When people visit UK/london..

[Twinkletwinklelil]

What are the actual attractions? I’m genuinely curious.. when we have tourists come to London.. for a holiday.. not to visit family or friends, what is it they’ve come for?m

As a former tourist, now resident, off the top of my head:

Albert Memorial
Borough Market
Big Ben
Bond Street
British Museum
Buckingham Palace
Camden Market
Carnaby Street
Cutty Sark
Design Museum
Greenwich
Hampstead Heath
Hampton Court
Harrods
Imperial War Museum
Kensington Palace
Kings Road/Sloane Street
Kew Gardens
London Eye
National Portrait Gallery
Natural History Museum
Notting Hill
Parliamant
Primrose Hill
Richmond (always one for our American friends)
Richmond Park
Royal Albert Hall
Royal Observatory
Science Museum
The Tate
The Globe
Theatres
Tower of London
Victoria & Albert Museum

And I’m sure there’s a huge amount I’ve left off.

They do London in the morning (Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament), then hop on a coach to Stonehenge for lunchtime, back on the coach and do the Roman Baths in Bath late afternoon before dinner in Bristol.

@user593

Marble Arch
Trafalgar Square
Selfridges
Royal Opera House
Platform 9 3/4
Burlington Arcade

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The London Palladium
The Coliseum
Sadler's Wells
Royal Festival Hall
The Barbican
The South Bank Centre
The Old Vic
The Globe

Claridge's
The Ritz
The Savoy
Liberty's
Pineapple Dance Studios
Horseguards Parade
Cabinet War Rooms
Tower Bridge
London Bridge
HMS Belfast
Alexandra Palace
Wembley Stadium
Lords Cricket Ground
All England Tennis Club Wimbledon
Olympia
O2 Arena
Jack the Ripper Museum
The Royal Mews
Greenwich Meridian
London Planetarium

No... I literally cannot think of anywhere tourists might want to go.

History innit.

Cleopatra's Needle
British Library
London Transport Museum
Trip on the DLR
Hyde Park
Leicester Square
Chinatown
Abbey Road
Carnaby Street
Camden Market
Regent's Canal

...no, I'm really struggling. Simply cannot think of a single thing.

Yes! I cringe a bit but maybe I’d be doing the same roles reversed so I try to climb off my judgy horse

I'm also a bit flummoxed by the question

As well as all the things that people have said, the art galleries alone would take more than a week to cover.

I don't miss London but the art... just wow 🥰

varies but typically it’s museums, shows and historical sites that people want to see initially plus traditional shops like Hamleys, Liberty, Harrods etc. outside of London it’s Stonehenge, Oxford/Cambridge, Blenheim palace perhaps, Edinburgh is popular too

Is that a joke? I live in London - born and bred - and haven’t been to all the tourist hot spots.

She has a point. If you genuinely are ignorant if any London attractions (if so how?) then surely you know how to do a search on the internet?

OP, many posters have listed some fantastic places in London. It's one of the greatest cities in the world, there's no way you can see/do everything, even in a lifetime, so you concentrate on your own particular interests. But London has something for people interested in any/all of the following:
History
Culture
Art
Architecture
Museums & galleries
Theatre
Sport
Parks & green spaces
Food
Cinema
Transport
Archaeology
Dance
Shopping
Fashion
Industry
Finance & economics
Music
Politics
Royalty
and probably a few more that I've forgotten.

It can be anything that you want it to be.

I’m going to believe you’re serious and also quite naive. London is one of the greatest cities in the world. Most museums are free, so natural history, science, Victoria and Albert for a start. The both the Tate galleries, the national gallery and the national portrait gallery. Every one of these is free.

Then there are theatres showing everything from musicals to serious drama, a bit of opera and ballet too in various theatres.

Then there are the sights, Buckingham palace, the Mall, Houses of Parliament. Beautiful paths like Hyde park and arcades park

Perhaps you want to eat every food imaginable from anywhere in the world

Then visit a few markets, Spitalfields, Borough, Camden, Greenwich.

And at that point you haven’t touched a shop - not Harrods or selfridges or Covent Garden

i can’t imagine why people come to London. There’s nothing at all to do

Perhaps it would be better if you explained who you are (or who this list is for).

Are you in the UK ?
Or coming from abroad?

What places have you heard of / do you think you might like to see - then people can tell you if they think they are worth it.

How long would you be there for ?

Are you young / fit / healthy with a lot of stamina or would you have to pace yourself?

Is it just you or are the dc in your party ?

What sort of budget would you have? Many people walk round the iconic, world famous attractions and take photos and soak up just 'being there' without ever paying to go in to any attractions, but other people think 'this is a once in a life time trip, I want to see inside'.

Your original question came across as sarcastic, because there is SO much to see and do in London, and SO many places that are world famous. It was therefore difficult to believe anyone would ask "why do people come?"

What about Harry Potter studios.

People come from all over the world to go to that

Like most European cities, it’s heavily geared towards culture. Do you like restaurants, art galleries, shops, theatre, music? If so, pick from the many on offer. I wouldn’t come here to go to Madam Tussaud’s, the London Aquarium, Tower of London are all a bit touristy and boring - for me.

Angus Steakhouse and a Tesco meal deal

Not in London for a start. That a joke?

You are right it's not in London* but the publicity says it is. "Experience a day of filmmaking magic at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter"

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/our-history/

*And neither are London Gatwick and London Stansted.

@CrossPurposes Or London Luton. Why they've tacked 'London' onto that is a mystery to me. Anyone landing at Luton is in for a big disappointment. 😂

Very much in Hertfordshire. Airports aren’t sold as City attractions per se, although I agree Stansted (essex), Gatwick (east sussex) aren’t in London either.

😂

Oh yeah Wall of Chocolate

Possibly because it's the greatest city in the world?

(Londoner born and bred here.)