The British Museum has been named as the most popular UK attraction for the 10th year in a row, with over 6.4 million visitors passing through its doors in 2016. The iconic museum topped the list released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (AVLA), which also showed that the ten most visited UK attractions are all located in London.
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Following closely in second place was the National Gallery, which is home to some of the most famous paintings in the world, then the Tate Modern, which unveiled a new ten-story extension in June. The Duchess of Cambridge's favourite London landmark, the Natural History Museum, came in fourth place, while the Southbank Centre rounded off the top five with 3.9 million visitors in 2016.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe British Museum has been named the UK's most popular tourist attraction
Although the top ten most visited attractions were all in the capital, other popular tourist destinations such as Chester Zoo, the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle and Scottish National Gallery all made the top 20 after attracting close to two million visitors each over the last year. Read on for the full list – have you visited any of these attractions?
The British Museum – 6.42 million
National Gallery – 6.236 million
Tate Modern – 5.4 million
Natural History Museum – 4.62 million
Southbank Centre – 3.9 million
Somerset House – 3.44 million
Science Museum – 3.24 million
V&A Museum – 3.02 million
Tower of London – 2.74 million
Royal Museums Greenwich – 2.45 million
© Photo: RexThe National Gallery is second on the list
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11. National Portrait Gallery – 1.95 million
12. Chester Zoo – 1.9 million
13. Kew Gardens – 1.83 million
14. Westminster Abbey – 1.82 million
15. National Museum of Scotland – 1.81 million
16. Edinburgh Castle – 1.78 million
17. Royal Albert Hall – 1.66 million
18. Scottish National Gallery – 1.54 million
19. St Paul's Cathedral – 1.52 million
20. British Library – 1.5 million
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