[Source: BBC]

The Natural History Museum was the UK’s most popular tourist attraction in 2025, breaking the record for the most visitors to any museum or gallery in a single year.

More than 7.1m visitors visited the museum in South Kensington, London, over 12 months, a 13% increase on 2025, helping it top the annual chart for the first time.

The British Museum, Windsor Great Park (The Crown Estate), Tate Modern and the National Gallery also made the top five.

The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva) said total visits to its 409 sites had continued to increase in 2025, but were still below pre-Covid levels.

Alva director Bernard Donoghue OBE said: “Visitor attractions are the places that people prize most and provide the experiences that people, even in a cost-of-living crisis, are most loathe to give up.”

He continued: “In a time of unpredictable futures, uncertain economics, global insecurities, economic challenges, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the UK public are more tactical than ever in deciding how they spend their leisure pounds and their leisure hours.”

The Natural History Museum took the number one spot from the British Museum, which topped the chart for the previous two years.

However, the British Museum is expected to have a particularly strong year ahead, with the Bayeux Tapestry set to go on display from September.

Dr Doug Gurr, the director of the Natural History Museum, said the team was “thrilled” to have topped the chart.

“These exceptional results reflect our unwavering focus on delivering a fantastic day out for every visitor, as well as the dedication of our colleagues who work tirelessly to create unforgettable experiences and world-class exhibitions.

“We should all take heart from these figures. Welcoming 7.1 million visitors demonstrates the enormous public appetite to engage with the wonders of the natural world and UK cultural attractions.”

Alva said the total number of visits to its 409 sites was 165 million last year, a 2% increase on the previous year, but below the 170 million visits in 2019, before the Covid pandemic.

Other venues on Alva’s list included Royal Museums Greenwich, the National Museum of Scotland, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Royal Shakespeare Company London, Edinburgh Castle and National Galleries Scotland, which all recorded more than 2m visitors.

Also in the top 20 were the Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey, Barbican Centre, and National Portrait Gallery, which were all visited by more than 1.5m people.

Some notable increases to particular attractions were driven by particular events, such as the re-opening of the Salisbury Wing at the National Gallery, while Halloween or Christmas helped drive rises for venues such as Chatsworth, Kenwood House and Blenheim Palace.

Meanwhile, the Houses of Parliament saw a 47% increase, attracting 823,000 visitors, while the Royal Academy of the Arts had their most successful Summer Exhibition since Covid, resulting in a 20% increase to 740,000 visitors.

There were some new entries in the chart, including the V&A East Storehouse, which debuted in 107th place after attracting 416,000 visitors in less than seven months, exceeding their visitor targets for their first year.

The typical attraction in Scotland saw a 2.6% increase, while Wales saw a 0.9% increase.

Outside of London, the region of England outside London with the biggest year-on-year growth was the North West which was up 11.3%, followed by the East Midlands, which was up 7.5%.

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