Language · 11 published
Country guide
The United Kingdom is 244,376 km² holding 69,281,437 people, and it is four countries rather than one: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as their capitals. Three of the four run parliaments of their own over devolved matters, and the law splits three ways — England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland. A visitor meets that in small practical things rather than at a border. London alone holds about 9.1 million of the total, which is why so many trips never leave it, and why the ones that do feel like arriving somewhere else.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ilya Grigorik · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photograph · Daniel Nisbet from Manchester, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
122 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Platt Hall is a historic house in Manchester associated with the Platt family and Georgian domestic architecture. It offers a different view of the city from the industrial landmarks that usually define Manchester for visitors.
Queensferry Museum is a local heritage museum located in South Queensferry, a historic town on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The museum occupies a position within the settlement that overlooks the Firth of Forth and the iconic Forth Bridges.
The RNCM Collection of Historic Musical Instruments is a specialist collection at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Royal Highland Fusiliers
The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum commemorates the history of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, a Scottish infantry regiment formed in 1959 from the amalgamation of the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Highland Light Infantry.
The Museum of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow explores the history of medicine, surgery and pharmacy in the west of Scotland.
The Grosvenor Cinema
Grosvenor Cinema is a film venue in Glasgow, Scotland, where visitors can spend an evening watching a programme on a large screen in a dedicated cinema setting.
IMAX
Cineworld Cinema Glasgow IMAX @ GSC is a multiplex cinema at Pacific Quay on the south bank of the River Clyde.
Keats House preserves the Hampstead home of the Romantic poet John Keats. The property was originally part of a pair of semi-detached houses known as Wentworth Place, where Keats lived from 1818 to 1820.
Chetham’s Hospital is the medieval charitable and educational complex that contains Chetham’s Library and Chetham’s School of Music. The library was founded in 1653 and describes itself as the oldest public library in the English-speaking world.
Edinburgh Zoo is a zoological park situated in the Scottish capital. It occupies a hillside site to the west of Edinburgh city centre, offering views across the city.
The Hunterian Art Gallery holds the art collections of the University of Glasgow, and it is one venue of several that together make up The Hunterian, Scotland's oldest public museum.
The International Anthony Burgess Foundation is a Manchester cultural centre dedicated to the writer and composer Anthony Burgess.
Surgeons' Hall Museums is a medical museum in Edinburgh, Scotland. It serves as the headquarters of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and houses collections related to surgical history and pathology.
The Mackintosh House is a museum in Glasgow dedicated to the life and work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the celebrated Scottish architect, designer, and artist.
Tollcross Children’s Farm is an urban city farm in Glasgow designed around family contact with domestic animals.
The Hunterian at Kelvin Hall is a University of Glasgow museum and collections facility in the city’s West End.
Victoria Park Fossil Grove preserves the remains of an ancient forest in Glasgow’s Victoria Park.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Ten to fourteen days can cover four or five days in London, two in Manchester, and two or three each in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Highlands, Lake District, or Welsh national parks need dedicated nights and should not be squeezed into London day trips.
UK document rules depend on nationality and trip purpose, and many visitors now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation before boarding. Check the linked UK government visa service for both visa and ETA status shortly before travel.
Intercity rail is the practical spine between London, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, with advance fares usually distinct from flexible tickets. Each city runs its own local fare system, so London's contactless cap is not a nationwide travel pass.
May to June and September are useful planning windows for this route, but conditions vary between southern England and Scotland. Festival dates in Edinburgh and rural transport in national parks can matter more than the national seasonal label.
The United Kingdom uses pound sterling (GBP). Contactless payment is widespread in major cities, but keep another payment method for rural services or terminals that do not share London's payment arrangements.
Use 999 or 112 for emergencies in the United Kingdom. Type G sockets supply 230 V, and mains tap water is recorded as safe; save rail disruption information as well when the itinerary depends on several city-to-city journeys.
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