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100+ Places to Visit in United Kingdom

These are the places worth your time in the United Kingdom, from London's free museums and markets to Edinburgh's castle, Highland lochs, Lake District fells, Georgian Bath and medieval York. Famous classics sit beside quiet corners many visitors miss, so first timers, families and returning diaspora all find something to love.

Places to Visit in London

Albert Bridge at night, London, UK - Diliff
Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

  • British Museum (Bloomsbury)
    Free entry to the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and treasures from every corner of the world.
  • Westminster Abbey (Westminster)
    Coronation church of English monarchs since 1066, with poets and kings buried within.
  • Natural History Museum (South Kensington)
    A cathedral of a building full of dinosaurs, gems and a blue whale skeleton, free to enter.
  • Tate Modern (Bankside)
    Modern art in a former power station on the river, with a free viewing level.
  • Science Museum (South Kensington)
    Hands on galleries and space age exhibits that keep children and adults busy for hours.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum (South Kensington)
    Five thousand years of design, fashion and craft in grand Victorian halls.
  • National Gallery (Trafalgar Square)
    Van Gogh, Turner and Leonardo on the walls, free, right on Trafalgar Square.
  • Shakespeare's Globe (Bankside)
    A reconstruction of Shakespeare's open air theatre where you can stand in the yard for a play.
  • Sir John Soane's Museum (Holborn)
    An architect's house crammed with antiquities, free and wonderfully strange.

Things to Do

  • Tower of London (Tower Hill)
    The Crown Jewels and nine centuries of royal stories told by the Yeoman Warders.
  • Churchill War Rooms (Westminster)
    The underground bunker where Churchill ran the Second World War, preserved as it was.
  • London Eye (South Bank)
    Slow turning capsules with views over Parliament and the Thames.
  • Leadenhall Market (City of London)
    A painted Victorian covered market that featured in Harry Potter.

Shopping and Markets

  • Borough Market (London Bridge)
    London's best loved food market, with cheeses, bakeries and street food stalls.
  • Camden Market (Camden Town)
    A sprawling canal side maze of street food, vintage clothes and alternative fashion.
  • Portobello Road Market (Notting Hill)
    Antiques, vintage finds and food stalls along pastel streets, liveliest on Saturdays.
  • Columbia Road Flower Market (Bethnal Green)
    A Sunday morning street packed with flower sellers calling out their bargains.
  • Brick Lane (Shoreditch)
    Curry houses, bagel bakeries, vintage shops and street art in the East End.

Restaurants

  • Beigel Bake (Brick Lane)
    A round the clock East End institution for salt beef bagels.
  • Dishoom Covent Garden (Covent Garden)
    Bombay café style dishes and black daal in a buzzing room.
  • Rules (Covent Garden)
    London's oldest restaurant, serving game and puddings since 1798.
  • Maltby Street Market (Bermondsey)
    Weekend street food under railway arches, quieter and more local than Borough.
  • Tayyabs (Whitechapel)
    Busy Punjabi grill famous for lamb chops and a bring your own drinks policy.

Cafés

  • Fortnum and Mason (Piccadilly)
    The grand old grocer, ideal for a classic afternoon tea or a tin of tea to take home.
  • Monmouth Coffee (Borough)
    A pioneering coffee roaster with a small, much loved shop by the market.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (Fleet Street)
    A rebuilt seventeenth century pub of dark rooms once loved by Dickens.
  • The Mayflower (Rotherhithe)
    A riverside pub near where the Mayflower set sail, with a cosy jetty terrace.
  • The Churchill Arms (Kensington)
    A pub covered in flowers outside and serving Thai food inside.
  • Ronnie Scott's (Soho)
    The legendary Soho jazz club, open since 1959.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Hyde Park (Central London)
    Huge royal park with the Serpentine lake, boating and Speakers' Corner.
  • Greenwich Park (Greenwich)
    Stand on the Prime Meridian and enjoy one of the best views over London.
  • Hampstead Heath (Hampstead)
    Wild heathland with swimming ponds and the city skyline view from Parliament Hill.
  • Kew Gardens (Richmond)
    World famous botanic gardens with Victorian glasshouses and a treetop walkway.
  • Richmond Park (Richmond)
    Wild deer roam freely across the biggest of London's royal parks.

Events

  • Notting Hill Carnival (Notting Hill)
    Europe's biggest street festival of Caribbean music and food over the August bank holiday weekend.
  • Trooping the Colour (Horse Guards Parade)
    The King's official birthday parade with soldiers, bands and an RAF flypast each June.

Stays

Places to Visit in Edinburgh

Edinburgh cannon and old town 20211020
Photo: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

Arts and Culture

Nature and Outdoors

  • Arthur's Seat (Holyrood Park)
    An extinct volcano in the city with a rewarding climb to the summit.
  • Calton Hill (New Town)
    A short climb to monuments and a classic sunset view over the city.
  • Dean Village (Water of Leith)
    A peaceful old mill village by the river, minutes from the West End.

Events

Bars and Nightlife

  • Sandy Bell's (Forrest Road)
    A small pub with traditional music sessions most nights.
  • The Sheep Heid Inn (Duddingston)
    Said to be one of Scotland's oldest pubs, below Arthur's Seat.
  • The Bow Bar (Victoria Street)
    A tiny traditional bar with a long whisky list.

Restaurants

  • Oink (Victoria Street)
    Hog roast rolls from a counter on one of the city's prettiest streets.
  • The Kitchin (Leith)
    Celebrated chef Tom Kitchin's seasonal Scottish cooking on the Leith waterfront.
  • The Witchery by the Castle (Castlehill)
    A gothic candlelit dining room next to the castle.

Shopping and Markets

Places to Visit in Inverness

Inverness Greig Street Bridge 20211025
Photo: Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

Arts and Culture

  • Clava Cairns (Culloden)
    Bronze Age burial cairns and standing stones in a quiet wood.
  • Inverness Cathedral (Ardross Street)
    A Victorian Gothic cathedral on the riverbank.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Ness Islands (River Ness)
    Footbridges and woodland paths on islands in the river, a short walk from town.
  • Glencoe (Glencoe)
    The most dramatic glen in Scotland, with walks from the visitor centre.
  • Old Man of Storr (Isle of Skye)
    A rocky pinnacle and one of Skye's most famous walks.
  • Fairy Pools (Isle of Skye)
    Clear blue pools and waterfalls beneath the Cuillin mountains.

Shopping and Markets

  • Leakey's Bookshop (Church Street)
    A secondhand bookshop in an old church with a wood burning stove.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Hootananny (Church Street)
    Live traditional music most nights in a lively Inverness bar.

Restaurants

  • Rocpool Restaurant (Ness Walk)
    Modern Scottish cooking with local produce by the river.
  • The Mustard Seed (Fraser Street)
    A riverside restaurant in an old church with good value lunches.

Places to Visit in Keswick

River Greta, Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Trail (7)
Photo: Dominic Nelson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nature and Outdoors

  • Catbells (Derwentwater)
    A family friendly fell walk with huge views over the lake.
  • Buttermere (Buttermere)
    A quiet lake circuit walk in a wild valley.
  • Aira Force (Ullswater)
    A tumbling waterfall in woodland above Ullswater.

Arts and Culture

Things to Do

Cafés

Bars and Nightlife

Restaurants

Shopping and Markets

  • Keswick Market (Market Square)
    Thursday and Saturday stalls in the town centre.

Stays

  • YHA Keswick (Keswick)
    A riverside hostel in the town centre.

Places to Visit in Bath

Pulteney bridge in Bath view from south before noon
Photo: Jürgen Matern, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

  • Roman Baths (Abbey Churchyard)
    A remarkably preserved Roman bathing complex around a hot spring.
  • Bath Abbey (Abbey Churchyard)
    Fan vaulted ceilings and tower tours over the city.
  • No. 1 Royal Crescent (Royal Crescent)
    A Georgian townhouse museum in the famous crescent.
  • Jane Austen Centre (Gay Street)
    The story of the author's time in Bath.

Things to Do

  • Thermae Bath Spa (Hot Bath Street)
    A rooftop pool filled with natural thermal water.
  • Castle Combe (Castle Combe)
    A Cotswold village often called the prettiest in England.
  • Arlington Row (Bibury)
    A row of weavers' cottages on a stream.
  • Bourton-on-the-Water (Bourton-on-the-Water)
    Low stone bridges over a shallow river.
  • Stonehenge (Amesbury)
    The world famous prehistoric stone circle.

Restaurants

  • Sally Lunn's (North Parade Passage)
    Bath buns in one of the city's oldest houses.

Cafés

  • The Pump Room (Abbey Churchyard)
    Afternoon tea in an elegant Georgian hall above the baths.

Bars and Nightlife

  • The Star Inn (Vineyards)
    An old fashioned pub with wood panelled rooms.
  • The Raven (Queen Street)
    Real ales and famous pies.

Nature and Outdoors

Events

Shopping and Markets

Places to Visit in York

York MMB 05 York Minster
Photo: mattbuck (category), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

Things to Do

Cafés

Bars and Nightlife

Shopping and Markets

Events

Nature and Outdoors

  • Whitby Abbey (Whitby)
    Clifftop abbey ruins that inspired Dracula.

Stays

  • The Grays Court (Chapter House Street)
    A historic house hotel inside the walls.

More to Explore

We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.

  • Lovecrumbs (West Port, Edinburgh)
    A quirky cake café near the Grassmarket.
  • Kickass Grassmarket (Grassmarket, Edinburgh)
    A lively budget hostel right below the castle.
  • Velocity Café (Crown Street, Inverness)
    A friendly bike café with soups and baking.
  • Inverness Youth Hostel (Victoria Drive, Inverness)
    A simple, well placed budget base for the Highlands.
  • Keswick Mountain Festival (Keswick, Keswick)
    Outdoor events, talks and music each spring.
  • YMCA Bath (Broad Street, Bath)
    A simple central budget stay.
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