Does the National Portrait Gallery have a cloakroom?
- maxwell museums
- Jan 12
- 4 min read
If you’re soon to visit the National Portrait Gallery in London and are wondering if there's a cloakroom for your bags and coats, well I have good news: the gallery does have a cloakroom!
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is one of Britain’s leading art museums. With a collection of over 220,000 works, it displays portraits of the influential men and women who have shaped British history and culture over the centuries.
While it doesn’t get as many visitors as other museums in London (such as the British Museum or Tate Modern), it still pulled in 1.6m people in 2024. And when it's hosting blockbuster exhibitions, it can feel quite busy in its galleries.
So if you're bringing coats, bags or luggage with you, you might want to store them in the gallery’s cloakroom to make sure you have a more enjoyable and hassle-free experience.
Here’s all the up-to-date details (this article is being written in January 2026) on what you need to know about the gallery's cloakroom.
Quick links:
Luggage storage in the National Portrait Gallery cloakroom
You can find the National Portrait Gallery’s cloakroom on Floor 0. It’s right next to the Tickets and Information desk in the Main Hall in the Ondaatje Wing.
Most people enter the gallery from the main entrance at Ross Place at the south end of Charing Cross Road. To locate the cloakroom, walk through the magnificent Tracey Emin-bronze entrance doors, head straight on through the Entrance Hall (with the portrait busts of Nelson Mandela, Jacob Epstein and others on your right) and into the Main Hall. As soon as you enter the Hall, turn right and you will see the cloakroom in front of you.
Visitors can leave coats, small bags, cabin sized bags/suitcases and umbrellas in the cloakroom.
In fact, cabin sized suitcases, long umbrellas or wet umbrellas are not permitted in the art galleries, so you must leave these items in the cloakroom if you plan on visiting these spaces.
And make sure you don’t bring any bags larger than 56cm x 25cm x 45cm, folding bicycles, skateboards or adult scooters with you at all. These are not permitted in the building under any circumstances.
The cloakroom is manned, meaning there are staff constantly present who can assist you.
National Portrait Gallery cloakroom opening times
The cloakroom opens at the same time as the gallery opens in the morning. But beware: it closes ten minutes before the building closes at the end of the day. That means you need to leave plenty of time to pick up your belongings if you’re there until closing time.
So to be sure, here are the NPG cloakroom opening times:
Sunday to Thursday: 10.30-17.50 (last deposit in the cloakroom is 17.00)
Friday and Saturday: 10.30-20.50 (last deposit in the cloakroom is 20.00)
Marilyn Monroe to Lucian Freud
Here's all the exhibitions open now and coming soon at the National Portrait Gallery
How much does the cloakroom at the National Portrait Gallery cost?
You need to pay to use the National Portrait Gallery cloakroom.
You’ll pay £2.50 to store coats and small bags, while cabin sized bags and suitcases cost £5. Umbrellas are free though.
But if you’re an NPG Member, Patrons or Corporate Supporter, you can use the cloakroom free of charge.
Does the National Portrait Gallery have lockers?
No, there are no lockers at the National Portrait Gallery. If you need to store coats or bags, you will need to use the cloakroom.
What’s on at the NPG in 2026?
Now you know how you can store your luggage on your next visit, you can enjoy the art on display in complete comfort.
If you’re planning to see the free permanent collection, I recommend you don’t miss the Tudor portraits on Floor 3. These are the oldest artworks in the gallery and include iconic portraits of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I.
I also recommend you see Room 28, the Making the Modern World gallery. This features portraits of famous figures from 1945 to 2000. Here you’ll find Winston Churchill, the Beatles and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Or perhaps you’d like to visit to see some of the fascinating exhibitions coming to the National Portrait Gallery. In 2026, you’ll be able to see the very first museum exhibition in the UK dedicated to the celebrated American photographer Catherine Opie, and a hugely anticipated exhibition of Lucian Freud’s drawings too.
