Must-see attractions in England

  • Top Choice
    Stonehenge

    An ultramodern makeover at ancient Stonehenge has brought an impressive visitor centre and the closure of an intrusive road (now restored to grassland)…

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    Blenheim Palace

    One of the greatest stately homes in Britain, and a Unesco World Heritage Site, Blenheim Palace is a monumental baroque fantasy, designed by Sir John…

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    Christ Church

    With its compelling combination of majestic architecture, literary heritage and double identity as (parts of) Harry Potter’s Hogwarts, Christ Church…

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    Lanhydrock

    This magnificent manor, 2.5 miles southeast of Bodmin, offers a fascinating insight into Upstairs, Downstairs life in Victorian England. The house was…

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    King's College Chapel

    In a city crammed with showstopping buildings, this is a scene-stealer. Grandiose 16th-century King's College Chapel is one of England’s most…

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    Bodleian Library

    At least five kings, dozens of prime ministers and Nobel laureates, and luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien have studied in Oxford's…

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    St Michael's Mount

    Looming up in the middle of Mount's Bay and connected to the mainland at Marazion via a cobbled causeway, this abbey-crowned island is an unforgettable…

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    Tresco Abbey Garden

    Tresco's key attraction – and one of Scilly's must-see gems – is this subtropical estate, laid out in 1834 on the site of a 12th-century Benedictine…

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    York Minster

    York Minster is the largest medieval cathedral in northern Europe, and one of the world's most beautiful Gothic buildings. Seat of the archbishop of York,…

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    National Gallery

    With more than 2300 European masterpieces in its collection, this is one of the world's great galleries, with seminal works from the 13th to the mid-20th…

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    Tate St Ives

    After an 18-month, multimillion-pound refit, St Ives' most illustrious gallery reopened its doors, complete with a monumental exhibition space that's been…

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    Liverpool Cathedral

    Britain's largest church, this magnificent neo-Gothic building is also the world's largest Anglican cathedral. It was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott …

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    Ashmolean Museum

    Britain’s oldest public museum, Oxford’s wonderful Ashmolean Museum is surpassed only by the British Museum in London. It was established in 1683, when…

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    Chatsworth House

    Known as the 'Palace of the Peak', this vast edifice 3 miles northeast of Bakewell has been occupied by the earls and dukes of Devonshire for centuries…

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    British Library

    Consisting of low-slung red-brick terraces and fronted by a large piazza with an oversized statue of Sir Isaac Newton, Colin St John Wilson’s British…

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    Kynance Cove

    A mile north of Lizard Point, this National Trust–owned inlet is an absolute showstopper, studded with craggy offshore islands rising out of searingly…

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    Rows

    Besides the City Walls, Chester's other great draw is the Rows, a series of two-level galleried arcades along the four streets that fan out in each…

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    Lincoln Cathedral

    Towering over the city like a medieval skyscraper, Lincoln's magnificent cathedral is a breathtaking representation of divine power on earth. The great…

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    Hereford Cathedral

    After Welsh marauders torched the original Saxon cathedral, the Norman rulers of Hereford erected a larger, grander cathedral on the same site. The…

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    Housesteads Roman Fort & Museum

    The most dramatic site of Hadrian's Wall – and the best-preserved Roman fort in the whole country – is at Housesteads, 4 miles north of Bardon Mill on the…