Most popular attractions in UK

That's an interesting list and not one that I would have expected. I guess I would have thought that a lot of the tourist attractions like Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and places like that, would be at the top, but that makes sense that the free admission venues would be more popular. I've been to all of them except for number six and number eight.

But of course I had to look up the Bachelor's Club in Scotland, and that intrigued me. That's going to be on my list of things to see. I love Rabbie Burns, and it looks really interesting. I wasn't sure what to expect from the name. 😂 Here's a link for anyone else who's interested: https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/bachelors-club

We really should be charging foreign visitors for these free attractions rather than burden the UK taxpayer with the running costs. The idea of free museums in the UK was intended to allow those more disadvantaged Brits to be able to visit the museums and to prevent only the better off from accessability. With very few exceptions pretty much all the museums I've visited around the world I've had to pay an admission fee.

I know people say that they often make donations but if the British Museum donation box is anything to go by at the end of the day it's a very, very small number and that's even if the box represents a single day's 'takings'. I've been pretty much at the front of the queue when the museum has opened and there was already a fairly decent amount of banknotes in the box, I doubt for one moment that it was all donated that morning..

We really should be charging foreign visitors for these free attractions rather than burden the UK taxpayer with the running costs.

You won't get any argument from me, but I'm assuming there is a reason why they don't do that. I'd be curious to know why. Maybe they feel the benefit of giving free access to residents is worth it, or maybe it's funded in some way that makes it difficult to do that?

Recently there has been talk about some places that are free or even those that are not, charging an extra fee for visitors from outside the country. I think the Louvre is one of those that has mentioned it after their upcoming renovation period.

On the subject of less well known places associated with Rabbie Burns another is the Globe Inn, Dumfries. It is very much still a working pub, with a Michelin grade restaurant, but they also do tours of his rooms. The place is tucked away unassumedly down a side alley
Not far north is his farm, Ellisland farm, and also the Hermitage at Friars Carse Hotel- there is a lovely walk between the two.

I will just say that as a long time UK taxpayer I am delighted that my taxes go towards keeping major cultural institutions free for all, and I hope they can remain that way. The proof of the impact is right here in this list! The only one here that costs money to enter is the Tower of London (which is in my opinion the best major site in London due to its fascinating history). Of course many of these also include paid options for exhibitions or e.g. the ice rink at Somerset House.

We really should be charging foreign visitors for these free attractions rather than burden the UK taxpayer with the running costs.

I think many people do make donations when they visit the free museums. I certainly do.

Totally with Cat on the issue of charging for museums. And I, too, am a long term UK tax payer

Charging for entry is, in effect, a tax on education to my mind. There a few things in this world which I think bring good and no harm but education is one of them.

If foreign visitors get in free too, then good luck to them.

I feel that foreign visitors should pay. It’s a nice idea to let everyone in for free but in reality it means these amazing institutions are constantly underfunded. If big names like the British Museum could pay some of their own way it would also free up more funds for other regions. At present arts funding is very London centric.

I think the free admission policy also helps attract visitors to London and elsewhere in the UK who spend plenty of quid on everything else, although it is probably not the determining factor in whether someone decides to come to London or some other city for their vacation. But it certainly helps given how very expensive London is. And if foreign visitors paid admission, I doubt it would make those institutions any less underfunded, as that would be a reason to reduce government support by at least the expected amount of new revenue.
I’m thinking that if they’re canny Scots the management of the Bachelors Club could turn this lemon into lemonade with a publicity campaign using slogans like these:
“Go where no one has gone before (except for 461 unsuccessful influencers).”
“The Bachelors Club: Not the kind of place you’d expect just based on our name.”
“We’re not your great grandfather’s Bachelors Club! (Well, actually, that’s exactly what we are).”
“We’re number 409! (But aiming for top 400).”
“No cover charge at the Bachelors Club if you mention Rick Steves.”

The Louvre charges quite a lot and it’s the most visited museum in the world so no evidence that charges put off visitors. Free entry was never meant to be bait for foreign tourists, who we assume by the very fact that they can afford to travel are not too poor to pay for a museum. It was meant to be for the benefit of British people who maybe can’t afford to pay to see some of our great treasures.

I didn't realize for the longest time that the big name museums in NYC were supposed to be free, but they put up a large dollar sign price and follow that with the small print "suggested donation."

Given this list, even more reason to head for smaller locations like the Wallace and Courthauld in London. Go to the Tate Modern for the structure and the walk across the bridge, but not so much for the art.

Charging at British national galleries is quite a complicated business.

The permanent collections at the national galleries are held in trust by them on behalf of the British public. The things you see in the galleries belong to the people. It's a bit of stretch to charge people to see them?

The funding that the galleries get from the taxpayer via the Government's Department of Culture, Media and Sport is deeply tied to them being free at the point of entry. Changing that would need a rethink of the very core ways the national galleries function.

You'd be surprised at how many of even the paid exhibitions and events that the national galleries provide run at a loss. It's in the name of providing art and culture to people as part of the benefits of living here.

I'm all for foreigners getting in for free too. If we can just about manage to get by with things how they are, and all the lovely visitors from overseas can enjoy our art and culture gratis, I'm all for that. I think there's probably worse things to spend equivalent amounts of taxpayer money on in the long run.

I think the best way for an overseas visitor to support British galleries is to spend well and often in the cafes and gift shops. Those are important revenue streams for all the galleries and museums. Some here are wealthy enough to consider an annual membership to your favourite national gallery, even though you might not use the full value of it in visits. These are really important as a source of revenue for the museums up front.

We really should be charging foreign visitors for these free attractions rather than burden the UK taxpayer with the running costs.

The brutal truth is we don’t charge foreign visitors fees to see exhibits that are free to British visitors because we nicked a lot of those exhibits from those visitors’ countries. So the irony is that more Greeks see the Elgin Marbles for free in London than ever would if they were in Athens.

An interesting discussion. I appreciate being able to see some of the UK’s excellent museums free of charge, and despite current political problems which I regret, I hope we will continue to offer the same courtesy to our British friends who visit the many museums free to all in my city of Washington DC.

I don’t think I’ll be traveling to the US any time soon. Below is an article from a quality UK newspaper reporting on how British tourists can be treated. I have seen other similar stories and, again, in recognised outlets.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice

Plus the lengthy security queues. It all says to me that the US is not a welcoming place to visit at the moment.

"The brutal truth is we don’t charge foreign visitors fees to see exhibits that are free to British visitors because we nicked a lot of those exhibits from those visitors’ countries.'

Well said - British museums (while wonderful) are full of things that have been taken from the rest of the world, so it does seem appropriate we can see them for free.

There are however very genuine concerns about funding, and I for one am vwry happy to spend in museum cafes ans gift shops.

British museums (while wonderful) are full of things that have been taken from the rest of the world, so it does seem appropriate we can see them for free.

I think that's far too broad a statement to have any value with respect to the national collection as a whole.

The British Museum in particular has serious issues in how it acquired elements of its collection. There's been steps taken to address this in various ways over the years. They've maybe fallen short on the whole. I think the ethics behind what's in the British collection and how it got there is an important discussion.

With the greatest respect Simon and Trelawney, to characterise the British collection of art as "full of things that have been taken from the rest of the world" is rather unfair when we're talking about a great breadth of objects that were acquired in many different ways. On a case-by-case basis, it's a valid conversation to have.

Without wishing to get into a debate about the ethics around the provenance of many items in UK museums, if we're talking about free museums in London, I think the comments above mostly reference the British Museum only. I don't think much (any?) of the items in the National Gallery/National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Science Museum, and Natural History Museum were obtained this way from other countries. The V&A likely has some, but a lot of what they have is from the UK.

I don’t think I’ll be traveling to the US any time soon. Below is an article from a quality UK newspaper reporting on how British tourists can be treated. I have seen other similar stories and, again, in recognised outlets.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/**karen-newton**-valid-visa-detained-ice

Is this the Karen Newton traveling in a car without proper documents who was denied entry into Canada who had previously overstayed her visa by several years and who was traveling with a guy that overstayed his visa for 20 years?

Or is it another Karen Newton?

Let's not get into that debate here.

I think there's no denying that many of the large London museums in national care are a product of The Empire, and everything that went with that. The buildings themselves, and the collections within are often relics of that time, whatever connotations that might have.

There was an awful lot of money sloshing around at points in the 18th and 19th centuries because of Empire and people liked to spend it on commissioning painters, buying art from the continent, building large galleries and of course the more troublesome practice of going on travels to far off lands to bonk people over the head or rip them off financially to acquire their arts and crafts. All of these were ways that British museums ended up chock-full of objects and art.

It's the same thing we see in the Dutch Golden Age or the Italian Renaissance. That period in British history where the Empire was at its peak and money was no object.

Just out of interest, major attractions that are not ALVA members include the London Eye and Madame Tussauds.

….and why the waxwork thing is a major attraction is one of the World’s great mysteries…

An article from The Guardian (The Observer) today on charging for museums.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/29/uk-museum-free-entry-economy-visitors

I really appreciate this list of wonderful museums and sites to visit in London.
Another commenter suggested charging foreigners to visit these sites. I hope that does not happen. So nice that I can see some of the greatest works of art and antiquities for free.
I am proud that the National Art Gallery in Washington DC, Thomas Jefferson Library in Washington DC and rotating exhibits, National Zoo and all the Smithsonian Institution Museums are all free.
In other major cities across the United States, there are free days every week for most museums. You have to go to the web sites to confirm the free days.

Personally I would leave free admission to museums etc and instead introduce a nightly tax on accommodation to help generate funds to be spent on visitor infrastructure. This is common in a number of countries elsewhere in Europe and has also been in place in central Manchester as a voluntary charge of £1 per room per night for the last 3 years. Edinburgh is introducing a 5% charge this Summer.