The Five Best Cities to Visit in the UK

The Best Cities to Visit in the UK

The UK has a huge variety of cities across the country. Contrary to popular belief, there is no official single criteria for a place to be designated a city nowadays, such as the presence of a cathedral or university. Rather, places are simply bestowed city status by the current monarch.

This means that there is a wide variety of places that are designated as cities that might not typically be thought of as traditional cities, such as the city of St Davids in Wales, which has a population of only 1,751.

However, it is likely that tourists will visit some of the typically larger cities in the UK during their visits due to their typically having much more in the way of attractions, culture and facilities to accommodate large numbers of tourists.

While many cities in the UK are worth visiting for one reason or another, we’ve compiled a short list of the five best cities for tourists to visit in the UK on their travels.

London

The largest city in the UK and its capital, London should be a must-visit for any visitor to the UK.

The city has an overwhelming multitude of historic attractions, museums, shops, restaurants, bars and culture, ensuring that almost every single visitor will have their needs and interests catered for in some way.

Some of the most popular attractions in London include Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, the British Museum, Natural History Museum, the National Gallery and Buckingham Palace, each of which attract significant numbers of tourists every year.

Due to its transport connections, London is also an ideal location to reach the rest of the UK and indeed the other cities on this list.

Bristol

Nestled at the mouth of the river Severn which divides England and Wales, Bristol is a city with a rich and storied architectural and engineering history that is now one of the most vibrant and culturally rich places in the UK.

The city has numerous links to the arts and entertainment, with notable examples being the Bristol Old Vic, Bristol Beacon, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, and the Arnolfini Gallery.

Bristol also has many notable architectural and historic points of attraction, such as Brunel’s SS Great Britain, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Harbourside.

There is also a rich food culture in Bristol, with many restaurants showcasing the region’s local produce and diverse local communities that have settled in and around the city.

Edinburgh

Consistently the second-most visited city in the UK after London, Edinburgh is a picturesque and historic international city with a wealth of historic buildings and Gothic charm.

The ancient Old Town and the Georgian New Town form the core of the city centre, with the large shopping parade Princes Street dividing the two. The city centre is where most of Edinburgh’s main attractions are located, including Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, Calton Hill and St Giles Cathedral.

The National Museum of Scotland, Royal Botanical Gardens and the Royal Yacht Britannia are also of interest and are located outside of the city centre.

Edinburgh is also well-known for the Edinburgh Festival, which is the world’s largest arts and culture festival, which runs in the summer months and attracts a significant number of visitors to the city every year.

Brighton

Easily accessible from London by train, Brighton is a popular seaside destination that boasts a well-preserved traditional British pleasure pier as well as numerous food and shopping options that are popular with many visitors every year.

Brighton Palace Pier is one of the best examples of Victorian seaside pleasure piers in the UK, with traditional fairground rides and arcades that have been a staple of many UK seaside towns for generations. By contrast, one of Brighton’s newest attractions is the Brighton i360, which is a 450 feet tall glass viewing platform that gives panoramic views across Brighton, the surrounding countryside and over the English Channel.

Other attractions in Brighton include the Lanes, which are a network of narrow streets lined with quirky independent shops, the Royal Pavilion, and Brighton’s pebble beach which hosts a wide range of shops, bars and restaurants, especially popular in the summer.

Liverpool

Liverpool’s main claim to fame is its rich musical heritage, so much so that it was designated a UNESCO City of Music in 2015 – only one of three places in the UK to be so.

Most significant of these is the Beatles, with fans being attracted to significant locations such as the Cavern Club, the Liverpool Beatles Museum, The Beatles Story museum and numerous locations in and around the city that have been name-checked in Beatles songs.

Other significant attractions in Liverpool showcase the city’s significant cultural and maritime heritage, such as the Museum of Liverpool, the Liver Building, the Maritime Museum and the Tate.

Liverpool is also notable for its sporting heritage, especially football, and its numerous green spaces around the city.

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