Dulwich Picture Gallery

Brixton, Peckham & South London


The world’s first purpose-built public art gallery, the small Dulwich Picture Gallery was designed by architect Sir John Soane and opened in 1817 to house nearby Dulwich College’s collection of paintings by the Old Masters, including work by Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough, Poussin and Canaletto. Unusually, the gallery also includes a mausoleum for its founders, lit by a moody lumière mystérieuse (mysterious light) created with tinted glass placed among the pictures. An audio guide is included in the ticket price.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Brixton, Peckham & South London attractions

1. Dulwich Park

0.32 MILES

With its hectares of green space and much-loved bicycle hire putting fleets of novel, low-slung bikes under the feet of enthusiastic kids, Dulwich Park is…

2. Sydenham Hill Wood

0.99 MILES

Sydenham Hill Wood is an intriguingly incongruous patch of wilderness that has an air of secrecy about it, despite being surrounded on all sides by the…

3. Horniman Museum

1.13 MILES

This 1901 art-nouveau building, with its clock tower and mosaics, was specially designed to house the collection of wealthy tea merchant, Victorian…

4. Brixton Village & Market Row

1.58 MILES

This revitalised covered market, once the dilapidated 1930s Granville Arcade, has enjoyed an eye-catching renaissance. More than 130 traders have set up…

5. Black Cultural Archives

1.59 MILES

The Black Cultural Archives is the only centre in the country devoted to preserving and telling the stories of African and Caribbean people in the UK…

6. Brixton Windmill

1.74 MILES

Quite a sight (and terrific photo-op) and built for John Ashby in 1816, this is the closest windmill to central London still in existence. Later powered…

7. Crystal Palace Park

1.76 MILES

Named after the prodigious glass-and-iron palace erected for the Great Exhibition in 1851 and moved here from Hyde Park in 1854, this huge park makes for…

8. Crystal Palace Museum

1.86 MILES

This small museum affords a look at the history of Crystal Palace and local history. A guided tour takes place at noon on the first Sunday of each month,…