Best places to visit in England

England: from Stonehenge to the Premier League

One day you are standing in front of stones raised 4,500 years ago, without anyone quite knowing why. Two days later you are in a stand where more than fifty thousand football fans sing the same chorus. England has room for both, and everything in between.

Along the way are steaming Roman baths, medieval streets with crooked houses, villages with pubs older than many countries, castles you recognise from film and fells that rival anywhere in Europe for walking.

England is the largest nation in the United Kingdom, but distances are short, so breakfast in London and an evening match in Manchester fit into the same day. Below we have gathered the places worth the trip, the food that has gone up a division, and the practical tips you need. You can see a lot in a week, and you will still go home with a list of everything you didn't have time for.

The best places to visit in England

The list runs from the oldest to the newest, so you see the country take shape as you go: the Stone Age on Salisbury Plain, the Romans in Bath, the Vikings in York, the wool wealth of the Cotswolds, seaside life on the south coast, the industrial cities of the north and the castles that tie the centuries together.

If you are actually travelling, the map is easier to follow than the timeline. Use London as your gateway, take Brighton as a day trip south and Stonehenge and Bath as another to the west, and fit the Cotswolds in on the way to Oxford. Further north, York, the Lake District, Liverpool and Manchester work well on the same loop. Trains cover everything except the countryside, where you need a car.

Stonehenge: how to get inside the stone circle

Nobody knows why they are there. The stones weigh up to 25 tonnes, were dragged into place 4,500 years ago, and the mystery is half the reason people come. With a standard ticket you see them from the path, behind a rope. To go inside the circle itself, book English Heritage's Stone Circle Experience, small-group visits before opening or after closing, which sell out early. Otherwise, the first time slot of the day is the best choice, with low morning light and hardly anyone around.

Bath: Roman baths, World Heritage and Thermae Bath Spa

Less than an hour's drive northwest lies the city that grew up around Britain's only natural hot springs. The Roman Baths lie six metres below today's street level, and from the terrace you look straight down on the Great Bath, where spring water steams at around 40 degrees. In Roman times the pool sat under a roof that towered 20 metres above the water, which kept it clear. The roof collapsed more than a thousand years ago, which is why the water is green with algae in every photo you have seen.

Down by the poolside you walk on paving stones laid by the Romans, with the tower of Bath Abbey as a backdrop, and the water still flows through the drains the Romans built. You can't touch the water, but you can taste it in the Pump Room next door, where the Georgians drank it as medicine.

Back up in the city, everything is honey-coloured stone, and the rest of the afternoon is best spent on foot. You cross Pulteney Bridge without noticing you are on a bridge, as shops line both sides, and end up in front of the Georgian sweep of the Royal Crescent. The whole city is a World Heritage Site, both the Roman remains below ground and the Georgian city above.

You can't swim in the Roman Baths, but Thermae Bath Spa, a hundred metres away, lets you bathe in the same natural thermal water in a rooftop pool with views over the city.

London: the city you never finish exploring

The capital gives you everything at once. The British Museum and Tate Modern are free, the West End plays every night, and the Tower of London has guarded the river since the Normans. Big Ben and Buckingham Palace come first for most, but it is the afternoons that stay with you: a pub in Soho, Borough Market, a sunset from a bridge over the Thames. Find out what deserves a place on your list in our London travel guide.

York: the Viking city behind England's longest town walls

Two hours north of London by train lies the city the Vikings took in 866 and named Jorvik. At the Jorvik Viking Centre, a whole quarter of the Viking city has been rebuilt at full size on the site of the excavations, and you travel through it in small cars on rails, with sounds and smells that take you right back to the Viking Age.

Above ground, York's city walls run for 3.4 kilometres, the longest surviving town walls in England. You walk along the top, high above street level, looking down into back gardens and across to the cathedral. The whole circuit takes around two hours and is free. Come down from the walls straight into The Shambles, where the overhanging upper floors lean towards each other until they almost meet above the narrow street. Rumour has it the street inspired Diagon Alley in Harry Potter, and the wand shops there certainly don't mind.

The cathedral you saw from the walls is York Minster, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe, which took 250 years to build.

If you need a break afterwards, the city has a sweeter side. The Rowntree family built their chocolate empire here, and millions of KitKats are still made in York every day. The factory is closed to visitors, but at York's Chocolate Story you get a tour, tastings and your own chocolate to take home.

The Cotswolds: golden villages between Oxford and Bath

The hills between Oxford and Bath are the place to slow down. The villages are built from the same golden limestone as Bath, and the best moments come when you park the car and walk.

In Bourton-on-the-Water, the River Windrush runs right along the high street under low stone bridges. In Burford, the high street drops steeply down to a medieval bridge over the same river, between old coaching inns and antique shops.

The churches seem too big for the villages they stand in, but they were built when wool from here was among Europe's most sought-after goods. Then industry moved north, and the villages were left much as they were.

The most photographed spot is Arlington Row in Bibury, a row of 14th-century cottages that once appeared inside British passports. For a view, it is a 45-minute walk from Broadway up to Broadway Tower, and on clear days you can see up to 16 counties.

Trains only stop in a few of the towns, so a car is easiest. Without one, guided coach tours run from Oxford, Bath and London.

Brighton: Palace Pier, the Royal Pavilion and the Seven Sisters

An hour by train south of London lies England's own seaside escape, and from the station it is a ten-minute walk down to the sea. Brighton Palace Pier stretches 525 metres into the English Channel from the middle of the seafront, with pebble beaches on either side and arcades, rides and fish and chips on the pier itself.

Swimming is popular on both sides of the pier, with lifeguards in summer. The pebbles shelve steeply, so it gets deep faster than on a sandy beach. For warmer water, Sea Lanes further east on the promenade is a 50-metre heated pool.

Behind the seafront begin The Lanes, a maze of narrow alleys with old pubs and a remarkable number of jewellers. Further north, the North Laine has hundreds of independent shops, record stores, vintage and vegetarian cafés, with the flea market Snoopers Paradise in the middle.

Brighton has the UK's largest LGBTQ+ community and one of the highest numbers of vegan restaurants per person in the country, and is often seen as Britain's most liberal city. Come in August, and Brighton Pride takes over the streets with a parade, concerts and drag shows.

Between the two areas stands the Royal Pavilion, the city's most extraordinary building, the pleasure palace the Prince Regent, later George IV, built when he made Brighton fashionable, with Indian-style domes outside and Chinese-inspired interiors within. Today the whole palace is a museum.

From November to February, starlings gather at dusk over the sea between Palace Pier and the skeleton of the West Pier, which burned in 2003. The flock twists into shapes for a few minutes before disappearing under Palace Pier for the night. It costs nothing, and you can watch it from the promenade in the middle of town.

For more nature, the Coaster bus takes you east to the Seven Sisters in the South Downs National Park in about an hour. The path follows the clifftops up and down over all seven summits from Cuckmere Haven to Birling Gap. If you don't fancy the climb, a flat path runs along the river to the beach instead.

At Birling Gap there is a café and steps down to the beach, and further east Beachy Head rises 162 metres straight out of the sea.

The Lake District: England's highest mountain and deepest lake

In the northwest lies England's largest national park. Fells reflect in lake after lake, the paths are well marked, and boats run on Windermere all year between Bowness, Ambleside and Lakeside. To head up, Scafell Pike takes you to England's highest point at 978 metres, a four to six-hour walk from Wasdale Head. For the views without using the whole day, Catbells gives you a superb panorama over Derwentwater in two to three hours.

Furthest west lies Wastwater, England's deepest lake, with scree slopes plunging straight into the water on one side and Great Gable and Scafell Pike at its head.

Near Keswick, the Castlerigg stone circle dates from around the same time as Stonehenge, but here there are no fences, tickets or opening hours. It is open around the clock with fells on every side, half an hour's walk from the town.

Further south, in the village of Near Sawrey, Hill Top stands as Beatrix Potter left it, with her furniture and belongings in place. She bought the farm with the proceeds of Peter Rabbit. The rooms are small, so timed tickets must be booked in advance, and the house closes in winter. With small children, The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness is an easier alternative.

You can get around between Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick without a car, by train to Windermere and bus 555 between the villages. For Wasdale and Wastwater you will need a car.

From here it is not far out of England. From Penrith, trains take you to Edinburgh in about an hour and a half, so the trip can easily continue into Scotland.

Liverpool: The Beatles, Anfield and Royal Albert Dock

South of the fells lies Liverpool, where live music plays in Mathew Street every night. In the Cavern Club, The Beatles played almost 300 times before the world knew who they were, and the club is still a live venue, not a museum. At The Beatles Story you can follow the history further, and Penny Lane, the gates of Strawberry Field and John and Paul's childhood homes are a few kilometres south of the centre. To go inside the homes, book the National Trust tour.

Royal Albert Dock from 1846 is the city's other focal point. Its red-brick warehouses now house museums, restaurants and galleries, and the big city museums here are free. A few hundred metres away, Liverpool Cathedral is the largest church in Britain, and you can climb its tower for views over the city and the Mersey.

And then there is Anfield, where tens of thousands of voices sing You'll Never Walk Alone before kick-off, which gives you goosebumps even if you support someone else. On non-match days, stadium tours run daily and take you through the players' tunnel, into the dugout and up into the Kop. If you have caught the football bug, the next stop is only 45 minutes away by train.

Manchester: Premier League, food and live music

Manchester United and Manchester City share the same city, and tickets go fast, so plan early if you want to see a match. The city that once clothed the world in cotton has spent recent decades becoming something completely different, with Michelin-starred restaurants in old mill districts and a music scene that gave us both Joy Division and Oasis. See what awaits in our Manchester travel guide.

English castles: from Hogwarts to Windsor

There are castles all over the country, and three stand out. Perhaps the most famous is Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, seat of the Dukes of Northumberland for more than 700 years. Its walls played Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, and on the very lawn from the flying lesson scene you can borrow a broomstick and take the photo that makes you look as if you are flying. Downton Abbey fans may also recognise it as Brancaster Castle.

For real royal splendour, Windsor Castle is half an hour west of London, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and still a royal residence, where Queen Elizabeth II is buried in St George's Chapel.

In between, in the Midlands, Warwick Castle is a medieval fortress run as a family attraction, with jousting, birds of prey and a giant working trebuchet.

To follow the wizarding trail further, take the train to Durham, where Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle provided Hogwarts' corridors in the films, side by side on a bend of the River Wear and together one of England's oldest World Heritage Sites.

English food: Sunday roasts, cheese and three Michelin stars

In a village of a few hundred people near the Lake District lies L'Enclume, one of England's few restaurants with three Michelin stars. The same village, Cartmel, is also famous for its sticky toffee pudding. That says a lot about where English food is today.

The most important meal of the week is still Sunday lunch. Through the afternoon, pubs fill with families eating a Sunday roast, with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and plenty of gravy. The beer alongside is often cask ale, hand-pulled from the cellar and served cool rather than ice-cold, so the flavour comes through.

You will find cheese everywhere, but it helps to know what to ask for. Britain makes more than 700 named cheeses, and the easiest way in is a ploughman's lunch at the pub. To taste more, the cheese counters at Borough Market in London and farm shops in the Cotswolds will usually let you try before you buy.

For contrast, have afternoon tea with scones in the afternoon and a curry in the evening. Chicken tikka masala is as much part of English life as the Sunday roast, and the densest concentrations of curry houses are along Brick Lane in London and the Curry Mile in Manchester.

Travel tips for England

Travelling around England is easy. The country is made for train travel, with the countryside as the exception, where you will want a car. Book tickets a few weeks in advance, as advance fares often cost a fraction of the price on the day.

Visitors from many countries, including the EU and Norway, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK, applied for through the official UK ETA app or GOV.UK. Always check the current entry requirements before you travel. The currency is the pound sterling, and prices drop noticeably the further north you go.

May to September brings the lightest evenings, the football season runs from August to May, and in December the cities smell of mulled wine and roasted nuts. To avoid the rain, stay south and east; the fells in the west catch most of it. Wherever you land, there is a train ready to go. The hardest part is choosing a direction.

England: frequently asked questions

What are the best places to visit in England?

London is the obvious start, but Bath, York, the Cotswolds, Brighton, the Lake District, Liverpool and Manchester are all worth the trip. Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Alnwick Castle are among the most popular day trips.

How many days do you need to see England?

A week lets you combine London with Bath, Stonehenge and the Cotswolds, or York and the Lake District. With two weeks you can travel from the south coast all the way north to Northumberland.

Is it easy to travel around England by train?

Yes. Trains connect London with most cities quickly, for example around two hours to York and Manchester. For the Cotswolds, the Lake District valleys and other rural areas, a car is easier.