38 Best Sights in England

Part 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.

Vast and impressive, this museum holds a magnificent collection of Victorian art and is known internationally for its works by the Pre-Raphaelites. All the big names are here—among them Rubens, Renoir, Constable, and Francis Bacon—reflecting the enormous wealth of 19th-century Birmingham and the aesthetic taste of its industrialists. Galleries of metalwork, silver, and ceramics reveal some of the city’s history, and works from the Renaissance, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the present day are also well represented. One gallery displays part of the incredible Staffordshire Hoard, the greatest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered. The 3,500-strong haul was unearthed in a field 16 miles north of Birmingham; among the hundreds of items on permanent display here include helmets, gold, jewelry, and metalwork. The Edwardian Tearooms are good for lunch, and there is a great play area for kids just outside.

This vast manor house, inspired by a French château, was built between 1862 and 1875. Today, it's home to one of the region's most unique museum exhibits: an 18th-century mechanical swan that catches and swallows an articulated silver fish. The swan is currently undergoing restoration so its usual 2 pm show is on hold, although there's a film showing the swan in action and explaining the ingenious mechanics behind it. Other highlights in the Bowes Museum include paintings by Canaletto, El Greco, and Francisco Goya, as well as beautiful collections of ceramics and glass, 18th-century French furniture, and 19th- and 20th-century fashion. There's a guided tour available every day at 11:15 am; book online in advance.  Planning to visit the rest of town? Park for free here and walk in. Just note that the entrance gates are locked at closing time (usually 5 pm).

Designed by Sir John Soane, Dulwich (pronounced dull-ich) Picture Gallery was the world's first purpose-built art museum when it opened in 1811 (the recent extension was designed by Rick Mather). The permanent collection of more than 600 paintings includes landmark works by old masters such as Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens, Canaletto, and Gainsborough. The museum also hosts three or so major temporary exhibitions each year devoted to more-contemporary artists like Helen Frankenthaler. Check the website for its schedule of family activities; there's a 3-acre garden with a lovely café here, too.

While you're in the area, take a short wander and you'll find a handful of charming clothing and crafts stores and the well-manicured Dulwich Park, which has lakeside walks and a fine display of rhododendrons in late May. Development in Dulwich Village is tightly controlled, so it feels a bit like a time capsule, with old-fashioned street signs and handsome 18th-century houses on the main street.

One of Bath's gems, this elegant 18th-century building and its modern extension house a superb collection of 17th- and 18th-century decorative arts, ceramics, and silverware. Highlights include paintings by Gainsborough (The Byam Family, on indefinite loan) and George Stubbs (Reverend Carter Thelwall and Family), and a hilarious collection of caricatures of the Georgian city's fashionable elite. In its original incarnation as the Sydney Hotel, the house was one of the pivots of Bath's high society, which came to perambulate in the pleasure gardens (Sydney Gardens) that still lie behind it. One visitor was Jane Austen, whose main Bath residence was No. 4 Sydney Place, a brief stroll from the museum. There's also an excellent café and tea garden on site.

Originally a private house owned by a former curator of London's Tate galleries, Kettle's Yard contains a fine collection of 20th-century art, sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts, including works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Alfred Wallis. The museum reopened in 2018 after a two-year renovation project. A separate gallery shows changing exhibitions of modern art and crafts, and weekly concerts and lectures attract an eclectic mix of enthusiasts. Ring the bell for admission.

The former home of leading Victorian artist Frederic (Lord) Leighton now dazzles more than ever. Leighton spent 30 years (and a lot of money) transforming the Holland Park residence where he lived and worked into an opulent "private palace of art." His travels through the Middle East inform the sumptuousness of the interior: think peacock-blue tiled walls, beautiful mosaic wall panels, marble pillars, and gilded ceilings. The centerpiece is the Arab Hall, with its intricate ceramic murals under a stunning gold leaf dome. Leighton's fascinating Winter Studio is now fully restored, as is the original entrance hall to the house. Look out for an unassuming door to the right of the reception desk: it's the separate entrance for Leighton's models, designed to keep them away from prying Victorian eyes. There's also a delightful garden-side café.

Burlington House was built in 1664, with later Palladian additions for the 3rd Earl of Burlington in 1720. The piazza in front dates from 1873, when the Renaissance-style buildings around the courtyard were designed by Banks and Barry to house a gaggle of noble scientific societies, including the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Astronomical Society.

The house itself is home to the Royal Academy of Arts and an ambitious redevelopment for the academy's 250th anniversary in 2018 has meant that even more of its 46,000 treasures are now on display. The statue of the academy's first president, Sir Joshua Reynolds, palette in hand, stands prominently in the piazza. Free tours show off part of the collection and the excellent temporary exhibitions. Every June through August, the RA puts on its Summer Exhibition, a huge and eclectic collection of art by living Royal Academicians and many other contemporary artists.

Designed by Norman Foster, this hangarlike building on the campus of the University of East Anglia holds the collection of the Sainsbury family (British supermarket billionaires). It includes a remarkable quantity of 20th-century works, including pieces by Picasso, Degas, Giacometti, Bacon, and Modigliani. Rotating exhibitions include big-name photography and art shows. If this museum were in London, it would be wall-to-wall crowded, every day. Buses 22, 25A, and X25 run from downtown Norwich.

This offshoot of the London-based art galleries of the same name occupies a handsome conversion of Albert Dock warehouses by the late James Stirling, one of Britain's leading 20th-century architects. There is no permanent collection; challenging exhibitions of modern and contemporary art change every couple of months. There are children's activities, an excellent gift shop, and a dockside café-restaurant.

This spectacular renovation of a mid-20th-century power station is one of the most-visited museums of modern art in the world. Its great permanent collection, which starts in 1900 and ranges from modernist masters like Matisse to the most cutting-edge contemporary artists, is arranged in eight areas by theme (for example, "Media Networks," about artists' responses to mass media) rather than by chronology. Its blockbuster temporary exhibitions have showcased the work of individual artists like Gauguin, Rauschenberg, Cezanne, Picasso, and O'Keefe, among others. Other major temporary exhibitions have a conceptual focus, like works created in response to the American Black Power movement or by Soviet and Russian artists between the Revolution and the death of Stalin.

The vast Turbine Hall is a dramatic entrance point used to showcase big audacious installations that tend to generate a lot of publicity. Past highlights include Olafur Eliasson's massive glowing sun, Ai Weiwei's porcelain "sunflower seeds," and Carsten Holler's huge metal slides.

On the ground floor of a 10-story addition, you'll find The Tanks, galleries devoted to various types of new art, including moving image, performance, soundscapes, and interactive works, while at the top is a roof terrace offering spectacular views of the London skyline. In between are three exhibition floors offering more room for large-scale installations, for art from outside Europe and North America, and for digital and interactive projects. The Start Display (Level 2) provides an introduction to the collection, highlighting art from various countries, cultures, and periods, all linked by color.

Not to be missed in the original building are displays devoted to Gerhard Richter (both on Level 2), Antony Gormley, Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls, and video pioneer Nam June Paik (Level 4); and a room-size installation by Yinka Shonibare (Level 2).

Head to the restaurant on Level 9, the café on Level 1, or the Espresso Bar on Level 3 for stunning vistas of the Thames. The view of St. Paul's from the Espresso Bar's balcony is one of the best in London. Near the café you'll find the Drawing Bar, which lets you create work on one of several digital sketch pads and then project your result on the gallery wall.

You can join free 45-minute guided tours starting at noon, 1, and 2. If you plan to visit Tate Britain, take advantage of the Tate Boat, which takes visitors back and forth between the two Tates every 20 to 30 minutes.

One of London's most beloved art collections, The Courtauld is to your right as you pass through the archway into the grounds of the beautifully restored, grand 18th-century neoclassical Somerset House. Founded in 1931 by the textile magnate Samuel Courtauld to house his remarkable private collection, this is one of the world's finest impressionist and postimpressionist galleries, with artists ranging from Bonnard to van Gogh. A déjà-vu moment with Cézanne, Degas, Seurat, Monet, and more awaits on every wall (Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergère and van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear are two of the stars). Botticelli, Bruegel, Tiepolo, and Rubens are also represented, thanks to the bequest of Count Antoine Seilern's Princes Gate collection. German Renaissance paintings include the sublime Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder. The second floor has a more provocative, experimental feel, with masterpieces such as Modigliani's famous Female Nude. Look out for a full program of additional blockbuster one-off exhibitions, and don't miss the little café downstairs, a perfect place for a post-gallery spot of tea.

In a classical-revival building renowned for its grand Corinthian portico, "The Fitz," founded by the seventh viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion in 1816, has one of Britain's most outstanding collections of art and antiquities. Highlights include two large Titians, an extensive collection of French impressionist paintings, and many works by Matisse and Picasso. The opulent interior displays these treasures to marvelous effect, from Egyptian pieces like inch-high figurines and painted coffins to sculptures from the Chinese Han dynasty of the 3rd century BC. Other collections of note here include a fine collection of flower paintings, an assortment of medieval illuminated manuscripts, and a fascinating room full of armor and muskets.

These distinctive, slightly skewed concrete blocks by architect David Chipperfield form the largest purpose-built gallery in the United Kingdom outside London. Overlooking the River Calder, they house an impressive permanent collection of important works by 20th-century British artists, notably sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as L. S. Lowry and Ben Nicholson. Rolling exhibitions devoted to contemporary artists are displayed in the Calder gallery. It's in the down-to-earth West Yorkshire town of Wakefield, 12 miles south of Leeds off the M1.

Next to the National Maritime Museum, you'll find the Queen's House, home to a changing selection of the extraordinary Royal Museums Greenwich art collection. The largest collection of maritime art in the world, it includes artwork by William Hogarth, Canaletto, and Joshua Reynolds. These names alone would make the Queen's House worthy of your time, but there's so much more here to enjoy, from the glorious architecture of Inigo Jones to the sensitive and thought-provoking contemporary artist responses commissioned to contextualize the collection's works.

With its Great Gallery stunningly refurbished, there's even more reason to visit this exquisite gem of an art gallery—although housing one of the world's finest assemblies of old master paintings is reason enough. This glorious collection and the 18th-century mansion in which it's located were bequeathed to the nation by Lady Julie-Amélie-Charlotte Wallace, the widow of Sir Richard Wallace (1818–90). Wallace's father, the 4th Marquess of Hertford, took a house in Paris after the French Revolution and set about snapping up paintings by what were then dangerously unpopular artists.

Frans Hals's The Laughing Cavalier is probably the most famous painting here, or perhaps Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing. The full list of painters in the collection reads like a "who's who" of classical European art—from Rubens, Rembrandt, and van Dyck to Canaletto, Titian, and Velázquez. English works include paintings by Gainsborough and Turner. There are also fine collections of furniture, porcelain, Renaissance gold, and majolica (15th- and 16th-century Italian tin-glazed pottery). With craft activities, hands-on sessions, and the "Little Draw" drawing workshops, as well as the chance to try on a suit of armor in the "Arms and Armour" collection, there's plenty to keep kids occupied, too.

The conditions of the bequest mean that no part of the collection can leave the building; this is the only place in the world you'll ever be able to see these works.

From the 1880s onward, Cheltenham was at the forefront of the Arts and Crafts movement, and this is still demonstrated by the fine displays of William Morris textiles, furniture by Charles Voysey, and wood and metal pieces by Ernest Gimson at this museum and art gallery. Decorative arts, such as Chinese ceramics, are also well represented, and British artists, including Stanley Spencer, Vanessa Bell, and Jake and Dinos Chapman, make their mark. The Summerfield Galleries demonstrate life through the ages in easily digestible chunks. Exhibits on Cheltenham's history complete the picture; one is devoted to Edward Wilson, who traveled with Robert Scott to the Antarctic on Scott's ill-fated 1912 expedition. The museum café, the Wilson Kitchen, is open daily for lunch, coffee, and cake.

For lovers of fine things, Torquay's chief attraction is Torre Abbey, surrounded by parkland but close to the seafront. The abbey itself, founded in 1196, was razed in 1539, though you can still see traces of the old construction. The mansion that now occupies the site was the home of the Cary family for nearly 300 years, and it was later converted into a museum and art gallery. Artistic riches lie within the main building: marine paintings, Victorian sculptures, Pre-Raphaelite window designs, and drawings by William Blake. There are plenty of family-friendly activities, including brass-rubbing.

Known to all as the V&A, this huge museum with more than two million items on display in 145 galleries is devoted to the applied arts of all disciplines, all periods, and all nationalities. First opened as the South Kensington Museum in 1857, it was renamed in 1899 in honor of Queen Victoria's late husband and has since grown to become one of the country's best-loved cultural institutions, with high-profile temporary exhibitions alongside an impressive permanent collection. Many collections at the V&A are presented not by period but by category—textiles, sculpture, jewelry, and so on. It's a tricky building to navigate, so use the free map.

Nowhere is the benefit of the categorization more apparent than in the Fashion Gallery (Room 40), where formal 18th-century court dresses are displayed alongside the haute couture styles of contemporary designers. The museum has become known for high-profile temporary exhibitions devoted to fashion icons such as Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, and Christian Dior, and to explorations of pop legends including David Bowie and Pink Floyd.

The British Galleries (Rooms 52–58 and 118–125) survey British art and design from 1500 to 1900 and are full of rare and beautiful artifacts, such as the Tudor Great Bed of Ware (immortalized in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night) and silks woven by Huguenot refugees in 18th-century Spitalfields. Among the series of actual rooms that have been painstakingly reconstructed piece by piece are the glamorous rococo Norfolk House Music Room and the serenely elegant Henrietta St. Drawing Room, originally designed in 1722.

The Asian Galleries (Rooms 44–47) are full of treasures, but among the most striking items on display is a remarkable collection of ornate samurai armor in the Japanese Gallery (Room 44). Works from China, Korea, and the Islamic Middle East have their own displays. Also of note is a gallery thematically grouped around Buddhist sculptures from different regions and periods. The Europe Gallery (Rooms 1–7) brings together more than 1,100 objects created between 1600 and 1815, while the Medieval and Renaissance galleries, which document European art and culture from 300 to 1600, have the largest collection of works from the period outside of Italy.

An entrance off Exhibition Road offers access through Britain's first porcelain-tiled public courtyard, which also serves as a venue for contemporary installations and a glass-fronted café. A photography center houses books, photo equipment, and more than 270,000 prints formerly held by the Royal Photographic Society, joining the more than 500,000 photos already in the museum's collection. A room in the center has been named the Elton John and David Furnish Gallery after the couple donated some 7,000 photographs by 20th-century masters. A free one-hour introductory tour of the museum's highlights twice daily on Thursdays through Sundays helps you take it all in. Whatever time you visit, the spectacular sculpture hall will be filled with artists, both amateur and professional, sketching the myriad artworks on display there. Don't be shy; bring a pad and join in.

With a superb display of British art and some outstanding Italian and Flemish works, this is one of the best British art collections outside London. Don't miss the unrivaled collection of paintings by 18th-century Liverpudlian equestrian artist George Stubbs or works by J. M. W. Turner, Claude Monet, Frederic Lord Leighton, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Modern artists are included, too; on display is one of David Hockney's typically Californian pool scenes. Other excellent exhibits showcase classical Greek and Roman sculptures as well as china, silver, and furniture that once adorned the mansions of Liverpool's industrial barons. There are temporary exhibitions, including those focusing on photography, and a dedicated children's art space. The café holds center stage in the airy museum lobby.

An extraordinary small museum, the Watts Gallery was built in tiny Compton in 1904 by the late 19th-century artist George Frederic Watts (1817–1904) to display his work. His romantic, mystical paintings have been somewhat rediscovered in recent years, with his 1886 painting Hope being a favorite of Barack Obama. A marvelously higgledy-piggledy studio displays his sculptures, which are astonishing both for their size and their near-obsessive attention to detail, while nearby Limnerslease House gives an insight into the life and works of Watts and his wife, fellow artist Mary Seton Watts (1849–1938). Though virtually unknown as an artist both then and now, some critics contend that Mary's talent actually eclipsed her husband's—and if you follow the short, signposted walk to the Watts Memorial Chapel, you may become one of them. Designed by Mary, this tiny chapel is a masterpiece of art nouveau style, from the intricately carved redbrick exterior to the jaw-dropping Mucha-esque painted interior. You could easily spend half an hour trying to decode all the symbolism and allegory woven meticulously into the gilded walls. The museum, house, and chapel are located three miles west of Guildford.

This University of Manchester–owned art museum is beautifully—and uniquely—integrated into the surrounding parkland through its art garden, sculpture terrace, orchard garden, and landscape gallery. Some of the free events and activities take you into the park itself, including children's outdoor art clubs. The renowned collections inside the gallery embrace British watercolors, Old Master drawings, postimpressionist works, wallpapers, and an outstanding textile gallery befitting a city built on textile manufacturing. There's also a learning studio for families and a "café in the trees" overlooking the art garden, with a seasonal British menu.

This outdoor gallery near Wakefield is part of a former 18th-century estate encompassing more than 500 acres of fields, lakes, exotic trees, and rolling hills. The park, garden, and Underground Gallery—three galleries cut into a hillside—are filled with a carefully curated collection that includes works by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as modern sculptors like Antony Gormley, Anthony Caro, and David Nash. A visitor center offers a café, a self-service restaurant, a table service restaurant, a gallery for temporary exhibitions, and information about the ecology and history of the estate. You can get here easily from Leeds by train or car.

A 19th-century Greek Revival mansion in a majestic setting on a hill 2½ miles southeast of the city holds the only museum of American decorative arts outside the United States. Rooms are furnished in historical styles, such as the 17th-century Conkey's Tavern, the beautifully elegant Greek Revival room, and the lavish, richly red New Orleans bedroom from the 1860s. Other galleries explore historical themes (the settlement of the West, the Civil War) or contain a large collection of quilts, as well as porcelain and Shaker objects; a separate building is devoted to folk art, including a fine collection of decoy wildfowl. The parkland includes a reproduction of George Washington's garden at Mount Vernon, and the New American Garden Project features many plants native to the United States. Take a bus headed to the University of Bath and get off at the Avenue, where signs point to the museum, half a mile away. The City Sightseeing bus also drops off here.

The studio and garden of Dame Barbara Hepworth (1903–75), who pioneered abstract sculpture in England, are now a museum and sculpture garden, managed by Tate St. Ives. The artist lived here for 26 years, before her death in an accidental studio fire.

The grounds of the Royal Pavilion contain this museum, in a former stable block designed for the Prince Regent (1762–1830), son of George III. The museum has particularly interesting art nouveau and art deco collections. Look out for a tiny replica of Salvador Dalí's famous sofa in the shape of Mae West's lips. The Fashion & Style Gallery has clothes from the Regency period to the present day, and the Performance gallery has a collection of masks, puppets, and other theatrical curiosities.

The highlight of this venue is its "Wonders of the Peak" gallery with displays on Derbyshire's geology, archaeology, history, and art. It's a good place to see Blue John, a colorful, semiprecious mineral found only in the Peak District (the name comes from bleu jaune—literally "blue yellow"—a term supposedly coined by visiting French mine workers).

Located in the former Commonwealth Institute, this museum was the first in the United Kingdom to place everyday contemporary objects in a social and cultural context and to consider their role in the history of design. A free, permanent exhibition displays some 1,000 examples of 20th- and 21st-century design—from furniture, fashion, and domestic products to digital technology, architecture, and engineering. The temporary exhibitions may be focused on leading individual designers, such as Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, Terence Conran, or David Adjaye, on themes such as the global influence of Californian design, or on the role of design in related art forms, like an exhibition devoted to the work of film director Stanley Kubrick. There's also a design library and archive, two shops, a café, and a restaurant.

Not everyone thinks graffiti can be a bonus to the urban landscape, but those who do should head for this leading gallery of contemporary street art. The big name here is Banksy, but there are works for sale by several other artists in the same vein, such as TRUST.iCON and Code FC, who are more concerned with social commentary than tagging. Private two-hour master classes are available during the week upon request, with less-expensive public workshops running Saturdays and Sundays at 1:15 pm (be sure to book at least a week in advance).

Push buttons and pedals to your heart's content to make the exhibits in the Mechanical Art & Design Museum come alive. Witty, beautiful, and intricate automata and examples of kinetic art will clank, whir, and rattle away. Marbles and Ping-Pong balls thread and bounce through looping runs, a typewriter plays tunes on glasses and bottles, and two trains chuff around high up on the walls. Kids will love constructing their own marble run, and grown-ups will marvel at the Kitchenator display. There's also a shop full of weird and wonderful things to buy. Tickets last all day so you can come and go as you please.