The Natural History Museum in South Kensington became the UK’s most visited attraction in 2025, welcoming more than 7.1 million people over the year and recording a 13% rise in footfall that pushed it to the top of the annual popularity chart for the first time. The surge allowed the museum to overtake the British Museum, which had held the number-one position for the previous two years, according to visitor data compiled by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva).
Alva’s figures, covering 409 museums, galleries, heritage sites and other visitor attractions, show total visits rose 2% in 2025 to 165 million. While growth continued, the sector has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels: total visits remain below the 170 million recorded in 2019. The Natural History Museum’s leap reflects “an enormous public appetite to engage with the wonders of the natural world and UK cultural attractions,” Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, said, adding the result was down to staff dedication and a focus on delivering “world-class exhibitions” and visitor experiences.
Alva director Bernard Donoghue OBE framed the results as a sign of resilience for the attractions sector amid economic pressures. “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,” he said, noting that the public have become more tactical in spending their leisure pounds and hours. The top five for 2025 included the British Museum, Windsor Great Park (The Crown Estate), Tate Modern and the National Gallery alongside the Natural History Museum.
Several individual venues recorded notable gains driven by specific events and exhibitions. The Houses of Parliament saw a 47% increase in visitors to 823,000, while the Royal Academy of Arts had its most successful Summer Exhibition since Covid, lifting its annual total by 20% to 740,000. The National Gallery’s reopened Salisbury Wing and seasonal programming such as Halloween and Christmas offerings helped boost visitor numbers at institutions including Chatsworth, Kenwood House and Blenheim Palace.
The list also featured fresh entries and expansions: the new V&A East Storehouse made its debut at 107th place after drawing 416,000 visitors in less than seven months, already surpassing its first-year targets. Regionally, recovery was uneven but positive in places outside London — the North West of England led with an 11.3% year-on-year increase in visits, followed by the East Midlands at 7.5%. Scotland’s typical attraction saw a 2.6% rise while Wales recorded a 0.9% increase.
Although the British Museum slipped to second in 2025, Alva and sector leaders expect its tally to rebound, with a major draw looming: the Bayeux Tapestry will go on display from September, an exhibition widely anticipated to drive substantial additional visitors. The 2025 figures underscore ongoing recovery for UK cultural tourism and set the scene for a competitive year ahead as institutions use blockbuster shows and refreshed galleries to reclaim pre-pandemic audiences.
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