"Following a large-scale refurbishment, the National Gallery has re-emerged as an impressive establishment that more than holds its own on the world’s stage. The National Portrait Gallery, with depictions of beloved Irish personalities like poet Seamus Heaney, author Maeve Binchy, and former president Mary Robinson, is part of the collection. And although the power players are all here—Caravaggio, Monet, Goya—there’s also a solid selection of works by Irish artists, including a Yeats room featuring pieces by painter Jack B. Yeats, brother of the poet. One piece that always draws a crowd is "Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs," a delicate Frederic William Burton watercolor that's only on-view two hours a week. You'll want to spend a solid few hours exploring all of the rooms in depth. Serious art aficionados will be just as impressed as newbies." - Nicola Brady
