This 17th-century red brick building may be unassuming but it’s where English novelist Jane Austen wrote and revised many of her classic novels, including Pride and Prejudice. As the only one of her former homes open to the public, Jane Austen’s House Museum is a must-visit for literature fans who want to marvel over Austen artefacts, memorabilia, and manuscripts.
Spanning 125 acres (51 hectares, Chester Zoo features 35,000 animals from more than 500 different species, including exotic and endangered species from around the world. One of the most popular zoos in the UK, Chester Zoo draws nearly 2 million visitors a year. It’s also a leader in wildlife education and conservation.
Originally built to serve as a moated manor house, the 13th-century Sissinghurst Castle has hosted royals such as the late Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary Tudor over the years. Today, the imposing castle is best known for the spectacular Sissinghurst Gardens, the inspired creation of 20th-century owner and poet Vita Sackville-West.
Owned by the University of Manchester and housed in a striking, neo-Gothic building, the Manchester Museum has a vast collection that spans natural history, anthropology, and archaeology. Collection highlights include everything from a fossilized Tyrannosaurus Rex (nicknamed "Stan") to ancient Egyptian artifacts.
For over 120 years, this 42-acre (17-hectare amusement park has been drawing fun-loving visitors to England’s northwest coast with its roller coasters, family-friendly rides, and immersive shows and events. Today’s highlights include the recording-breaking Big One, iconic Big Dipper, and the UK’s first multi-launch coaster, Icon.
Set on the edge of the New Forest National Park, this family-friendly amusement park is packed with rides and attractions. The park encompasses twisting roller coasters, waterslides, play areas, animal enclosures, and pretty gardens, though the biggest draw is Peppa Pig World, an area themed around the popular children’s cartoon.
Lavish both inside and out, the Grade II–listed Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum offers an insight into the eclectic tastes of world travelers Lady Annie and Sir Merton Russell-Cotes. Here, admire the striking art nouveau architecture, permanent collection of European and Japanese artefacts, sloping English gardens, and more.
Exeter’s Anglican cathedral dates back to the 12th century, though the current structure was completed around 1400. The cathedral’s unique architectural features provide insight into its rich history, including 13th-century misericords, Sir Gilbert Scott choir stalls, and the world’s longest uninterrupted medieval vaulted ceiling.
Dating back to 1897, His Majesty’s Theatre is a Grade II–listed building with opulent interiors and classic Victorian design influenced by French Renaissance style. With a capacity of over 1,200, it has hosted many plays and musicals over the years, including West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof. Since 1986, it has been the West End home of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
Unique among SEA LIFE® centers due to its mix of tank and outdoor exhibits, Weymouth SEA LIFE Adventure Park encapsulates the global diversity of water-based life. From sharks to fairy penguins, sea turtles to otters, more than 1,000 species live in the 14-acre park, where you’ll also find play areas, cafés, and a mini-golf course.
Towering 3,209 feet (978 meters over the Lake District National Park, Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. The peak is one of a string of high fells that run between Wast Water and Buttermere lakes, including the nearby High Stile, Red Pike, and Great End.
LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Birmingham combines massive collections of LEGO® bricks with amusement park–style action to create the ultimate LEGO lovers’ paradise. Here, you can build race cars, watch movies at a 4D cinema, try out VR experiences, go on LEGO–themed rides, and spot miniature versions of Birmingham’s famous landmarks inside the interactive Miniland® city. For the youngest visitors, there are soft-play areas and a DUPLO® zone, too.
A rolling expanse of grass studded with ancient woodland and roaming deer, Bushy Park sits in the far southwest of London, out near Hampton Court Palace. Dating back to Tudor times, it’s the second largest of London’s Royal Parks, with fountains, water gardens, and a woodland garden, as well as a playground, cafés, and sports facilities.
In addition to being the city’s most recognizable landmark, the Eiffel Tower–inspired Blackpool Tower is home to a variety of entertainment venues, including the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. The 19th-century ballroom is a destination for dance fans from across the globe and filming location for the BBC seriesCome Dancing and some editions of the dance-competition seriesStrictly Come Dancing.
Numerous historic attractions, unique handmade ceramics, and some of the country’s most picturesque and best-preserved medieval streets make Rye a quintessential English destination. In this town long favored by writers and artists, climb the clock tower of the local church, enjoy a pint in a former smuggler’s tavern, and more.
The traditional blue police box that stands at the entrance to Earl’s Court station is one of the last still standing in London. But this nostalgic landmark is much more than just a police box: for fans of the classic British TV series Doctor Who, it’s a pop culture phenomenon—the fictional time machine used by the Time Lord to travel between dimensions known as the TARDIS.
Usually open for just one month of the year, Dorney Court is one of England’s best-preserved Tudor manor houses that few get the opportunity to visit. Explore the landscaped gardens of this Grade I Listed building, marvel over family portraits in the Great Hall, and admire the Restoration-era furnishings for a glimpse into England’s past.
This magnificent building, dating back to 1905, was known as the Strand Theatre until 2005. With its grand architecture and theatrical legacy, it’s a cherished part of London’s West End. Over the years, the Novello Theatre has hosted star-studded premieres of hit musicals, but it’s best known as the London home of Mamma Mia!, where audiences have sung along to the beloved ABBA anthems for over a decade.
With its busy fishing port filled with colorful sailing boats, long pebble beach, and rows of painted wooden beach huts, Whitstable is a prime example of a traditional English seaside resort. Known for its locally harvested oysters, Whitstable is a popular day-trip destination from London and nearby Canterbury, as well as an easy stop-off point on White Cliffs of Dover trips.
Set on the site of a World War II bomber command station, this aviation museum showcases the work and machinery of Britain’s Royal Air Force and its allies. As well as housing a collection of more than 60 historic aircraft and vehicles, it also holds more than 250,000 additional artifacts, including uniforms, photographs, and documents.
Beningbrough Hall, an 18th-century former family home occupied by the Royal Air Force during World War II, is one of York’s most important historical highlights. Linger in front of the 100+ portraits that hang inside, courtesy of a partnership with the National Portrait Gallery. Then stroll through the gardens, where staff sometimes offer growing tips to interested visitors.
The Duchess Theatre—with a capacity of around 500 seats—is one of the smallest West End theaters that has a proscenium arch (that’s the traditional “picture frame” style stage that separates performers from the audience). Dating back to 1929, this historically and architecturally interesting theater hosts plays in an intimate setting. Over the years, it has welcomed a range of productions, from serious dramas to long-running comedies such as The Play That Goes Wrong.
The Criterion Theatre, dating back to 1870, is an independent West End venue with an intimate capacity of just 588 seats. Although it’s among the smaller theaters in the area, its Grade II-listed architecture (meaning it’s of special interest) and prime Piccadilly Circus location make it popular with both tourists and local theater lovers alike. The theater hosts a variety of productions, including plays, comedies, melodramas, and musicals such as The 39 Steps and Titaníque.
Housed inside the 15th-century church of St. Saviour, Jorvik Dig illuminates the work of local archaeologists as well as the history of the York area. Visitors can get their hands dirty at four replica excavation pits, each based on real-life digs. Uncover revealing replica objects from Roman, Viking, medieval, and Victorian times.
Birmingham’s historic Pen Museum celebrates the city’s instrumental role in expanding communication and literacy worldwide. Set in a 19th-century Renaissance-style factory that once manufactured the majority of the world’s pens, the museum offers educational exhibits and interactive workshops.
The Ambassadors Theatre may be small, with just 446 seats, but it still hosts major plays and musicals and is a Grade II listed venue—meaning it has been designated to hold historical or architectural interest. Past productions have included Stomp and The Mousetrap, while more recently, it’s been home to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This cozy West End theatre attracts visitors for both its intimate atmosphere and its historic architecture.
The perfect destination for chocolate lovers, Cadbury World offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of one of Britain’s most famous chocolate brands: Cadbury. Located on the site of the original Cadbury factory in Bournville, it’s a fun family attraction with interactive exhibits and chocolate-making demonstrations.
An engaging and quirky attraction, Godshill Model Village features painstakingly re-created models of Godshill Old Village and Shanklin Old Village as they were in the 1920s and ‘30s. Made with great attention to detail, the models are faithful representations of two of the Isle of Wight’s most charming villages.
In the heart of Carlisle town, Carlisle Castle is a Norman-built castle that played an important role in the history of both England and Scotland. Used as a defensive stronghold and a prison, a visit here will take you a thousand years into the past.
The Eiffel Tower–inspired, century-old Blackpool Tower is the northern English city’s most recognizable sight. More than a landmark, though, the tower is home to a variety of entertainment venues, including the Blackpool Tower Dungeon, which takes visitors on a trip through a thousand years of Lancashire’s gruesome and macabre history.
