviewed this property |
    I do not believe so
    0
    Votes
    1234
    Travel Forum Posts
    c-scape
    monroeville, pa
    Suites for 7 women on a reunion trip in D.C. (2 Replies)
    We are looking to stay in D.C. near some good restaurants and want to go to the National Portrait Gallery among some other sites. We haven't been to D.C. together for many, many years. We would like to stay in several suite rooms for 2 nights. Any suites with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms? (4 women in 1 room with only 1 bathroom could be difficult)! If not, 2-3 suite rooms would work out too. Any suggestions would be helpful.
    January 13, 2007|
    Response fromCockleCove|
    How about the St. Gregory? Typically attracts fewer families than the local Embassy Suites properties, so seems better suited for your girls'-getaway. You'll want to do some "comparison shopping" -- via, e.g., the Check Rates feature which accompanies its TA review: in the past year or so, the hotel's own web site has not always been the source of the lowest rates: tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g28970-d220076-…
    Grecofan2
    Manchester, United Kingdom
    Trip Report - 26th to 28th September (1 Replies)
    I'm currently watching England playing France in the Rugby World Cup quarter final and it's not going well for us so I thought I'd finally post my TR. We arrived by Amtrak from Philly early afternoon and made our made through Union Station. I'd heard the station architecture is worth a look and as we were being directed to the metro and it's really just a vast corridor, I ducked out into the main station for a quick peek. On entering the metro station we immediately noticed how large and...More
    October 08, 2011|
    Response fromarlingtonman13|
    Very nice report! Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay in DC. We look forward to welcoming you back time and time again! ~Arlingtonman13
    RichardNYC
    New York
    March 23/24 likely to be very crowded? (1 Replies)
    We've been considering visiting March 23-24 to see museums (such as National Gallery of Art, Freer, National Portrait Gallery), Capitol Hill, etc. I now see that those days are forecast to be peak Cherry Blossoms. Are museums, Capitol Hill, etc. likely to be very crowded as a result of the peak forecast, or are people visiting for Cherry Blossom season likely to stick to viewing cherry blossoms?
    March 08, 2012|
    Response fromDarrell6t|
    The crowds will be near the cherry blossoms. The other places will be fairly normal for a Spring weekend. Crowded, but not VERY crowded. I don't think the Freer is ever crowded. It isn't on most visitor's itinerary.
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