British Museum and Tower of London top 2024 visitor lists

The 2024 Annual Survey to Visitor Attractions has revealed the top 20 most visited free and paid for attractions across England. The survey also reported a 1.4% increase in total visits to attractions from 2023 to 2024.

Farms and Visitor/Heritage Centres had the highest year-on-year change, with 11% and 6% increases in visitor numbers respectively. There was also a 6% increase in overseas visits from 2023.

The British Museum was the most visited attraction in England overall with 6,479,952 total visitors to the free-to-enter museum in 2024. The Tower of London was the most visited paid attraction; the home of the Crown Jewels saw 2,902,385 visitors in the year.

The Natural History Museum in South Kensington and the Tate Modern were the second and third most visited free attractions. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Chester Zoo followed the Tower of London as the most visited paid attractions.

International tourists enjoyed visits to England’s attractions, with a 6% rise compared to the previous year, whilst domestic visits were down 1%.

VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “With growth to our visitor attractions slowing it’s now more important than ever that we show our support for this important sector that contributes not only to local economies but to communities across England. As these survey results so clearly demonstrate, there remain challenges in getting our sector back to pre-pandemic levels and the cost-of-living impacts continue to bite.

“England’s first-class attractions, from our world-renowned museums, art galleries and historic houses to our places-of-worship, our parks and gardens, remain vitally important to our tourism offer to both international and domestic visitors.

“With summer on the doorstep and the school holidays fast approaching, make this the year you discover England’s fine attractions. Not only will you be giving our great attractions a much-needed boost, I know you will enjoy a fantastic day out with family and friends creating memories of a lifetime.”

VisitEngland conducts the annual survey using results from a mix of online and postal surveys. The lists of English attractions included in the report only feature those that choose to participate and agree to make their results public.