Britain’s top attractions revealed

British museum, london, top attractions
The British Museum was founded in the 18th century Credit: VisitBritain/Jason Hawkes

The British Museum in London named the most visited of the UK’s attractions for the ninth year running.

British museum, london, top attractions
The British Museum attracted 6,820,686 visitors in 2015  Credit: VisitBritain/Jason Hawkes

Britain’s top attractions in 2015 have been revealed by the Association of by Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) with the British Museum continuing to top the table.

Across the UK the number of people enjoying trips to attractions increased by 3.2%, with an average increase of 1.61% recorded at London attractions, however Scottish attractions experienced the greatest increase, rising by 5.48%.

Overall 124.4 million visits were made to the top 230 ALVA sites with 65,218,272 visits to attractions in London alone, so it comes as no surprise that the top 10 most-visited attractions in the UK were all in the capital.

The British Museum topped the table for the ninth year running with staggering 6,820,686 visitors. In  second place was the National Gallery with 5,908,254 visitors and third place was the Natural History Museum, which welcomed 5,284,023 visitors.

edinburgh castle, top attractions
Edinburgh castle is a historic stronghold on Castle Rock, dominating the city below. Credit: VisitBritain/Simon Winnall

Edinburgh Castle was revealed to be the most visited attraction in Scotland – ahead of the National Museum of Scotland for the first time in five years – with 1,568,508 visitors, however the National Museum of Scotland was not only the most visited free attraction in Scotland but also the most-visited museum outside of London.

Around the UK, the Library of Birmingham remained the most visited free attraction outside London, in 11th place overall with 1,828,999 visitors, while Chester Zoo, which saw an 18% increase to 1,694,185 visitors, was the most visited paid for attraction in England outside London and in 12th place overall.

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