Visits to attractions in England increased by 5% in 2013 according to VisitEngland's Annual Attractions Survey released today.

Regionally, tourism in London is clearly booming as it tops the list with visits to attractions up by 8% in 2013, followed by the North East (up 6%) and the East Midlands (up 5%), indicating the important role of England's attractions in enticing people to explore England outside of London.

The Tower of London remains the most visited attraction in the paid for category with 2.9 million visits  – an increase of 18.4% on last year, followed by St Pauls Cathedral with 2.1 million visits and Westminster Abbey with 1.8 million visits.

As seen in previous years, many of the most-visited paid for attractions were part of England's rich history and heritage, such as Stonehenge, Houses of Parliament & Big Ben, the Roman Baths and Tatton Park – however, wildlife parks and gardens also performed well.  

The British Museum marked its sixth consecutive year as the most-visited free attraction in England with 6.7 million visitors, followed by the National Gallery, Natural History Museum and Tate Modern. Across the country, the most visited free attractions regionally include Durham Cathedral, the National Railway Museum in York, the Museum of Liverpool and Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, all making the list of twenty most visited free attractions in their regions.

So what are they and how many have you visited?

20 MOST VISITED FREE ATTRACTIONS IN ENGLAND

1. British Museum - London
2. National Gallery - London
3. Natural History Museum - London
4. Tate Modern - London
5. Brighton Pier - South East
6. Science Museum - London
7. Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington - London
8. National Portrait Gallery - London
9. Old Royal Naval College - London
10. British Library - London
11. National Maritime Museum - London
12. Tate Britain - London
13. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery - South West
14. National Railway Museum - Yorkshire & Humberside
15. mac Birmingham - West Midlands
16. Museums Sheffield: Millennium Gallery - Yorkshire & Humberside
17. Museum of Liverpool - North West
18. Ashmolean Museum - South East
19. Durham Cathedral - North East
20. Avenham and Miller Park - North West
21. World Museum Liverpool - North West

20 MOST VISITED PAID FOR ATTRACTIONS IN ENGLAND

1. Tower of London - London
2. St Paul's Cathedral - London
3. Westminster Abbey - London
4. Flamingo Land Theme Park and Zoo - Yorkshire & Humberside
5. Chester Zoo - North West
6. Windermere Lake Cruises, Bowness - North West
7. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens - London
8. ZSL London Zoo - London
9. Stonehenge - South West
10. Houses of Parliament and Big Ben - London
11. Royal Academy of Arts - London
12. Canterbury Cathedral - South East
13. Roman Baths - South West
14. RHS Garden Wisley - South East
15. Eden Project - South West
16. Tatton Park - North West
17. Royal Observatory Greenwich - London
18. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - South East
19. Cadbury World - West Midlands
20. Chatsworth House - East Midlands

Notes to Editors

• The VisitEngland Annual Attractions Survey is carried out by BDRC-Continental and is based on a survey of 1,568 England visitor attractions that provided visit figures for both 2012 and 2013.
• For the full report see: http://www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics/major-tourism-surveys/attractions/Annual_Survey/index.aspx
• VisitEngland operates the Visitor Attractions Quality Scheme (VAQAS). The scheme boasts a reputation for instigating, modifying and shaping change to the customer experience at visitor attractions across England.  Areas covered by the annual assessment include pre-arrival information, the website, journey planning, signage, welcome on arrival, toilets, catering and retail outlets. The scheme currently has over a thousand members.
• More information can be found on www.visitengland.org and www.visitengland.com

About VisitEngland

• VisitEngland is the country's national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors.  Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights. You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics.
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £106 billion, and supports 2.6 million jobs.
• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org and for consumer information see www.visitengland.com.