Alistair Hardaker
The museum is the UK’s most visited attraction having reached an all-time record for visitors to a UK museum or gallery
The Natural History Museum has been named the UK’s most visited attraction in 2025, welcoming more than 7.1m visitors.
The 7.1m figure represent an all-time record for any UK museum or gallery, according to annual figures from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA). It is a 13% increase on its 6.3m visitors in 2024, and a third consecutive record-breaking year for the London museum.
Natural History Museum director Dr Doug Gurr said: “We should all take heart from these figures. Welcoming 7.1 million visitors demonstrates the enormous public appetite to engage with the wonders of the natural world and UK cultural attractions.”
‘Fixing Our Broken Planet’, the museum’s new permanent gallery, saw over 2m visitors alone since opening in April 2025.
Of the 409 ALVA member visitor sites included in its annual report, a combined 165m visits were made in 2025, a 2% increase on the previous year, but a decline of 7% on the 170 million visits in 2019 pre-pandemic.
| Rank | Site | 2025 Visits | 2024 Visits | Admission | YoY | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural History Museum (South Kensington) | 7.1m | 6.3m | Free | +13% | +31% |
| 2 | The British Museum | 6.4m | 6.5m | Free | −1% | +3% |
| 3 | The Crown Estate, Windsor Great Park | 5.0m | 5.7m | Free/charged | −12% | −3% |
| 4 | Tate Modern | 4.5m | 4.6m | Free | −2% | −26% |
| 5 | National Gallery | 4.1m | 3.2m | Free | +29% | −31% |
| 6 | Southbank Centre (building only) | 3.4m | 3.7m | Free | −8% | −21% |
| 7 | V&A South Kensington | 3.3m | 3.5m | Free | −5% | −16% |
| 8 | Somerset House | 2.9m | 3.1m | Free | −6% | +2% |
| 9 | Tower of London | 2.8m | 2.9m | Charged | −3% | −6% |
| 10 | Science Museum | 2.6m | 2.8m | Free | −7% | −20% |
| 11 | Royal Museums Greenwich | 2.4m | 2.3m | Free/charged | +5% | −19% |
| 12 | National Museum of Scotland | 2.3m | 2.3m | Free | 0% | +5% |
| 13 | Royal Botanic Gardens Kew | 2.3m | 2.3m | Charged | −2% | −3% |
| 14 | Royal Shakespeare Company London Theatres | 2.1m | 1.4m | Free | +49% | — |
| 15 | Edinburgh Castle | 2.0m | 2.0m | Charged | +3% | −6% |
| 16 | National Galleries Scotland: National | 2.0m | 2.0m | Free | 0% | +27% |
| 17 | Royal Albert Hall | 1.7m | 1.8m | Free/charged | −2% | −1% |
| 18 | Westminster Abbey | 1.6m | 1.7m | Charged | −6% | +2% |
| 19 | The Barbican Centre | 1.6m | 1.5m | Free | +3% | +17% |
| 20 | National Portrait Gallery | 1.5m | 1.6m | Free | −3% | −6% |
— indicates data not available for that period. Data source: ALVA.
In second place was the British Museum with 6.4m visitors; in 3rd place and the most visited outdoor attraction was Windsor Great Park (The Crown Estate) which welcomed 4.9m visitors, and in fourth place was Tate Modern with 4.5m visits.
The top paid attraction was the Tower of London in ninth place, with 2.8m visitors.
ALVA said notable percentage increases in London included the National Gallery, which saw the re-opening of Sainsbury Wing; the end of NG200 bicentenary year and a re-hang of the collection and moved up 2 places to fifth place, following a 29% increase with 4.1m visitors, while V&A East Storehouse welcomed 416,300 visitors in less than seven months.
London Transport Museum experienced a record-breaking year with 449,599 visitors (97th place), its highest annual total since its opening in 1980.
In Scotland, the most-visited free attraction continued to be the National Museum of Scotland, which recorded 2.3m visitors. In Northern Ireland, Titanic Belfast continued to be the most-visited attraction with an 8% increase to 953,554 visitors.
In Wales, the most visited attraction was St Fagans National Museum of History with 570,207 visits (77th place). It was followed by National Museum Cardiff with 356,021 visits (124th place), while the highest percentage increase was the National Wool Museum in Carmarthenshire which saw 24,915 visitors, a 22% increase.
Some of the largest increases in visitors in England were at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford which moved up 181 places to 192nd with 219,867 visitors, attributed to the a reopening in January 2025, the launch of the permanent Sound and Vision galleries in July, and being host to events and exhibitions to celebrate Bradford being UK City of Culture 2025.
Following reopening in October 2024 after a period of closure for essential maintenance, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery saw a 305% increase to 672,391 visitors and a move of 146 places to 62nd.
In the North East, Beamish was the most visited attraction with 815,075 visitors, while English Heritage’s Tynemouth Priory and Castle saw an increase of 73% with 52,028 visitors, due in part to the Mouth of the Tyne Festival.
Bernard Donoghue OBE, Director of ALVA, said: “2025 was financially the toughest since the pandemic and many of our members have had to undergo restructuring after the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions, lowering of the NI thresholds, and the above inflation increases in the national minimum wage, implemented in April 2025, alongside the pressures of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.”
“In a time of unpredictable futures, uncertain economics, global insecurities, economic challenges, and an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the UK public are more tactical than ever in deciding how they spend their leisure pounds and their leisure hours. Their expectations of a great visit are higher now than they have ever been. The day trip to an attraction now competes within the family budget with free things to do, as well as subscriptions to streaming channels. The competition has never been greater, the choice never so broad.”
“Visitor attractions are the places that people prize most and provide the experiences that people, even in a cost-of-living crisis, are most loathe to give up.”
