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On July 11, VisitEngland released its 2023 Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions, revealing that while visits to attractions across England continued to recover, they remained significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
Overall, visits to English attractions increased by 11% in 2023 compared to 2022, although the growth rate slowed compared to the previous two years. Visitor numbers were still 28% lower than in 2019.
Top 20 most visited free attractions in England in 2023
RankName of AttractionCategory2022 Visitors2023 VisitorsExact or Estimate% Change ’22-’23Price for Adult Entry1British MuseumMuseum4,097,2535,820,860Exact42%Free2Natural History MuseumMuseum4,812,8605,685,611Exact18%Free3Tate ModernMuseum4,081,2804,728,448Exact16%Free4Brighton PierOther4,632,1004,225,165Exact-9%Free5National GalleryMuseum and/or Art Gallery3,894,0944,089,682Exact5%Free6Victoria and Albert MuseumMuseum2,334,8093,098,364Exact33%Free7Science MuseumMuseum2,953,4763,086,482Exact5%Free8Somerset HouseHistoric House and Garden/Palace2,361,3602,727,677Exact15%Free9Royal Museums GreenwichMuseum1,630,1102,506,962Exact54%Free10British LibraryMuseum and/or Art Gallery1,642,7001,945,304Exact18%Free11The Abbey Gardens & Abbey RuinsPlace of Worship (still in use)1,392,8741,345,018Exact-3%Free12National Portrait GalleryMuseum and/or Art GalleryNot available1,140,045ExactNot availableFree13Tate BritainMuseum and/or Art Gallery941,842983,108An Estimate17%Free14Cannon Hall Museum, Park and GardensMuseum and/or Art Gallery913,305981,180An Estimate7%Free15The Horniman Public Museum & Public Park TrustMuseum and/or Art Gallery841,662931,408Exact11%Free16Ashmolean MuseumMuseum and/or Art Gallery780,183892,072An Estimate14%Free17Midlands Arts Centre (MAC)Museum and/or Art Gallery728,183869,474Exact19%Free18Bodelian LibrariesMuseum and/or Art Gallery717,509847,400Exact18%Free19Imperial War Museum LondonMuseum and/or Art Gallery711,878834,892An Estimate17%Free20Oxford University Museum of Natural HistoryMuseum and/or Art Gallery694,186834,814Exact20%Free
Top 20 most visited paid attractions in England in 2023
RankName of AttractionCategory2022 Visitors2023 VisitorsExact or Estimate% Change ’22-’23Price for Adult Entry1Tower of LondonCastle/Fort2,019,6882,791,384Exact38%£15 or Over2Royal Botanic Gardens, KewGarden1,983,8681,974,245Exact-1%£15 or Over3Chester ZooSafari Park/Zoo/Aquarium/Aviary1,853,7421,911,754Exact3%£15 or Over4Westminster AbbeyPlace of Worship (still in use)1,002,9001,587,808Exact58%£15 or Over5St Paul’s CathedralPlace of Worship (still in use)1,195,6881,400,575Exact17%£15 or Over6Windsor CastleCastle/Fort1,327,0131,374,074Exact4%£15 or Over7StonehengeHistoric Monument/Archaeological Site977,3161,247,423Exact28%£15 or Over8Windermere Lake CruisesOther Historic/Scenic Transport Operator1,308,0001,319,855Exact1%£10 – £14.999RHS Garden WisleyGarden1,439,8291,306,843An Estimate-9%£15 or Over10Colchester ZooSafari Park/Zoo/Aquarium/Aviary1,289,4771,291,577Exact0%£15 or Over11Roman BathsHistoric Monument/Archaeological Site861,854991,477Exact15%£15 or Over12Tower BridgeHeritage/Visitor Centre851,000960,437Exact13%£10 – £14.9913Blenheim PalaceHistoric House and Garden/Palace821,585945,412Exact15%£15 or Over14Yorkshire Wildlife ParkSafari Park/Zoo/Aquarium/Aviary932,444921,008Exact-1%£15 or Over15Portsmouth Historic DockyardMuseum and/or Art Gallery920,000921,000Exact0%£15 or Over16Old Royal Naval CollegeOther Historic Property883,482843,105Exact-5%£15 or Over17Horniman Public Museum and ParkMuseum and/or Art Gallery783,843831,479Exact6%Free18Longleat Safari & Adventure ParkSafari Park/Zoo/Aquarium/Aviary761,000818,006Exact8%£15 or Over19Shakespeare’s GlobeOther Historic Property759,093772,000Exact2%£15 or Over20Hampton Court PalaceHistoric House/House and Garden/Palace705,000770,000An Estimate9%£7.50 – £9.99
The survey, which included data from 1,513 English attractions, indicated that the growth was primarily driven by the return of international visitors and an increase in school trips in 2023. International visits to England’s attractions surged by 80% compared to 2022, whereas domestic visits decreased by 2% from the previous year.
Most regions saw admissions grow between 4-8%, with London experiencing a notable 26% increase, largely due to international visitors. However, despite this growth, London’s attraction visits were still 22% below 2019 levels.
The Tower of London remained the most visited ‘paid for’ attraction in England in 2023, with 2.8 million visitors, a 38% increase from 2022 but still 6% below 2019 figures. Kew Gardens held second place with 2.0 million visitors, a 1% increase from 2022, while Chester Zoo was third with 1.9 million visitors, up 6% from the previous year.
The British Museum reclaimed the top spot among ‘free attractions’ in England in 2023, attracting 5.8 million visitors, a 42% increase from 2022 but still 7% below 2019 levels. The Natural History Museum followed with 5.7 million visitors, up 18% from 2022, and the Tate Modern was third with 4.7 million visitors, a 22% increase from the previous year.
The ‘Museum/Art Galleries’ category saw the highest growth, with a 20% increase in visits in 2023 compared to 2022, having experienced one of the steepest declines during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘Places of Worship’ saw a 19% increase, ‘Visitor/Heritage Centres’ a 14% increase, and ‘Historic Houses/Castles’ a 13% increase compared to the previous year.
Tourism remains one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting over 200,000 businesses, employing approximately 2.6 million people, and generating £70.2 billion in domestic visitor spending in 2023.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“It’s good to see continued growth in visits to our wonderful attractions and this survey underlines what we know from the industry, that there remains ground to be covered to get our sector back to pre-pandemic levels and that the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite.
“Our exceptional attractions remain vitally important to our tourism offer and it’s no surprise international and domestic tourists are returning to our first-class museums and galleries and our world-beating castles and historic houses.
“With the summer holidays fast approaching I urge everyone to show your support, boost local economies through tourism and make magical memories in England’s high quality and varied attractions.”
Chief Executive of Historic England Duncan Wilson said:
“These statistics give us a window into the challenges that many of England’s attractions are still facing, but it’s encouraging to see that numbers of visits are slowly climbing. We know that visiting heritage attractions can do so much for our mental health and wellbeing, so we want to see visitor numbers continue to grow. Everyone deserves to access, and learn from, the places and spaces which helped to shape who we are.”
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