Every man and his dog has heard of Buckingham Palace and the British Museum, so it’s really no surprise that they are two of the most visited attractions in the whole of the UK. But, newsflash, there’s so much more to Britain than our capital city – and we have tonnes of other attractions worth travelling a bit further afield for.
Thankfully, millions of people do visit Britain’s non-London gems. But the most popular of those attractions might be a bit unexpected.
Researchers at hotel chain Leonardo Hotels have crunched some numbers to reveal which attractions outside of London are the most popular right now, and they concluded that Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool apparently receives 6.3 million visitors per year. That makes it the most visited UK tourist destination outside of London.
The Royal Albert Dock, for those not in-the-know, isn’t so much a single attraction as an area: it’s made up of several warehouses and includes the Tate, Maritime Museum and the Beatles Museum, plus a load of bars and restaurants.
Coming in as the second most popular non-London attraction was Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which sees 5 million people walk through its doors every year. In third place was a site at another beloved seaside resort – Brighton Palace Pier with 4.6 million visitors.
The most popular tourist attractions in the UK right now (outside London)
- Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Blackpool
- Brighton Palace Pier, Brighton
- Alton Towers, Staffordshire
- National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
- Chester Zoo, Upton-by-Chester
- Windsor Castle, Windsor
- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
- The Roman Baths, Bath
- Stonehenge, Wiltshire
Time Out in Liverpool
With all the stuff there is to do on the Royal Albert Dock, you might as well make a whole weekend of being in L’pool. Check out Time Out’s lists of the city’s best things to get up to, incredible restaurants, finest pubs and coolest nightlife spots, all picked by locals who know it best.
Did you see that this UK city could be next to introduce a tourist tax?
Plus: The UK is officially one of the happiest countries in the world.
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