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Leading visitor attractions in London 2018

Number of visits to leading visitor attractions in London (UK) in 2018* (in 1,000s)

by Jennifer Luty, last edited Jun 25, 2019

Leading visitor attractions in London 2018

With almost six million visitors, the Tate Modern was the most visited attraction in London in 2018. It was closely followed by the British Museum with 5.8 million visitors and The National Gallery with 5.7 million visitors. The three museums also rank as the top visitor attractions in the United Kingdom (UK).
London’s cultural attractions most popular with tourists

Thanks to cultural policy in the United Kingdom (UK), museums and art galleries sponsored by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport offer free admission to the public. This not only makes arts and culture accessible to a wider of section of society, but also makes visiting more convenient for tourists. Overseas visitors make up a major proportion of visits to British museums – more than half of all visitors to the Tate, National Gallery and British Museum respectively.

What about paid attractions?

According to Visit England’s Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions, the most visited paid attractions in London are historical sites including the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. This is perhaps unsurprising considering the number of sightseeing possibilities in London. As one of the world’s leading city destinations for international tourism, the number of international tourists in London increases each year.

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by Jennifer Luty, last edited Jun 25, 2019

With almost six million visitors, the Tate Modern was the most visited attraction in London in 2018. It was closely followed by the British Museum with 5.8 million visitors and The National Gallery with 5.7 million visitors. The three museums also rank as the top visitor attractions in the United Kingdom (UK).
London’s cultural attractions most popular with tourists

Thanks to cultural policy in the United Kingdom (UK), museums and art galleries sponsored by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport offer free admission to the public. This not only makes arts and culture accessible to a wider of section of society, but also makes visiting more convenient for tourists. Overseas visitors make up a major proportion of visits to British museums – more than half of all visitors to the Tate, National Gallery and British Museum respectively.

What about paid attractions?

According to Visit England’s Annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions, the most visited paid attractions in London are historical sites including the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. This is perhaps unsurprising considering the number of sightseeing possibilities in London. As one of the world’s leading city destinations for international tourism, the number of international tourists in London increases each year.