London's Natural History Museum attracted a record 7.1 million visitors in 2025, making it the UK's most popular attraction. Its success is attributed to free entry, renovated gardens, and the popular 'Fixing Our Broken Planet' climate gallery, which drew over 2 million visitors alone.
The record highlights a broader, challenging landscape for UK cultural institutions. While the NHM and the National Gallery (which reopened its Sainsbury Wing) saw growth, most top attractions saw visitor numbers decline and still struggle to reach pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Sector leaders cite the cost-of-living crisis, increased operational costs, and a significant drop in high-spending Chinese tourists due to the UK's removal of tax-free shopping as major hurdles, prompting calls for government policy changes to support cultural tourism.