6 days ago
The 20 best things to do on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight caters for everyone. I speak from personal experience; I first visited as a child, then as a lover of wildlife and walking, good food and drink and latterly as a parent of young, then older children.
The island has excellent conventional attractions and does a fantastic job of interpreting its ancient and wartime history, as well as its relationship with the sea. In many ways, though, the great outdoors is the main event, and your best memories may well be of wandering along a beach and stumbling upon a fossil or spotting a red squirrel in a woodland.
All our recommendations below have been hand selected and tested by our destination expert to help you discover the best things to do on the Isle of Wight. Find out more below, or for more Isle of Wight inspiration, see our guides to its best hotels restaurants, bars and pubs, and beaches.
Find things to do by type:
Best for royalty and history
Best for families
Best for museum lovers
Best for foodies
Best for walkers
Best for nature lovers
Best for seaside Victoriana
Best for royalty and history
Osborne House
Discover Queen Victoria's 'little paradise'
Osborne House was where Queen Victoria was most amused, describing it as her 'little paradise'. Built in Italianate style and set among lawns edged by veteran oaks and yews, sumptuous state rooms and opulently furnished corridors are warmed by personal touches such as marble sculptures cast from moulds of plaster of limbs of the couple's children.
Insider tip: The attractive shingle beach behind the house is easily missed and on the way you will see the bathing machine – it brings to mind a cowboy's wagon – where Queen Victoria got changed before she took to the water.
