A historical walking tour of London’s pubs has been crowned the top UK tourist experience by TripAdvisor for the second year in a row.
The trusted review platform revealed the winners of its annual Travellers’ Choice “Best of the Best Things to Do” Awards for 2024 after analysing traveller reviews and ratings between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.
TripAdvisor examined the world’s top overall experiences and attractions, alongside nine sub-categories including food and drink, water sports, family-friendly and sustainable experiences.
The £25 per person ‘Historical Pub Walking Tour of London’ run by Liquid History Tours won the UK experience category. It came 19th in overall world experiences with its five-star rating from 4,660 reviews.
One review of the three-and-a-half-hour tour said: “Great way to spend an afternoon learning about history in London and getting some fun facts about the pub culture of this great city! Our guide Will was great. Knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic to share a fun side of London life. I highly recommend this tour, regardless of whether you are a beer drinker.”
The second most loved experience was the ‘Original Harry Potter Locations Tour’ in London closely followed by a musical look at The Beatles’ lives in Liverpool in third place.
As for world winners, a £5 walking tour of picturesque Porto in Portugal took the top spot for experiences while New York’s Empire State Building reigned tall as the world’s best attraction, according to the review data.
Closer to home, a ‘Guided Celtic Park Stadium Tour’ in Glasgow was named the best in the world for a family day out and Alton Towers Resort took eighth in the world for the amusement park category.
Edinburgh’s historic castle won the inaugural sustainability category with over 30,000 ‘Excellent’ and 15,000 ‘Very good’ reviews.
When it came to the top UK attractions, the Scottish capital also hosts four out of the top 10 including The Real Mary King’s Close, the Royal Yacht Britannia and the National Museum of Scotland.
TripAdvisor’s top 10 world tourist experiences
- The Unvanquished Tour in Porto City Center, Porto, Portugal
- All-Inclusive Ubud Private Tour, Ubud, Bali
- All-Inclusive Amsterdam Canal Cruise by Captain Jack, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Small-Group Explore Angkor Wat Sunrise Tour with Guide from Siem Reap, Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Chichen Itza, Cenote and Valladolid All-Inclusive Tour, Cancun, Mexico
- The Best tour in Florence: Renaissance & Medici Tales - guided by a STORYTELLER, Florence, Italy
- Classic Inca Trail Trek 4D/3N to Machu Picchu (Group Service), Cusco, Peru
- Budapest Danube Cruise with Buffet Dinner, Performances and Music, Budapest, Hungary
- Full-Day Ninh Binh Highlights Tour from Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Silfra: Snorkeling Between Tectonic Plates, Reykjavik, Iceland
