The UK is almost spoiled with the huge number of art galleries but for art buffs a trip to London may be in their future if they want to see a large number of them. Fortunately for anyone living near a major city or town there is at least one art gallery nearby. Here are some of the best art galleries the UK has to offer.

Baltic Center for Contemporary Art, Gateshead – Located on the south bank of the River Tyne, the Baltic is located in an old flour mill. It is an international centre for contemporary art and is constantly changing its exhibitions and events.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham – Entrance to this museum and art gallery is free except for major exhibitions mounted in the Gas Hall where an entrance fee is charged. Visitors will find fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local history and industrial history collections of international importance to see.

Cabinet Gallery, London – The Cabinet Gallery is located in what is being touted as the first purpose-built art gallery to be located in a public gardens, namely Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. While this location is very new the Gallery has been around for over 20 years in various other locations.

Campoli Presti, London – With galleries in both London and Paris Campoli Presti gallery is a place to showcase international artists from France, Germany, Norway and United States of America. Art work exhibited is in various media.

Cass Sculpture Foundation, Chichester – A not-for-profit organization in support of artists, the foundation displays over 80 large sculptures on 26 acres of grounds. The foundation is open to the public 7 days a week and all works are for sale with proceeds going directly to the artists.

Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, the Strand – The Courtauld Gallery is home to a small but very high quality collection of masterworks, spanning the Italian Renaissance right up to the 20th century. Visitors to the gallery will also be able to enjoy viewing a major collection of French Impressionists.

Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh – The gallery is open daily with free admission and over its three galleries houses over 100,000 pieces of art work. Visitors to the gallery can enjoy the vast array of Western art ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day including the national collection of Scottish art.

National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London – Open daily, the gallery houses Britain’s major national art collection. Visitors can expect to see one of the finest and richest collections of old master paintings in the world, with many of the art works by many of the world’s greatest artists.

Royal Academy of Arts, London – The Academy’s aim is to promote artists and art and do this through education, exhibitions and debate. The Academy is open daily and many of the works displayed are for sale. The Academy also provides guided tours for classes and teachers as well as other groups upon request.

Tate Britain, Millbank, London – Rich with art history, the Tate Britain boasts a huge range of British art from 1500 to the present. Visitors to the Tate will be delighted to see works from all the great British masters from the Renaissance, through Turner and Constable and the Pre-Raphaelites, to Francis Bacon.

Tate Modern, South Bank, London – As the world’s most visited modern art gallery, the Tate Modern has a full collection of twentieth and twenty-first century art, ranging from works by Braque and Picasso to Damian Hirst and many other contemporary artists.

The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge – Located within the grounds of the University of Cambridge, the museum owes its beginnings to a bequest by Richard, VII Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion in 1966. The bequest was of 144 paintings including many Dutch. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday and admission is free. Donations welcomed.

The Hepworth, Wakefield – The Hepworth Wakefield is the largest purpose-built exhibition space located outside of London and is very modern, with light-filled exhibition rooms. The Gallery is home to the Wakefield collection of Modern British art and is open Tuesday to Sunday with admission being free. Donations welcomed.

The Modern Institute, Glasgow, Scotland – The gallery works with 42 international artists, both established and emerging, and holds both private and public exhibitions of the artists’ work and has two locations in Glasgow. The gallery also exhibits at many art fairs and has a shop where visitors can purchase works by the artists associated with the gallery.

The Victoria and Albert Museum, London – With a vast array of collections including art deco, design, architecture, photography, paintings, textiles and so much more. The museum is open daily with free admission, although some exhibitions do carry a separate charge. The shop helps support the museum through sales to the public.