For the sixth year running, the British Museum has been voted the most popular visitor attraction, attracting a whopping 5.6 million visitors in 2012. In comparison, the UK's best known theme park, Alton Towers, attracted 2.7 million visitors in 2011 according to figures from The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (Alva).
The Tate Modern just missed out on first place, attracting 5.3 million people, 9% higher than in 2011 due to Damien Hirst's 'retrospective' exhibition.
Overall, there was a 5.1% increase in visitors at all UK attractions, from 87.7 million in 2011 to 92.1 million last year. Despite the bad weather and Olympics, it appears nothing could scare away the Great British public from a great day out!
Rounding off the top 5 most visited attractions are the National Gallery in 3rd place with 5.1 million visitors, the National History Museum with 5 million, and the Victoria & Albert Museum with 3.2 million.
Alva director Bernard Donohue was highly pleased with the data. He said: "We are delighted with the visitor figures. This year, 2013 looks like it is going to be a promising year for Alva members. The Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich is likely to see a marked increase in visitors because of its role as a backdrop in the hugely popular and award-winning film Les Miserables."
Here's hoping the snow goes away soon then!
< Back to the newsThe British Museum contains artefacts from pre-historic times through the ages.
View attraction
