What to see and do in Britain

Themes	Best cities	Villages	Countryside
	Castles	Coasts	Other attractions

Hôtels in main English tourist cities

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 Birmingham
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Britain is a rich country! Rich in heritage, rich in monuments, rich in sights, rich in culture. For nearly a thousand years, since England was conquered in 1066 by William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, the British Isles have developed largely untouched by the wars that caused so much havoc on the European continent. And even if Britain's historic heritage has been on occasions damaged by internal conflicts and even civil war, the country retains to this day an amazing concentration of historic monuments, ancient cities and castles - not to mention its rural heritage, its largely protected coastline, its old pubs and inns, its museums or other attractions.

Here is a small selection of the most important and most popular tourist sites and attractions in Britain.
 

► Best heritage cities to visit.

When the Industrial Revolution transformed the country from the 18th century onwards, it largely missed out on the most important cities of the time, to focus around new industrial cities that have since become the country's major cities. Thus, many of the most important historic cities in Britain remained largely untouched by the upheavals of the Industrial age, and remained largely as they were,  with their historic centres, old houses , medieval cathedrals and other monuments  . Here are some cities worth visiting.

    While London is the most visited tourist city in the UK, The university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, with their unparalleled concentration of historic monuments, university buildings from the Middle Ages built for kings, princes and other patrons.
    The Scottish capital city, Edinburgh, is one of the finest cities in Europe, and its 18th century "New Town" is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
    The city of Chester, south of Liverpool, an architectural gem, a concentration of half-timbered buildings, still following the grid plan of the ancient Roman castrum .
    The Archbishopric cities of Canterbury and York, with their magnificent medieval cathedrals, which are among the most beautiful in Europe.
    Other regional cities such as Exeter, Gloucester, Worcester, Salisbury, Lincoln, Ely, Norwich, Wells or Durham, also with historic centres arranged around a medieval cathedral. See Best English cathedrals .
    The spa towns of the 18th century , especially Bath, Cheltenham and Buxton.

     Click for visitor information for the biggest cities in England.

► Some old villages and small towns which are remarkably well preserved.

    Some examples: Lacock and Castle Combe ( Wiltshire ) Milton Abbas (Dorset) , Rye (Sussex) , Haworth (West Yorkshire )

► Rural heritage - Areas of countryside, with their villages

For area guides, see Tourist regions of Britain

England:

• Around London : See Country walks near London
• Southern Kent - the " Garden of England " in Southeast England
• The Southwest - ancient "Wessex" including Dorset , Somerset , Devon and Cornwall, with their charming thatched cottages and old villages.
• The Cotswolds - Gloucestershire , Oxfordshire - villages in honey-colored stone.
• North Norfolk - See the East of England
• North central England - The highlands of north-central England, the Peak District, the Pennines and the Yorkshire Moors ( Yorkshire Dales ) 
• The Lake District , in the northwest of England, an area of low mountains and lakes, popular with poets, artists, hikers and mountaineers.

Wales:

• Most of Wales, including central Wales and Snowdonia - rugged hill country and some real mountains. See Wales.

Scotland:

• The Scottish Highlands and Islands - the most sparsely populated and wild part of the British Isles. See ► Scotland

► Castles and Stately homes :

    Britain's magnificent medieval castles;

    Renaissance stately homes;

   Neoclassical chateaux;

► Other major sites and monuments , such as:

    Stonehenge - (see Prehistoric Britain) very famous prehistoric monument ( Wiltshire )

► The English coast -  protected areas and resorts.

► The coasts of Scotland and Wales.

► Other attractions and miscellaneous sites

Theme parks:

Living museums and heritage sites

National parks , heaths and forests.

Events: