Stumped for ideas of where to visit in the UK this year? Worry not. Here at Time Out we’ve just published our list of Britain’s most essential places to explore in 2025, featuring 15 destinations ranging from blossoming city neighbourhoods and remote islands to real-life movie sets.
Our list features a massively diverse range of places, all anchored by the fact that 2025 is the year they should be on your hit-list – whether that’s because they’re the next biggest thing or will be hosting huge and noteworthy events.
Top of the pile is Folkestone. The Kent seaside town is as vibrant as ever, packed with colourful indie shops, buzzy art galleries, exciting restaurants and characterful pubs. In July Folkestone will welcome the return of its prestigious triennial, which will see the town filled with public art with a theme centred around its geology and geography.
Second comes Stratford in east London, which had a starring role in the 2012 Olympics and, just over a decade on, is set to get a formidable cultural boost thanks to a new Sadler’s Wells East dance theatre and the new V&A East Storehouse (the latter of which is also one of the best new things to do in the entire world this year). Read more about Stratford’s placement in the list here.
Third in the list is Stoke-on-Trent. In 2025 the Potteries will mark 100 years as an official city, and it’ll have festivals, processions, street theatre and more to properly celebrate the occasion. The Stoke100 celebrations will also be a just great excuse to visit Stoke, which is world-famous for its ceramics and boasts museums, factories and outlet stores – and much more.
Also making the cut are the likes of Orkney (which will host the 2025 International Island Games), Bradford (which is the UK’s 2025 City of Culture) and the Cornish village of Newlyn, which currently has a burgeoning food scene.
Find Time Out’s full list of the UK’s top 15 places to visit in 2025 here.
Exploring the UK in 2025
If you’re looking to explore more of the UK over the next 12 months, there are plenty of places getting hype. Check out British destinations picked out by the New York Times, BBC Travel, National Geographic, Lonely Planet and Condé Nast Traveller.
Did you see that 18 British record stores have been crowned the ‘greatest in the world’?
Plus: The UK’s best pub has been crowned for 2025.
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