England attractions

Home to immersive habitats, interactive rock pools, and thousands of sea creatures, SEA LIFE® Manchester is one of Manchester’s most popular family-friendly destinations. Both entertaining and educational, exhibits such as the ocean tunnel, shark shipwreck, and rocky hideout invite visitors to get up close and personal with aquatic species.

Being the largest of London’s eight Royal Parks is just one of the many accolades that the 17th-century Richmond Park boasts. This vast green space in the capital’s southwest is home to a wealth of wildlife, including a herd of over 600 red and fallow deer that roam the park and its ancient woodlands. Cycling and running trails, golf courses, a playground, and two gardens—the Isabella Plantation and Pembroke Lodge Gardens— are among the highlights.

Located on Blackpool’s promenade, SEA LIFE® Blackpool is a popular, family-friendly attraction. The center houses more than 2,000 sea creatures, allowing visitors to marvel at the marine life of the UK’s shoreline and the world’s deepest oceans—from sharks and rays to seahorses, reef fish, and turtles.

Clarence House dates back to the 19th century and is one of London’s key royal residences. It was home to Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip before her accession to the throne, and later to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. More recently, it has become the official residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. When open to the public, visitors can go on guided tours to see the elegant interiors and landscaped gardens.

In the shadows of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and just across the water from the London Eye and Southbank, you can’t get more central than Westminster Pier. Easy to access and surrounded by world-famous attractions, the pier is a popular starting and ending point for sightseeing cruises along the Thames River, and it sits along the Thames Clippers ferry route.

Set among the lush, 500-acre (200-hectare) grounds of a former stately home, Alton Towers Resort is the ultimate destination for families and thrill seekers in the Midlands. Even if you’re not a fan of white-knuckle roller coasters, the theme park still has plenty to offer; there are gorgeous gardens to wander through, and if you have toddlers in tow, CBeebies Land is designed for them. Plus, there’s an indoor water park and an 18-hole crazy golf course.

This quirky museum in Bath tells the story of the author who wrote Frankenstein—Mary Shelley. Set in a 300-year-old Grade II–listed townhouse, it has a screening room where you can watch the first ever Frankenstein film (from 1910), as well as two escape rooms, an immersive game, and plenty of eerie artifacts.

Billed as the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian, the Royal Observatory Greenwich is one of London’s major historical landmarks. Part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, the observatory was built by celebrated architect Christopher Wren in the 17th century. Today, it houses a planetarium, historical navigational tools, and one of the UK’s largest telescopes.

Dominated by two giant, bubble-shaped biomes—the world's largest greenhouses—the Eden Project is one of Cornwall's most famous landmarks. The biomes maintain miniature ecosystems that enable all kinds of plants to flourish: orchids, palms, and cacao trees in the Rainforest Biome and proteas, cacti, and huge aloe veras in the Mediterranean Biome.

One of only two in the United Kingdom, LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre Manchester promises an exciting family-friendly day out. Let your imagination run riot at LEGO® workshops, ride Kingdom Quest, check out the 4D cinema, and marvel over miniatures. Then, stop by the play area before buying bricks of your own in the LEGO shop.

Named after the seven towering chalk cliffs that run its shores, this Sussex spot sits where the South Downs meets the English Channel. Roughly 700 acres (280 hectares), it also comprises grasslands full of grazing sheep and the meandering Cuckmere River. Also home to plenty of winged and four-legged creatures, too, Seven Sisters is Britain’s nature at its best.

One of Europe’s leading automotive museums, the Beaulieu National Motor Museum is an essential stop for car lovers. Home to 280 vehicles—including everything from F1 cars to the original Chitty Chitty Bang Bang—as well as a vast collection of automotive artifacts, photos, and films, the museum also hosts a range of temporary and permanent exhibitions and installations.

Set in the charming village of Shottery, near Stratford-upon-Avon, this storybook 15th-century thatched farmhouse was once the childhood home of William Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway. The cottage is now a museum, complete with historic rooms, original furniture, and beautiful gardens and orchards.

One of London’s best-known markets, Brick Lane Market is a paradise for bargain hunters and foodies alike. With vintage treasures, handmade goods, street food stalls, and plenty of unusual surprises, it’s always a fun place to soak up the buzz of the East End. The market is divided into distinct sections, including the Upmarket for global cuisine, the Backyard Market for arts and crafts, and the Tea Rooms for antiques.

Manchester Central Library is a cultural institution that boasts neoclassical architecture reminiscent of ancient Rome. With grand columns and a dome-shaped roof loosely inspired by the Pantheon, this architectural marvel underwent a stunning £50 million renovation in 2010. Uncover hidden heritage spaces like the magnificent Wolfson Reading Room and explore vast collections in Britain's second-largest public lending library.

The Crown Jewels are considered the United Kingdom’s most precious treasures. Comprising more than 100 objects and a staggering 23,000 gemstones—including some of the world’s largest diamonds—they’re considered priceless ceremonial artifacts, particularly the Coronation Regalia. The Crown Jewels are displayed within the UNESCO-listed Tower of London.

Banksy, Andy Warhol, and Tracey Emin are among the headline artists represented at London’s Moco Museum, a glossy, bubblegum-esque, central London gallery dedicated to modern, contemporary, digital, and immersive art— the kind of bold, colorful art that sets your social media feed ablaze. Opened amid much buzz in 2024, the London Moco is the sister site to Moco’s Amsterdam and Barcelona outposts, following their lead and appealing to a younger generation of modern art fans.

Domes, minarets, and regency splendor beckon at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton’s premier historic attraction. Built for King George IV when he was a party-loving prince, the site flaunts some of Britain’s most extravagant royal interiors and Eastern-style architecture. A dragon-bedecked banqueting hall, a gold-crested music room, and bedrooms with hand-painted wallpaper are among the wonders.

An affluent residential neighborhood at the confluence of the Grand Union and Regent's canals, Little Venice oozes the sophisticated style typical of West London. The former home of poet Robert Browning, Little Venice is full of quaint cafés, canal boat cocktail bars, and grand white townhouses along leafy avenues.

Guildhall has served as the center of government for the City of London since the Middle Ages, and it hosts banquets, ceremonies, meetings, and special events. As the only surviving secular medieval building in the City, it’s known for its Great Hall, atmospheric crypts, and the remains of a Roman amphitheater beneath it. Visitors also come to see the adjoining Guildhall Art Gallery.

The Cotswold Way is a 102-mile (164-kilometer) long-distance hiking trail that starts in the market town of Chipping Campden and ends in Bath. This picturesque route showcases charming villages, historic battle sites, and majestic stately homes alongside the tremendous Cotswold countryside. This beautiful hike lets travelers explore classic English landscapes and rich historical sites.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is an important site for the British Royal Navy, having played a part in the war against the Spanish Armada, the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars, and both World Wars. Although the dockyard is still a working naval base, many of its historic ships have been converted into museums.

Spanning 680 acres (275 hectares) of rugged countryside, Hampstead Heath feels worlds away from London’s manicured Royal Parks. Here you can spot locals flying kites and walking dogs, hang out where scenes from Notting Hill were filmed, take a dip in a rural swimming pond, or savor a London skyline view from Parliament Hill. Be sure to bring a picnic.

One of Europe’s busiest cruise ports, Southampton Port is an important departure point for many long-distance cruises. All the big liners (think P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Cunard) sail from the city, and the port itself is home to an impressive five terminals. That said, this cruise port isn’t a place of entertainment, and there are limited shops, eateries, or on-site amenities. However, Southampton’s compact town center is only a short distance away.

One of three ancient Egyptian obelisks relocated to major Western cities—the others are in Paris and New York—Cleopatra’s Needle was gifted to the UK in the 19th century. After a perilous sea journey from Egypt, it was installed on London’s Victoria Embankment. (Despite the name, the landmark has no link to Cleopatra.) Visitors enjoy photo opportunities near the obelisk, with visible hieroglyphics as well as bronze sphinxes that guard the monument.

Once the world’s tallest building, Lincoln Cathedral remains one of England’s most significant religious landmarks, housing one of only four original Magna Carta manuscripts in the world. At the intricately detailed cathedral, visitors can pray, attend service, light a votive candle, or simply enjoy the Gothic architecture.

An icon of Brutalist architecture, the Barbican Center is where nature, music, art, and culture intersect. As well as being the largest multiarts venue in Europe, it's the official home of the London Symphony Orchestra, and its two art galleries host rotating exhibitions exploring fashion and contemporary art. It also boasts a library, a 2,000-seat concert hall, a theater, bars and restaurants, and a botanical garden.

Shiny colored bricks abound at LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort, a theme park with rides inspired by LEGO® and DUPLO. The first of its kind in the UK, the Windsor resort is popular with families, offering kids the chance to build, play, and experience rides, too. There are also themed hotels on-site for those who don’t want the fun to end.

A corner of London to brighten your social media feed, Neal’s Yard has become one of the capital’s most aesthetic sites. The boldly painted buildings in this little nook are home to a handful of boldly priced eateries and independent shops that attract camera-toting travelers and Londoners alike. A wander through will take no more than a few minutes of your time—unless you plan to shop or eat.

With roots stretching back more than 1,000 years to its time as a Benedictine abbey, Chester Cathedral is deeply ingrained in Chester’s history. Bounded by the city’s Roman walls and largely built between the 10th and 16th centuries, this Romanesque and neo-Gothic red sandstone church intrigues with its richly carved choir, 216-step tower, and medieval treasures.