You can now explore various United Kingdom cities now that you know what time of year to visit the UK. The Office of National Statistics has named the cities in the United Kingdom that receive the most international visitors. As one might imagine, London ranks first. It’s not surprising that Edinburgh is ranked second. However, some of the other locations on the UK cities list may surprise you. Check out their summarized facts in this 4-part series (parts 1, 2, 3, and 4) to learn more about what makes them so popular. Also, read the article about the best times to visit different cities and to travel in the UK.
Part 1:
London
London is a cultural world center of theatre, art, music, and literature, and is home to The British Museum, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and other British icons. It’s also a city with vibrant markets, fantastic shopping, and lush green areas.
London has a population of 7.5 million people, approximately 12.5% of the population of the United Kingdom. Without counting visitors, more than 1.5 million Londoners are foreign-born. They can communicate in 300 different languages. Aside from its cosmopolitan residents, London receives over 25 million tourists per year via its national railways, five airports, and Eurostar terminal, the continent’s gateway.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland and the site of its Parliament, blends the youthful and modern sensibilities of a large university city and national capital with a historic and majestic environment. The world’s largest performing arts festival, a 1,000-year-old castle, and a peak – Arthur’s Seat – right in the heart of town may all be found here. And Hogmanay, Edinburgh’s traditional New Year’s Eve celebration, is a four-day street party to end all street parties.
Edinburgh has a population of around 500,000 people, including around 62,000 university students. Every year, at least 13 million people visit. During the peak festival month of August, Edinburgh’s population grows by more than one million, temporarily making it the UK’s second-largest city.
Edinburgh Festival – From the end of June until the beginning of September, Edinburgh is a whirlwind of festivals. Summer festivals include film, books, art, music, television, and jazz, as well as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Edinburgh International Festival. The big event, though, is the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe, a free-for-all of drama, music, comedy, and street theater that ranges from excellent to awful and takes over the entire city for the majority of August.
In the winter, Edinburghers are ready to party again, with the world’s largest New Year’s Eve event, Hogmanay. For four days, torchlight parades, fire festival events, music, funfairs, and winter swimming take place.
Bath
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the city of Bath as a World Heritage site because of its Pump Room, 2,000-year-old Roman Baths, and its Georgian terraces. Many of Jane Austen’s characters appreciated the health-giving waters of Bath and its attendant social milieu. This modest pleasant city provides more than enough diversions for demanding modern weekenders, in addition to providing visitors with a feast of historic architecture. This includes superb restaurants, top shopping, eccentric museums, a vibrant cultural environment, and, of course, a multi-million pound post-millennial thermal spa.
Bath is a little too distant from London for a day trip that does justice to its many delights, but it makes an excellent overnight vacation with plenty of attractive places to stay and dine. The Roman Baths, the Jane Austen Center the Bath Abbey, a place of Christian devotion for 1,200 years, and the Pump Room, where 18th and 19th-century high society interacted and where you may still taste the waters of the historic spring or stop for tea, are among the sights.
Bath is also a showcase for some of England’s finest 18th-century architecture, with gorgeous terraces of spotless, white villas that have served as the background for numerous films. No. 1 Royal Crescent, the first house erected on Bath’s famed Royal Crescent in the 18th century is now open as a museum. It has been restored and properly furnished to provide a look into fashionable 18th-century living.
Bath will also appeal to shoppers. Its shopping sections are densely packed with independent businesses selling clothes, antiques, jewelry, and other items.
Manchester
Manchester is frequently referred to as one of the first modern cities. In the 18th century, this Northwestern city, close in proximity to Liverpool was the world’s cotton manufacturing hub and one among the industrial revolution’s nursery grounds. Its businessmen and industrialists bestowed it with museums, galleries, theaters, and libraries, as well as remarkable municipal architecture. A severe IRA bombing in 1996 necessitated city center renovation, culminating in a new, stunning 21st century cityscape.
Manchester and the neighboring Salford Quays neighborhood now have some of the most fascinating architecture in the United Kingdom. Manchester’s attractions include Urbis, a glass curtain-walled exhibition center, Bridgewater Hall, home of Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra, and Daniel Libeskind’s inspired Imperial War Museum.
Music City
Manchester has always been a hotspot for indie and mainstream music, such as Freddie and the Dreamers, Elkie Brooks, Take That, Hermans Hermits, The Hollies, Oasis, Simply Red, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Morrissey, and many more are among the bands and musicians who got their start in Manchester.
Manchester’s club culture is alive and well today, thanks to a strong student population. Manchester, being one of the gates to England’s Lake District, is also an excellent anchor for a two-base trip that combines natural activities with urban nightlife.
Bristol
Bristol is a tiny, picturesque city on the borders of Somerset and Gloucestershire with a history of creativity and invention. Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick Castle, Stonehenge, Cheddar Gorge, and Longleat are all within easy driving distance.
Bristol, like Liverpool, was a hub for the triangle trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, exporting manufactured products to Africa in return for enslaved persons who were then forcibly transferred to the Americas. In the 18th century, abolitionist Thomas Clarkson lived secretly at The Seven Stars Pub in Thomas Lane. He obtained the slave trade material that his friend William Wilberforce used to support the Act for the Abolition of Slavery. You can still hoist a pint of real ale in the tavern, which has been open every day since 1760 and has a history dating back to the 1600s.
Native to Bristol
Bristol has been a wellspring of creative inventors for centuries, from the pioneering Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel to the leaders of today’s cutting-edge animations. Brunel designed the Great Western Railway between London and Bristol, as well as the first ocean-going, propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, the SS Great Britain, and the Clifton Suspension Bridge (finished after Brunel’s death). Bristol’s icon is the bridge that spans the Avon Gorge.
Graduates of the Bristol Old Vic, a branch of London’s Old Vic Theatre, and its accompanying drama school have graced international stages and screens. Cary Grant was born in Bristol, as were Patrick Stewart, Jeremy Irons, Greta Scacchi, Miranda Richardson, Helen Baxendale, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Gene Wilder.
Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep are also Bristol locals, having been produced by Aardman Animation in the city. Banksy, a secretive graffiti artist from Bristol, has also left his imprint there. Explore other cities that you want to visit in the UK in articles 2, 3, and 4 and when are the best times to visit the United Kingdom.