England
We’ve compiled the best of the best in England - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Aldeburgh Beach Lookout
This tiny, disused lookout tower is in the middle of the main beachfront in Aldeburgh and has been converted into a bijou space for contemporary art and performances. Artists take up weekly residences here, welcoming the public each Saturday to observe what they've created during the week. This isn't just a space for local talent, however; some big names in the British arts world have taken part in recent years, including the poet Michael Horovitz and painter Eileen Cooper, the first female head of the Royal Academy. They also sometimes show art films projected on the side of the building—an arresting sight against a backdrop of dark seas lapping on the nighttime shore.
31 Crag Path, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5BS, England01728-452754Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Sun.–Fri. Sometimes closed in winter. -
2. Allan Bank
Rope swings on the grounds, picnics in atmospheric old rooms, free tea and coffee, and huge blackboards you can write on: Allan Bank is unlike most other historic houses cared for by the National Trust. On a hill above the lake near Grasmere village, this grand house was once home to poet William Wordsworth as well as to Canon Rawnsley, the founder of the National Trust. Seriously damaged by fire in 2011, it has been partially restored but also left deliberately undecorated. It offers a much less formal experience than other stops on the Wordsworth trail. There are frequent activities for both children and adults: arts and crafts but also music and astronomy. Red squirrels can be seen on the 30-minute woodland walk through the beautiful grounds.
Off A591, Grasmere, Cumbria, LA22 9QB, England01539-435143Sight Details
Rate Includes: £6.50, Closed weekdays -
3. Alnwick Garden
A marvelous flight of fancy, Alnwick Garden celebrated its 20-year anniversary at the turn of this decade and remains one of the area's most beautiful, unusual, and kid-friendly attractions. Alongside traditional features like perfectly manicured lawns, shaded woodland walks, and a charming rose garden are more unusual elements like the enormous Grand Cascade water feature, a Poison Garden with everything from hemlock to cannabis, and a labyrinth of towering bamboo. The grounds are also home to the largest "Tai-haku" cherry orchard in the world, as well as a recently spruced-up shop and a number of excellent dining and drinking options, including one of the area's most unique restaurants, the Treehouse. If you want to take a little of the garden home with you, you can buy clippings of the unique varieties of roses in the shop.
Denwick La., Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1YU, England01665-511350Sight Details
Rate Includes: £14.50, Closed Jan. and Tues. and Wed. in Nov.–Mar. -
4. Angel of the North
South of Newcastle, near the junction of the A1 and A1(M) at Gateshead, you'll find this enormous rust-colored steel sculpture—one of England's largest and most popular works of public art. Created by Antony Gormley in 1998, it's a sturdy, abstract human figure with airplane-like wings rather than arms. It stands 65 feet tall and has a horizontal wingspan of 175 feet. It's tricky to experience it fully from a car, so park in the free lot just behind the sculpture (on the A167) and take a stroll around its feet.
A167, Gateshead, Gateshead, NE9 7TY, EnglandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
5. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
The most picturesque of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties, this thatched cottage on the western outskirts of Stratford is the family home of the woman Shakespeare married in 1582. The "cottage," actually a substantial Tudor farmhouse with latticed windows, is astonishingly beautiful. Inside, it is surprisingly cozy with lots of period furniture, including the love seat on which Shakespeare reputedly conducted his courtship and a rare carved Elizabethan bed. The cottage garden is planted in lush Edwardian style with herbs and flowers. Wildflowers are grown in the adjacent orchard (a nod to what was grown in the garden in the Hathaways’ time), and the neighboring arboretum has trees, shrubs, and roses mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The best way to get here is on foot, especially in late spring when the apple trees are in blossom. The signed path runs from Evesham Place (an extension of Grove Road) opposite Chestnut Walk. Pick up a leaflet with a map from the tourist office; the walk takes 25–30 minutes.
Cottage La., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 9HH, England01789-338532Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15; Shakespeare\'s Story ticket (includes entry to Shakespeare\'s New Place and Shakespeare\'s Birthplace) £26.50 -
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6. Another Place
Crosby BeachA hundred naked, life-size, cast-iron figures by sculptor Antony Gormley stand proudly on the 2 miles of foreshore at Crosby Beach, weathered by sand and sea. Unlike most other statues, you are permitted to interact with these and even clothe them if you wish. Check tide times before you go, and be aware that it's not safe to walk out to the farthest figures. The site is 6 miles north of downtown Liverpool; to get here, take the Merseyrail train to Blundellsands or Crosby from Liverpool Central or Moorfields Stations. A taxi will cost around £35–£40.
Mariners Rd., Liverpool, Liverpool, L23 6SX, England0845-140–0845-for tide timesSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
7. Apsley House
MayfairApsley House was built by Robert Adam in the 1770s and was bought by the Duke of Wellington two years after his famous victory over Napoléon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Long known simply as No. 1, London, on account of its being the first mansion at the old tollgate from Knightsbridge village, the Duke's old regency abode continues to look quite grand. Victory over the French made Wellington the greatest soldier and statesman in the land. The so-called Iron Duke lived here from 1817 until his death in 1852, and, although the 7th Duke of Wellington gave the house to the nation, the family retained some residential rights. As you'd expect, the mansion has many uniforms and weapons on display, but it also houses a celebrated art collection, the bulk of which was once owned by Joseph Bonaparte, onetime King of Spain and older brother of Napoléon. With works by Brueghel, van Dyck, and Rubens, as well as the Spanish masters Velázquez and Murillo (note the former's famous portrait of Pope Innocent X), the collection also includes a Goya portrait of the duke himself on horseback. An 11-foot-tall statue of a nude (fig-leafed) Napoléon looms over you as you approach the grand central staircase. The statue was taken from the Louvre and given as a gift to Wellington from the grateful British government in 1816.
View Tours and Activities149 Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, London, Greater London, W1J 7NT, England020-7499–5676Sight Details
Rate Includes: From £12.80, Closed weekdays Jan.–Mar. and Mon. and Tues. Apr.–Dec. -
8. Arundel Castle
You've probably already seen Arundel Castle without knowing it, at least on screen; the castle's striking resemblance to Windsor means that it's frequently used as a stand-in for its more famous cousin in movies and television. Begun in the 11th century, this vast castle remains rich with the history of the Fitzalan and Howard families and holds paintings by van Dyck, Gainsborough, and Reynolds. During the 18th century and in the Victorian era it was reconstructed in the fashionable Gothic style—although the keep, rising from its conical mound, is as old as the original castle (climb its 130 steps for great views of the River Arun), and the barbican and the Barons' Hall date from the 13th century. Among the treasures here are the rosary beads and prayer book used by Mary, Queen of Scots, in preparing for her execution. The formal garden, a triumph of order and beauty, is also worth a visit. Special events happen year-round, including a week of jousting, usually in late July. (Ticket prices rise slightly during event weeks.) Although the castle's ceremonial entrance is at the top of High Street, you enter at the bottom, close to the parking lot.
Off High St., Brighton, Brighton and Hove, BN18 9AB, England01903-882173Sight Details
Rate Includes: £25; gardens only £13, Closed Mon. and Nov.–Mar. -
9. Ashmolean Museum
What might be Britain's greatest museum outside London is also the oldest public museum in the United Kingdom. "The Ash," as locals call it, displays its rich and varied collections from the Neolithic to the present day over five stunning floors. Innovative and spacious galleries explore connections between priceless Greek, Roman, and Indian artifacts, as well as Egyptian and Chinese objects, all of which are among the best in the country. In the superb art collection, don't miss drawings by Raphael, the shell-encrusted mantle of Powhatan (father of Pocahontas), the lantern belonging to Guy Fawkes, and the Alfred Jewel, set in gold, which dates from the reign of King Alfred the Great (ruled 871–899).
Beaumont St., Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2PH, England01865-278000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free (£5 suggested donation). -
10. Attingham Park
Built in 1785 by George Steuart (architect of the church of St. Chad in Shrewsbury) for the first Lord Berwick, this elegant stone mansion has a three-story portico, with a pediment carried on four tall columns. The building overlooks a sweep of parkland, part of which is home to around 300 deer. Inside the house are painted ceilings and delicate plasterwork, a fine picture gallery designed by John Nash (1752–1835), and 19th-century Neapolitan furniture. Attingham Park is four miles southeast of Shrewsbury.
B4380, Atcham, Shropshire, SY4 4TP, England01743-708123Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15 -
11. Avebury Stone Circles
Surrounding part of Avebury village, the Avebury Stone Circles, the largest in the world, are one of England's most evocative prehistoric monuments—not as famous as Stonehenge, but all the more powerful for their lack of commercial exploitation. The stones were erected between 2850 and 2200 BC, about the same time as the better-known monument. As with Stonehenge, the purpose of this stone circle has never been ascertained, although it most likely was used for similar ritual purposes. Unlike Stonehenge, however, there are no certain astronomical alignments at Avebury, at least none that have survived. The main site consists of a wide, circular ditch and bank, about 1,400 feet across and more than half a mile around. Entrances break the perimeter at roughly the four points of the compass, and inside stand the remains of three stone circles. The largest one originally had 98 stones, although only 27 remain. Many stones on the site were destroyed centuries ago, especially in the 14th century when they were buried for unclear reasons, possibly religious fanaticism. Others were later pillaged in the 18th century to build the thatched cottages you see flanking the fields. You can walk around the circles, a World Heritage Site, at any time; early morning and early evening are recommended. As with Stonehenge, the summer solstice tends to draw the crowds.
Avebury, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF, England01672-539–250Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
12. Baddesley Clinton
The eminent architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described this as “the perfect late medieval manor house,” and it’s hard to argue with that assessment. The Tudor mansion, with its elegant Queen Anne brick bridge reaching over the moat, is like something out of a period drama. Set off a winding back-road, this grand manor dating from the 15th century retains its great fireplaces, 17th-century paneling, and three priest holes (secret chambers for Roman Catholic priests, who were hidden by sympathizers when Catholicism was banned in the 16th and 17th centuries). Admission to the house is by timed ticket. Baddesley Clinton is two miles east of Packwood House and 15 miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon.
Rising La., Henley in Arden, Warwickshire, B93 0DQ, England01564-783294Sight Details
Rate Includes: £13 -
13. Bamburgh Castle
You'll see Bamburgh Castle long before you reach it: a solid, weather-beaten, clifftop fortress that dominates the coastal view for miles around. A fortification of some kind has stood here since the 6th century, but the Norman castle was damaged during the 15th century, and the central tower is all that remains intact. Much of the structure—the home of the Armstrong family since 1894—was restored during the 18th and 19th centuries. The interior is mostly late Victorian (most impressively, the Great Hall), although a few rooms, such as the small but alarmingly well-stocked armory, have a more authentically medieval feel; look out for the devil-horned helmet. The breathtaking view across the sweeping sands of Bamburgh beach and the North Sea beyond is worth the steep climb up from the main road; bring a picnic if the weather's good (or order to-go sandwiches at the café).
Off B1340, Bamburgh, Northumberland, NE69 7DF, England01668-214208Sight Details
Rate Includes: £14.10; £4 parking -
14. Barber Institute of Fine Arts
EdgbastonPart of the University of Birmingham, this museum has a small but astounding collection of European paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture, including works by Botticelli, van Dyck, Gainsborough, Turner, Manet, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, and Magritte. The museum also has a lively program of temporary exhibitions and a weekly lunchtime concert at 1 pm on Friday, as well as occasional evening concerts. The museum is three miles from the city center; to get here, take a train from New Street Station to University Station, which is a 10-minute walk from the gallery, or jump on a No. 61 or 63 bus, operated by National Express West Midlands.
Off Edgbaston Park Rd., Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TS, England0121-414–7333Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon. -
15. Battle Abbey
Situated six miles northwest of Hastings, this great Benedictine abbey was erected by William the Conqueror on the site of the Battle of Hastings—one of the most decisive turning points in English history and the last time the country was successfully invaded. All of this meant little to Henry VIII, of course, who didn't spare the building from his violent dissolution of the monasteries. Today the abbey is just a ruin, but a very pretty one. Start at the visitor center to get the full story through a series of films and interactive exhibits before taking a walk around the abbey site, including up to the first floor. A memorial stone marks the high altar, which in turn was supposedly laid on the spot where Harold II, the last Saxon king, was killed. You can also follow a trail around the 1066 battlefield, lined with a series of intricately carved wooden sculptures of Norman and Saxon soldiers, or climb the gatehouse for an exhibiton on the site's post-invasion history as well as spectacular rooftop views of the town. For a potted history of Battle, head to nearby St. Mary's Church, where the three-meter-long Battle Tapestry artfully illustrates how the town developed around the abbey.
High St., Rye, East Sussex, TN33 0AE, England0370-333–1181Sight Details
Rate Includes: £13.90; parking £4, Closed weekdays early Nov.–mid-Feb. and Mon. and Tues. mid-Feb.–Apr. -
16. Beamish, the Living Museum of the North
Situated nine miles northwest of Durham, this impressive "living museum"—a sprawling complex made up of heritage buildings found on-site or moved from elsewhere in the region—offers real insight into the way people in the Northeast lived and worked from the early 1800s to the mid-1900s. A vintage bus and a streetcar take you around the site to various points of interest, including a farm estate; a pit village and colliery; and an entire 1920s town complete with a bank, convenience store, and Masonic hall. Everything is staffed by workers in period costumes, and you can buy era-appropriate food and drinks in the pub, bakery, and "sweet shop" (candy store). As well as the permanent exhibits, there are special events year-round, from weekend-long festivals, where you're encouraged to come in old-style fancy dress, to traditional English celebrations such as May Day and Harvest Festival. You can spend at least half a day here, and tickets are valid for a whole year in case you want to return.
Off A693, Beamish, Durham, DH9 ORG, England0191-370–4000Sight Details
Rate Includes: £19.50, Some areas closed weekdays in winter -
17. Beatles Story
Entertaining scenes at this popular attraction in the Albert Dock complex re-create stages in the Beatles' story (and their later careers as solo artists). You'll find everything from the enthusiastic early days in Germany and the Cavern Club to the White Room, where "Imagine" seems to emanate from softly billowing curtains. A shop sells every conceivable kind of souvenir a Fab Four fan could wish for.
View Tours and ActivitiesAlbert Dock, Liverpool, Liverpool, L3 4AD, EnglandSight Details
Rate Includes: £18 -
18. Beatrix Potter Gallery
In the 17th-century solicitor's offices formerly used by Potter's husband, the Beatrix Potter Gallery displays a selection of the artist-writer's original illustrations, watercolors, and drawings. There's also information about her interest in conservation and her early support of the National Trust. The house looks almost as it would have in her day, though with touch screens in wooden frames and a children's play area upstairs. Admission is by timed ticket when the place gets busy.
Main St., Hawkshead, Cumbria, LA22 0NS, England01539-436355Sight Details
Rate Includes: £8.50, Closed Nov.–mid-Feb., Fri., and Sat. -
19. Benjamin Franklin House
Covent GardenThis architecturally significant 1730 Georgian town house is the only surviving residence of American statesman, scientist, writer, and inventor Benjamin Franklin, who lived and worked here for 16 years preceding the American Revolution. The restored Georgian home has been left unfurnished, the better to show off the original features, like the 18th-century paneling, stoves, beams, bricks, and windows. Visitors are led around the house by the costumed character of Polly Hewson, the daughter of Franklin's landlady, who interacts with engaging video projections and recorded voices (weekends only). On Friday you can take a guided tour focusing on the architectural details of the building, and a walking tour of the surrounding area lasting up to 90 minutes sets off from the house at noon.
36 Craven St., London, Greater London, WC2N 5NF, England020-7839–2006Sight Details
Rate Includes: Historical experience £9.50; architectural tour £7.50, Closed Mon.–Thurs., Reservations essential -
20. Birmingham Back to Backs
City CentreOf the 20,000 courtyards of back-to-back houses (houses that quite literally back onto each other) built in the 19th century for the city’s expanding working-class population, this is the only survivor. Three houses tell the stories of families (a clock-maker, locksmith, and glass-eye maker were among the residents) who lived in these charming properties, which were rescued from decay by the National Trust and opened as a heritage site. Each of the properties is decorated for a different period in the courtyard’s history, from the outdoor privies to the long johns hanging over the bedstead. Admission is by guided tour only, which must be booked in advance. Allow at least one hour for the tour and be prepared for steep stairs; ground-floor tours are available for those with limited mobility.
55–63 Hurst St., Birmingham, Birmingham, B5 4TE, England0121-6222442Sight Details
Rate Includes: £9.50, Closed Mon. and mid Dec.–Jan.
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