Across the country, the most visited attractions were the free Natural History Museum and the Tower of London, which costs £33.60 (€39/$43) per adult and £16.80 for children aged between five and 15.
The data follows a separate report from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA), which was published earlier this year and named the Natural History Museum the most visited UK museum in 2022.
Regionally, the North West’s most popular free attraction was World Museum Liverpool, while the top paid attraction was Windermere Lake Cruises. The North East’s BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art was the top free attraction, while Beamish, The Living Museum of the North was the top paid.
The National Railway Museum in York was the top free attraction in Yorkshire and the Humber, while Cannon Hall Farm was the top paid. The West Midland’s Midlands Art Centre was the most popular free attraction and Attingham Park was the highest paid. East Midland’s Lincoln Castle (grounds) was the top free attraction and Chatsworth was the top paid. Across the East of England Abbey Gardens in Bury St Edmunds was the top free visitor attraction, while Adventure Island in Southend was the top paid.
Brighton Pier and RHS Garden Wisley were the top free and paid attractions in the South East, and Arnos Vale Cemetery Trust in Bristol and Stonehenge were the top free and paid-for attractions in the South West.
The data has been published as part of the ‘Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2022’ research from VisitBritain and VisitEngland. The report also includes data from other attractions such as country parks, farms, gardens, historic houses, museums, art galleries and places of worship.
VisitEngland also noted that post-pandemic recovery for museums and art galleries had been much slower than the sector average up to the end of 2021, but caught up in 2022. Last year saw a 114% increase in visitor admissions.
In contrast, country parks had been the least affected attraction during the COVID-19 pandemic, but saw a decline of -2% in 2022.