Capital Attractions: Travelodge reveals travellers’ top tourist hotspots

  • From parks to power stations, Travelodge unveils London’s top attractions, as voted by more than 13,500 people
  • Classic, timeless attractions steal the show in the capital
  • We’re a nation of culture and history buffs, with six museums clinching spots in the top 20
  • 13 of attractions in the list are free of charge to visitors

London’s top 20 most popular attractions voted for by travellers and tourists have been revealed. 

Budget hotel brand Travelodge asked more than 13,500 of its subscribers to vote for their favourite London attraction*, with the top three spots going to iconic and much-loved places of interest: The Tower of London (1st), Covent Garden (2nd) and Buckingham Palace (3rd).

Art and history hotspots scored highly, with six museums making it onto the list, including the Natural History Museum (4th), the British Museum (9th) and Victoria and Albert Museum (11th).  

Fans of the popular Bridget Jones series will be thrilled to see Borough Market, location of the famous singleton’s city flat, take 7th place, a couple of spots behind foodie and shopping favourite, Camden Market, at number five.  Another blockbuster movie must-see, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, while slightly on the fringes of the capital, makes it into 14th spot.

Refurbished in 2013, Grade ll listed building Battersea Power Station takes 13th place, with the former London electricity powerhouse now being a popular hub for food, drinks and activities. Another more modern favourite with tourists offering spectacular, unparalleled views of the city is Sky Garden, which takes 16th place.

Historic landmark and Royal wedding location St Paul’s Cathedral comes in at number 19 and last, but by no means least, is modern and contemporary art gallery the Tate Modern (20th).

London’s top 20 attractions: 

  1. Tower of London 
  2. Covent Garden 
  3. Buckingham Palace 
  4. Natural History Museum 
  5. Camden Market 
  6. Big Ben 
  7. Borough Market 
  8. The London Eye 
  9. The British Museum 
  10. Tower Bridge 
  11. Victoria and Albert Museum 
  12. The Imperial War Museum 
  13. Battersea Power Station
  14. Harry Potter Studio Tour 
  15. Science Museum 
  16. Sky Garden 
  17. Hyde Park 
  18. Hampton Court Palace
  19. St Paul’s Cathedral 
  20. Tate Modern 

A Travelodge spokesperson said: “It’s no surprise that the top spots were taken by iconic, historic classics like the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, but it’s also great to see people rate newer attractions such as Battersea Power Station and Sky Garden too. With over 80 Travelodges in the capital, you can find a great value place to stay in easy reach of all of the top tourist hotspots. And with 13 of the attractions being completely free for visitors, a London mini-break needn’t bust the budget.”

Visitors wanting to book attractions can check out Trips by Travelodge — a new service from the hotel chain that allows guests to conveniently book events and activity tickets at the same time as their hotel.  The service offers thousands of day and evening events and activities – with no hidden fees. 

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

The Travelodge Press Office

T: 01844 358 703

E: pressoffice@travelodge.co.uk 

Notes to Editors

*Survey conducted February 2025 with 13,663 respondents (Travelodge email subscribers)

https://www.travelodge.co.uk/blog/featured/londons-top-attractions/

Free attractions include: Tate Modern, Hyde Park, Sky Garden, Science Museum, Imperial War Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tower Bridge, The British Museum, Borough Market, Big Ben, Camden Market, National History Museum, Covent Garden

About Travelodge  

Founded in 1985, Travelodge is Britain’s very first budget hotel chain and today is one of the largest budget hotel chains in the UK, with a portfolio of over 600 hotels and over 47,000 bedrooms across the UK, Ireland and Spain.  

In Spain, Travelodge has an established profitable presence and has ambitious growth plans within this market and has identified the top key locations where it would like to open additional hotels in Spain. 

Welcoming over 22 million guests annually across the UK, Ireland and Spain, the majority of Travelodge hotels are located in major cities, towns and holiday hotspots as well as by airports and key business hubs. With over 96% of its hotels rated 4* or above on TripAdvisor, Travelodge is proud to offer guests across its diverse customer base a good value experience – whether they are travelling for business or leisure. 

Whether out celebrating a birthday, going to a concert or sporting event, visiting friends and family, taking a business trip, working away from home, or taking a short break, we help people to go and do their thing by Being the Brilliant Base.

Travelodge continues to invest in its ongoing hotel refit programme and has already upgraded c.60% of the Travelodge room estate to its new design. The brand is also continually evolving its quality offering to deliver a better experience for its diverse mix of business and leisure guests such as its new look Bar Cafe design, 85 Bar Café, which has been rolled out to selected UK hotels as part of the refit programme.  

Travelodge is focusing on its environmental and social impact, with sustainability integral to its business strategy. Its Better Future sustainability plan aims to build a more sustainable future for its customers, colleagues and the planet, underpinned by three core pillars: Inclusive – ensuring we are accessible, inclusive and well-priced to our customers and colleagues; Caring – creating a caring and healthy environment for our colleagues and customers and ensuring their wellbeing; and  Conscious – Travelodge is conscious of its impact on the planet, taking into account the waste it produces, the energy and other resources it consumes and the carbon emissions it generates.  

For further information visit the Travelodge website or Travelodge LinkedIn.