a brilliant space. go for the entire experience. save time for the rothko. weep for the rothko; they will melt your armour. not as accessible as the original tate, but a big step further. walk. read more

The architecture alone is moving. Needed at least a day to fully appreciate the elegant geometry of Turbine Hall. It is grand. I saw a woman underestimate its dimensions once. She climbed to the top of a Louise Bourgeois sculpture (the first commissioned work for the Unilever series). When she got to the top she realized how tall the sculpture was and was afraid to come down. She did, eventually. Thanks to a nice guard and an hour's worth of time. And everyone in the gallery--perhaps three or four hundred people--applauded when her foot hit the last stair. read more

Great place to wonder around and at a location that is a great setting to walk along the southbank. I would recommend making most of day and coming here early then waking towards Borough market. Or vice versa actually from borough, to Tate, to Houses of Parliament all along river. It's a lovely London cultural walk and Tate has some good free art to see and pass the time. read more

I'll be honest, I am an Artist. Not the best by any measure but I know enough to determine whats good and whats not. And I'd say better than half of the art here is poor at best. The installations had to have been curated by friends of the so called artist that they owe favors too. Some are pointless and some will make any real artist scratch their head in bafflement. To be specific I've included a photo of the worst piece of art I've ever seen. How they could hang it is beyond me. It's almost as bad as calling a blank canvas "White Cow in Snow Storm" and trying to sell it for money. I'm surprised someone would actually curate it. In this case it is a large frame and blank canvas covered in something like cement looking plaster. Other works look like they could have been assembled by a pre-schooler. I will tell you that there are some nice works there. A few Dali's and other real artist's work. But not enough to make the trip to see unless your looking for something specific. Most of the photos I've included are the rubbish works. All in all it's not worth the money they charge or don't charge. There are many far better exhibits around London. Don't waste your time here and please don't take any young aspiring artist. You will ruin them for life. read more

A lot of paints are rubbish but there is Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Klee and other great artists who save this museum.

this place is huge. allot adequate time or else split your visit into separate trips. i found myself rushing through things, b/c there was just too much to see. the rooms are organized by themes, so you'll have a room of post-impressionism, then another room of surrealist art, and then another room of cubist art. there is also a lot of cool photography to check out. make sure to check out the sunflower seeds sculpture on the third floor. read the story behind the piece, because it is pretty moving. read more

The admission to the Tate Modern is free, but the four floor is dedicated to 2 different special temporary exhibitions and usually tickets cost around 10 pounds. The exhibition "Voyeurism, surveillance and the camera" contains a very special selection of controversial photos from between the middle of the 19th century and now. The main thematic sections being: celebrities, nudity, sex, war, death, intimacy, privacy, spying on people. Especially viewers are confronted with a few fundamental dilemmas of the profession : to what degree may a photographer intrude into a daily life of people, what and if are there any boundaries the photographer should not cross, are people entitled to protect their privacy, may governments spy on people using photos as their source material? At the exhibition one may find a number of very interesting examples of very first celebrity photos such as the picture of Edgar Degas leaving a pissoir or intrusive photos of Jacky Kennedy. The first attempts to capture eroticism come from the 1850s. This section contains some pornographic images, portraits of strippers, scenes from brothels and photos capturing a night life in parks. Additionally a number of photos depict intimate acts of ordinary people taken without their knowledge from disguise. The remaining part of the exhibition is dedicated to the presentation of photos depicting violent events, the subjects of photos may be members of Mafia in Palermo, the daughter of the Burgermeister of Leipzig when she committed suicide at the end of the war, an IRA gunman. A number of examples of war photography are shown along these photos especially these documenting the killings from African conflicts are distressing. The governments use the surveillance technology to invigilate demonstrations, identify protestants and to spy on foreign regimes, armies as well as ordinary people. The exhibition occupies 14 rooms and a number of photos presented there is overwhelming. Photos are on display until 03.10.10. read more

As a museum lover, during my trip to London, I just had to stop by the Tate Modern. As you cross the bridge to the Tate Modern, you can really take in the splendor of the Tate Modern, which sits on a great piece of history. As you enter the Tate Modern, you will become quite overwhelmed with how large it is. The Tate boasts a variety of collections, mostly of contemporary art. It has several artworks from famous painters such as Picasso, Monet and Pollack. Also, like other museums, there are traveling exhibitions which offer a great opportunity to see other works at the Tate. It's quite easy to get lost here, but it is a very interesting place to be. read more

I'd been dying to go here as everyone is always raving about it. And I was a little underwhelmed. One issue- it was packed and LOUD. It's hard to look and contemplate when the mood is more like a playground/club. The exhibits didn't blow me away. There were some pieces that caused a buzz. Where oh where was the Ai Wei Wei? The actual building was architecturally interesting. I dunno maybe it'll be your thing?!?! read more

I know it's free but seriously the art that was on display while we were there was not appreciated by anyone in my family. Maybe it's just us. read more

I keep thinking that I missed something... After moving to London, people kept telling me that the Tate Modern was a must-see, so I added it to my list. In an effort to tick off all boxes on my sightseeing list, I jetted down to the museum a few months back and was hardly astounded. Perhaps my hopes were set too high? I love the majority of other galleries and museums in London and I definitely appreciate that they're all free (including the Tate Modern), but this one didn't really do it for me. I'd take the National Gallery or the V&A over the Tate any day! read more

Not a fan of modern art, but it's interesting. Each "piece" takes up a huge room. Music, whispering, cement balls. Interesting. Free for a few exhibits, fee for the rest. read more

In addition to the world class art selection, I'd like to recommend this museum for its stellar, albeit massive, layout, and its Espresso Bar which boasts a nice seating area and an outlet which I can charge my phone. The clientele are trendy, young and interesting, and the area makes for nice people watching. read more

This is probably my favorite museum in the world, just beating out the MOMA in New York. The collection is impressive and if you're a Rothko fan it is an absolute must see. The Seagrams Murals that were originally intended for the Four Seasons in New York are housed here and they are kept in the exact lighting and atmosphere Rothko requested. Other highlights are some of Pollack's best works and Gerhard Richter's Cage Paintings. The Cage paintings are enormous and all housed in a single room. The view of St. Paul's and the Millennium Bridge is an added bonus and admission is free! read more

Absolutely the most stunning collection of modern art I've had the pleasure of seeing up-close and in the flesh. A personal favorite: The giant Rothko room... The people of London are lucky to have such a brilliant collection in their fair city. Not to be missed! read more

Sunday is a great day for the Tate Modern. The journey over the suspension bridge is an invigorating walk from St. Paul's Cathedral. The Tate Modern is very posh and the artwork, poetry and informative history related information about British past is a must see if you are visiting London. read more

I love wandering around London. Day off, after work, lazy weekend, whatever the case I always end up seeing something new. The Tate modern is a bit like a small version of London in that way - no matter how many times you've been there, there's always something new to see and fall in love with. The exhibitions are compelling and well curated, and the architecture manages to be both dramatic and calming at the same time. I love the turbine hall and the batty ways it's been used as an exhibition space in the past. And the new tanks space is a great use of an unconventional space as exhibitions for temporary/experimental art. The shop is a must visit for tourists looking for thoughtful gifts and stocks some excellent books for all levels of interest. Finally I love where it's situated. Opposite St. Paul's cathedral with the millennium bridge linking the two, its like walking between the past and the present and whichever way you're going, you're seeing London at its very best. read more

WOW -- London on Yelp! I adore the Tate Modern and its gigantesque building. I think industrial buildings are fabulous, and this is so industrial and so perfect for modern art. read more

I personally didn't enjoy too much of the art here but the space is huge and there's a lot of space to sit and chat with friends and such.

What a foreign concept...something actually being free? After living in New York, I practically forgot what that word meant. Anyway, that's besides the point, the point is that the Tate Modern is amazing. Not only is it an architectural beacon, but the contents of the museum are astounding. I actually stood in front of one of my favorite Rauschenberg's and contemplated ripping it off the wall and running. While I was there, the futurism exhibit was going on and I found it really intriguing. The art was amazing, I spent the whole day here just admiring the collection. read more

Enjoyed the space more than I did the collections and exhibits, but the Tate Modern is a great modern art museum that is well worth your time in London. Props to the amazing turbine hall. Enter the space not from the riverside, but from the "main" entrance to get the full experience. read more

Bear in mind that this review is written by someone that does not have a distinct love for modern art. That being said, Tate Modern was a really cool museum. It is easy to navigate and nicely laid out as well. The art in the museum really is fabulous, if you like modern art. I enjoyed the thematic layout of the museum, it made the exhibits flow nicely. The Warhol room was my favorite, just bursting with color and wallpapered with pink cow print. Make sure and see the sunflower seed exhibit when you walk in, it's really cool! read more

Very nice experience. I came here with my special lady on a Saturday afternoon in early January. It was busy but not crowded. The special exhibition at the time was Paul Gauguin, but the wait to get into the exhibit was three hours and neither of us felt like waiting. So we checked out the rest of the museum. I found the Tate nicely laid out, fairly easy to find our way around. Plenty of famous, classic works to thrill, along with much newer stuff to discover. I'll definitely come back here many more times. read more

A wonderful museum. I loved every moment of my visit. The high point was being in the room with the gigantic Mark Rothko paintings. It was amazing to be surrounded by these works. They towered over you and it was just fantastic. read more

I'm definitely not the biggest art museum fan, but the Tate Modern is definitely worth a trip if you have the time. While I wouldn't put it in my top 10 things to do in London, if you're there for more than 4 days, give it a look. It's a huge museum converted from an old power station. It's also free which is a big plus for me. read more

The Tate Modern is always interesting and engaging. Ai Wei Wei's Sunflower seeds were wonderful and well worth the visit. Also awesome? Free wi-fi for you out-of-towners like me who were looking for directions. read more

Stunning structure with high ceilings to display whatever those crazy modern artists can come up with. I found the content to be a little disappointing in places (I'm not that into Miró, I guess) but the Diane Arbus photos were good and the "Bloodlines" exhibit showing photos of relatives of people in political history was interesting. read more

World-class museum. Picasso, Warhol, Bacon, etc. Miro show. All free (well, not the Miro exhibition but that's OK) in an amazing space. Need I say more? read more

I was totally blown away by the Tate Modern. I had arrived planning to just check it out, maybe walk around for an hour, hour and a half or so, and ended up spending the entire morning there. The museum has such an enormous range of art that there's sure to be something everyone in your group will enjoy. I especially liked that they allow non-flash photography; the sculptures and other art installations made for amazing subjects. The staff were friendly and the location is great - just a short walk from the Southwark tube station, the river walk and the Borough Market. Highly recommend! read more

Great layout and variety. Architecture is nice and a good way to avoid the rain for a few hours. The cafe was ok, I'd suggest walking towards Big Ben, theres a lot of nicer places to eat along the way. read more

who doesn't like free culture?! and when the collection is as impressive as tate's...that's just uneblievable this MOCA-esque institute is spectacular!!~ makes me think of the getty^^ explore the different levels...some house permanent pieces and the others are special exhibits *bonus* a children play area to dump *cough* expose them to art~ ;p read more

The terms "Modern" and "Contemporary" are sometimes used interchangeably, but those who are astute about the differences will know that difference in terms. So with that said, for art lovers, collectors and artists, Tate Modern is one place that should not be ignored. The special exhibitions like the Matisse cut outs seem well done and put together. It's a nice exhibit for its art and the historical significance of what Matisse did at the time when he did those cut out pieces of art. There are other works by other artists of historical importance like Picasso, Monet, Roy Lichtenstein, Lee Krasner and some works by Paul Klee. Each of them were important for different reasons at different times in the art world and actually seeing them in person is special for anyone who appreciates art. Some of the art in the collection at Tate Modern is exactly that: Modern. Some art pieces have historical significance in and of itself. I will admit that art is subjective so some of the art they have just doesn't do anything for me as an art collector and artist. Some of the art is strange; some of it is perplexing; some of it, I do not like; some of it, I actually love. It's just a matter of opinion and subjective, but I think that it should be appreciated for what it is, and that is artistic. You don't always have to like everything you see; you don't always have to dislike everything that you see either; however, as a collection of modern art and as a museum, this is very good because it represents so many styles and artistic movements within the real of "modern art." It's a must see for art lovers and artist, so when in London, plan on spending a day there and browsing around the galleries. Check out one of the special exhibits that interests you, too. It's worth the trip. read more

The converted power station is an awesome setting for the Tate's more contemporary pieces. The turbine hall is awe-inspiring and really turns your sense of perspective on its head (you feel sooo small). Luckily the collection is displayed in more intimate spaces, so you get the chance to view pieces up close & personal. I always love a visit to any museum/gallery shop & restaurant & the ones here don't disappoint. The restaurant in particular is memorable for its views from the top floor. There's a members area too, where you can rest up & have a coffee. read more

I love to hate this place. I've been on many many occasions and it never ceases to baffle me how some of the 'art' got in there. Don't get me wrong, there's some brilliant pieces in there, some from very well known artists, but there's also a lot of pseudo art that seems to draw in all the local hipsters like a rare Pokemon draws in Pokemon go players whilst bemused onlookers wonder what's going on. I actually enjoy going around the Tate to point out how rubbish lots of the art is, to the amusement and disdain of other people around me. A lot of the art in there NEEDS the paragraph next to it to explain why it's art. There's pieces in there that if you turned in for your A levels then you'd fail, but manage to get it in the Tate and hipsters across the world will rejoice. There's also a few proud dad's who took putting their child's artwork on the fridge too far and somehow got it in the Tate. Even after all of that, I do enjoy this place and would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London. There's some really interesting sculptures in there and there pieces regularly change. I just feel it's like the pound land of museums. read more

If this were a review from a one off, all encompassing visit to the Tate Modern then this would be a 5 star review. There are many stunning and brilliant works of art here - there's also some very plain and some plain shite works of art but in the main this gallery has as much to offer as any other modern art museum in the world. The permanent exhibition galleries are worth seeing and, of course, have a large number of well known pieces on display and despite being called permanent exhibits, they do change some of these works around every now and then (including what was one of my favourites in the gallery - Arnulf Rainer's 'Wine Crucifix'). These particular galleries will be busy though, to the point of crowded on any given weekend. That is one of the problems with the Tate Modern, it hinders visitors with it's own popularity and on weekends and bank holidays this will very likely be the case. It is open until 10pm on Fridays and 6pm on other weekdays which are better times to avoid crowds. While the permanent exhibits are very good and deserve to be seen what keeps me coming back are the temporary exhibits. Last year we were treated to what has to have been one of the best retrospectives of an artists work I have seen in any gallery - Gerhard Richter's 'Panorama'. Just Brilliant. There's usually three on at a time (except when one or two are being changed over for the next ones) and as a Tate member I have unlimited free admission to all the temporary exhibits (free, aside from the yearly membership fee, of course). Being a member helps a lot as the normal admission price for one of these is £10 - £14 for a single visit, which is quite steep if you don't know the artist's work and/or are just curious. Two exhibits which have just finished are Alighiero Boetti's and another by Yayoi Kusama. Two major retrospectives of each artist and both were pretty nifty. Nay, bloomin' marvellous, in fact and they both seemed to get better with each viewing. The third temporary (or special, as the Tate calls them) is a retrospective of Damien Hirst. This is another little reason as to why I've only given four stars. I couldn't bring myself to give five stars to any respected gallery displaying Hirst's "art". It's fine if you like that sort of thing but I'd suggest keeping your £14 and not bothering, that's just my opinion, though. What I see as soulless merchandise another sees as multi-million pound masterpieces. Anyway... Another small problem is the lifts. It's usually quicker to walk than to hang around for one of the lifts. There are four (or five?) lifts in total but waiting for one to get to another floor can take an age. Not only are they slow you'll probably have to shoehorn yourself in to one. They're usually full and there will always be families with a pram or two needing them. Which is perfectly understandable although what I don't quite understand is just why there are always so many prams at the Tate Modern. It's not really great entertainment for kids that young. Perhaps I'm just a little ignorant to the needs and opportunities of those with children and I'm probably being more than a little pernickety about a set of lifts. Anyway... There are escalators and stairs, both of which are likely to be quicker options. There are two shops, the main one on the ground floor and a smaller on the first floor. There are also two cafes, a large cafe on the first floor and a smaller one on the fourth floor, which are both quite good but perhaps a little expensive. Although, I'm sure you would've expected that anyway. On the sixth floor is the members room and, much like the rest of the gallery, will be too busy to enjoy on the weekends but on quieter occasions it really is a place well worth spending an afternoon in. Achieving a minimalist look, there isn't any art up here to distract you apart from some framed posters from previous, successful exhibits held on the floors below. Comfy, soft leather sofa's line the walls opposite the bar and food counter. The only disappointment being the food, it all tastes like it's supposed to, it's just quite uninspiring. And, you guessed it, more expensive than it should be. This food available consists of numerous, small plates of salad like dishes as well as a variation cakes, muffins and biscuit bars. But, on the upside, there is a rather good selection of beers and ciders! Hurrah! My own recommendation would be the Kernal stout. Or the Kernal porter. Both. But my absolute favourite thing about the members room, however, are the views. Two outdoor areas, one on each side of the building, offer views of... well, tall buildings and some rooftops on one side but on the other you're overlooking the Thames with panoramic views of London. You don't even need to be outside to see all this, however, thanks to the floor to ceiling windows all along the sides of the room. What a thoroughly nice place to be. Expect an update at some point as I've just reached my word limit... TTFN read more

I found it difficult to appreciate the art when it was so intermingled with crap. One room in particular on the fifth floor could only be classified as "oh give me a break" art, since the most creative piece was an orange painted, wooden box sitting on the floor. Some of my favorite comments overheard on my tour of the museum include: "it all looks the same to me," "I just don't understand what its supposed to be," and "I don't understand what I'm looking at" to which the response was "you're not supposed to understand it, just pretend you appreciate it so we can go have lunch." read more

Completely useless and a waste of space. Don't bother. This building is a former power plant, and the majority of space is taken up by an enormous six-storey tall room in their lobby. The layout of the museum is confusing. You can't go 'up' from the ground floor; you are expected to walk down a flight of stairs to the basement (the floor of the giant empty room) and THEN take an escalator 2 floors up. Why??? This place is pointless. They SAY it is a "free" museum, but if you want to see any art you have to buy a ticket. We said forget-it and left after spending 20 minutes riding the escallators. read more

A good london staple. It's worth paying for the exhibits as it does make a sizable difference in your enjoyment. Also, the overlook on the top floor is worth a visit. What stunned me the most about the Tate Modern is the piece where the dramatic music greets you when you enter through the thames entrance. read more

When we visited the Tate museum, the exhibit of the earthquake crack on the floor was really eye catching. You can't help but want to look straight down to see what is down there... just dark empty space. The walk across the bridge was the best part of the visit. You can take amazing photos of the city view. read more

One of the best contemporary museums in this world. If you don't like contemporary art at least go there to take pictures from the awesome views of London from its balconies. read more