The seaside town named best place to visit in the UK for 2025
As we trudge through winter, it's time to look ahead to the top UK destinations for festivals, events and new cultural institutions to enjoy this year.
Thankfully, Time Out has named the best places in the UK to add to your staycation bucket list – and Folkestone, Kent, has found itself at the top of the list.
Lauded as a 'top-tier seaside spot', the Kentish town's indie shops, culinary scene, sweeping beach and The Folkestone Triennial art festival saw it crowned the number one UK destination to visit in 2025.
London 's Stratford made a surprising entry in second thanks to two pending cultural institutions – Sadlers Wells East and the V&A East Storehouse – followed by the ceramics and oatcakes of Stoke-on-Trent.
In Scotland, Orkney and Glasgow both made the list in fourth and 15th for their Neolithic archaeology and world-class concerts, respectively.
As for Wales, the capital Cardiff came ninth, while Belfast, with Northern Ireland 's thriving music community, scored 14th.
Chiara Wilkinson, deputy UK editor of Time Out said: 'Time Out is delighted to share our ranked list of the 15 best places in the UK to visit in 2025, packed with carefully curated suggestions from expert local writers around the country.
'Some might raise a few eyebrows, but we can guarantee that all of these destinations are well worth a trip this year, boasting dramatic natural beauty, landmark arts festivals, new theatre openings and more. We've also shared the best time to visit and our favourite personal recommendations, so you can start planning now and keep the January blues at bay.'
Time Out's top 15 best places to visit in the UK for 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
Orkney's 5000-year-old Tomb of the Eagles to re-open after £101k grant
Located at the top of South Ronaldsay cliffs, the Tomb of the Eagles is a stone age sites and a key feature of Orkney's ancient archaeology. It was forced to close to visitors as a result of the pandemic and subsequent retirement of the owners. Local campaigners have been working , and with the support of the family that owns the site, to take it into community ownership and reopen it to visitors. Now they have secured £101,607 support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. READ MORE: Re-opening date announced for independent Scottish cinema forced to close doors The news comes just a few weeks after South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust announced they had secured Scottish Land Fund investment. 'Final piece to the puzzle' The Tomb of the Eagles, or Isbister Chambered Cairn, is a Neolithic chambered tomb located on a cliff edge at Isbister on South Ronaldsay. The community are seeking to "improve the visitor centre, renovate the museum displays, shop and toilet facilities, and provide a snack and hot drinks service" as well as upgrade the pathways around the site. The site has been in the care of and for many years was operated by a local family, the Simisons. They have worked with and supported the South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust to deliver the ambition of the community reopening Tomb of the Eagles. Freda Norquay of the Simison Partnership, the current owners of the site, said: 'We are so pleased that the Tomb will now reopen and forge its future under community ownership and feel that this is a fitting reflection of the Simison legacy. It is a way forward that we fully support, and we believe that our parents, Ronnie and Morgan Simison would have endorsed." READ MORE: Scottish port receives £24 million in funding to expand dock Kathleen MacLeod, also from the Simison Partnership, added: 'We can't thank people like Joe Horrocks, Steve Sankey and Cameron Taylor enough for the hours that they have put in on this project, and all the support shown from the local community. The National Lottery Heritage Fund award is the icing on the cake, and it is wonderful that the Tomb will now reopen after all these years.' Ruth Owen, chair of the South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust, said: 'We are delighted at the award of just over £100,000 to the Development Trust for the purposes of reopening the Tomb of the Eagles. Not only does this provide essential funding that will bridge the final budget gap required to acquire the site, but importantly it provides the necessary match funding to set up staffing next year, for our first full season. 'This really is the final piece of the funding jigsaw to acquire and re-establish the site, and we can now say with confidence that the Tomb of the Eagles will reopen to the public. We would like to thank the National Lottery players and indeed all our funding partners for giving the community this opportunity.' Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund director for Scotland, said: 'Our support will enable community ownership and management of the Tomb of the Eagles, meaning locals and visitors from across the world can once more experience an important part of Orkney's incredible heritage while directly benefitting the local community. 'It is a wonderful new chapter for a very precious place which has been part of South Ronaldsay's story for 5000 years.'
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
Orkney's 5000-year-old Tomb of the Eagles to reopen after £101k grant
Located at the top of South Ronaldsay cliffs, the Tomb of the Eagles is a stone age sites and a key feature of Orkney's ancient archaeology. It was forced to close to visitors as a result of the pandemic and subsequent retirement of the owners. Local campaigners have been working , and with the support of the family that owns the site, to take it into community ownership and reopen it to visitors. Now they have secured £101,607 support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. READ MORE: Re-opening date announced for independent Scottish cinema forced to close doors The news comes just a few weeks after South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust announced they had secured Scottish Land Fund investment. 'Final piece to the puzzle' The Tomb of the Eagles, or Isbister Chambered Cairn, is a Neolithic chambered tomb located on a cliff edge at Isbister on South Ronaldsay. The community are seeking to "improve the visitor centre, renovate the museum displays, shop and toilet facilities, and provide a snack and hot drinks service" as well as upgrade the pathways around the site. The site has been in the care of and for many years was operated by a local family, the Simisons. They have worked with and supported the South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust to deliver the ambition of the community reopening Tomb of the Eagles. Freda Norquay of the Simison Partnership, the current owners of the site, said: 'We are so pleased that the Tomb will now reopen and forge its future under community ownership and feel that this is a fitting reflection of the Simison legacy. It is a way forward that we fully support, and we believe that our parents, Ronnie and Morgan Simison would have endorsed." READ MORE: Scottish port receives £24 million in funding to expand dock Kathleen MacLeod, also from the Simison Partnership, added: 'We can't thank people like Joe Horrocks, Steve Sankey and Cameron Taylor enough for the hours that they have put in on this project, and all the support shown from the local community. The National Lottery Heritage Fund award is the icing on the cake, and it is wonderful that the Tomb will now reopen after all these years.' Ruth Owen, chair of the South Ronaldsay and Burray Development Trust, said: 'We are delighted at the award of just over £100,000 to the Development Trust for the purposes of reopening the Tomb of the Eagles. Not only does this provide essential funding that will bridge the final budget gap required to acquire the site, but importantly it provides the necessary match funding to set up staffing next year, for our first full season. 'This really is the final piece of the funding jigsaw to acquire and re-establish the site, and we can now say with confidence that the Tomb of the Eagles will reopen to the public. We would like to thank the National Lottery players and indeed all our funding partners for giving the community this opportunity.' Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Heritage Fund director for Scotland, said: 'Our support will enable community ownership and management of the Tomb of the Eagles, meaning locals and visitors from across the world can once more experience an important part of Orkney's incredible heritage while directly benefitting the local community. 'It is a wonderful new chapter for a very precious place which has been part of South Ronaldsay's story for 5000 years.'
Time Out
19 hours ago
- Time Out
These magical NSW towns have ranked as the Top Tourism Towns for 2025
It's not a newsflash that NSW is home to some incredible holiday destinations. In 2024, our sunny state was the top holiday destination in Australia – with domestic and international visitors spending $53.2 billion across NSW. There are myriad towns and villages to visit – from magical coastal idylls to quirky outback towns – and while we all have our personal favourites, it's interesting to know which towns are ranking as the key tourist hotspots in the state. Every year, the NSW Tourism Association awards the top tourism towns in NSW – recognising the towns that consistently deliver 'warm hospitality, memorable experiences and a strong sense of place'. Keen to know this year's winners? Read on. For the second year running, the coastal town of Kiama in the magical Shoalhaven region has taken home gold – ranking as the Top Tourism Town (the overall award for towns with a population of more than 5,000). If you're visiting, we'd suggest checking out the biggest blowhole in the world. The nearby town of Shellharbour ranked in second place, and the north coast town of Ballina (home of the big prawn, and the airport gateway to Byron Bay) took home bronze. The NRMA People's Choice Award for best tourism town went to Newcastle, a destination that was ranked as one of the world's hidden gem destinations by Time Out editors. The next award, for the best Small Tourism Town in NSW (for towns with a population of between 1,500-5,000 people) went to Merimbula, a beautiful seaside town on the Sapphire Coast that came in second place in the 2024 awards. The runner up in the Small Tourism Town category for 2025 was the charming Southern Highlands town of Robertson, and Robertson also took home the NRMA People's Choice Award in this category (our tip: book a stay at this spectacular manor house). Third place in the Small Tourism Town category went to Gloucester, a farming town in the Hunter region. The final award always goes to a town with a population below 1,500 people – this year's Tiny Tourism Town award went to Huskisson, the charming fishing village in the Shoalhaven region that also took home gold last year (keen to visit? Book a lakeside hut at this magical farmstay). Broke – a charming mountainside village in the Hunter region took home silver in this year's awards, and the historic village of Millthorpe scored both the bronze award and the people's choice award. It's worth noting that, for the second year running, south coast towns (specifically those in the Shoalhaven region) have dominated the list. At Time Out Sydney, it's part of our job to explore the best holiday destinations that the state has to offer, and the south coast is an area that captures our hearts, too. You can check out all of the winners of this year's awards over here.
