Things to do in Watford

London · 24.4km from Watford

The British Museum

10

4.8/5

3.7k reviews

The British Museum's collection spans artifacts from civilizations across the world, with a total of approx. 8 million items, covering regions including ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. The museum has approx. 60 permanent galleries, and the items on display represent only a very small fraction of the total collection, with its ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek and Roman, and Asian collections being particularly renowned. The south facade of the main building features an Ionic colonnade, and the main entrance is topped by a sculpted pediment. Entering through the main entrance leads into the Great Court, a public space designed by Norman Foster with a white color scheme, where the massive semi-transparent glass roof ensures ample natural light even on London's overcast days. The Great Court was originally part of the British Library; after the library relocated, it was converted into a covered plaza, and the court displays authentic sculptures including a stone statue from Easter Island. The Rosetta Stone bears a decree of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh inscribed in three scripts, serving as the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian civilization and ranking among the museum's most notable exhibits. The Elgin Marbles are sculptural fragments from the Parthenon, dating back over two thousand years, and are now displayed in Room 18. The Portland Vase is renowned for its dark blue glass and white cameo relief decoration, displayed in Room 70. The Tang dynasty copy of Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies survives with nine scenes and holds significant artistic and historical value, though it is not on permanent display. The Chinese collection is concentrated in Rooms 33, 33b, and 95, arranged chronologically by dynasty with artifacts ranging from Shang and Zhou bronzes to Ming and Qing porcelain, among which the Song dynasty Cizhou ware "circus pillow" and the Yuan dynasty blue-and-white dish with fish and aquatic plant design are particularly worth a closer look. The ancient Egyptian galleries are famous for their mummy exhibits and are among the most visited areas in the museum.

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Windsor Castle

9.6

Windsor · 24.4km from Watford

1.4k reviews

• Stroll through the family castle of the Windsor dynasty • View the exquisite treasures in the state suite • Enjoy the audio guide and savor the beauty of the castle Windsor Castle sits on a hill on the south bank of the Thames and is one of the official residences still in use by the British royal family today. The castle was first built by William I in the 11th century, and after subsequent expansions and renovations by many monarchs, it blends a variety of architectural styles, including a Norman fortress, a medieval palace, and Georgian state apartments, and is also one of the few medieval castles in Europe that are still inhabited today. The castle is divided into the upper, middle, and lower wards. The upper ward centers on the state rooms, which display famous paintings, armor, and fine furniture collected by monarchs over the centuries, including works by masters such as Holbein, Van Dyck, and Rubens; the Waterloo Chamber was built by George IV to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon, and its walls hang portraits of allied monarchs and commanders. The upper area also houses Queen Mary's Dolls' House, created by architect Edwin Lutyens in the 1920s, with exquisitely detailed interiors that even include electricity and running water. The central area is marked by a round tower, which was originally built of wood and later rebuilt in stone. Today, it houses royal documents and a photography collection, and the moat garden below the tower is planted with roses and other flowers. St. George's Chapel in the Lower Ward is a masterpiece of English Gothic architecture, founded in the 15th century and renowned for its magnificent stone fan vaulting and stained glass windows—looking up at the vaulting is an unmissable experience when visiting. The chapel is also the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter, has hosted numerous royal weddings, and is the burial place of several British monarchs.

London · 26km from Watford

London Eye

10

4.6/5

3.2k reviews

Take a ride on the incredible 135-metre London Eye and enjoy a panoramic view of London's stunning skyline, packed with iconic landmarks including the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and more. Ride during the day, at night, at sunset, or at dusk—which will you choose? The London Eye has a total of 32 air-conditioned, fully enclosed cabins, each of which can accommodate approximately 25 people. It takes about half an hour to complete a full rotation. The cabins are equipped with explanations of various sights in London, which play when they rotate to the corresponding angle. In addition, touch-sensitive information panels are also available.

London · 25km from Watford

Buckingham Palace

9.4

4.6/5

2.1k reviews

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch and the venue for the royal family's state events and major ceremonies. The palace has nineteen state rooms used to receive visiting heads of state and hold official ceremonies, furnished with paintings by Van Dyck and Canaletto, sculptures by Canova, and exquisite Sèvres porcelain and English and French furniture. The tour route connects magnificent halls such as the White Drawing Room, the Music Room, the Blue Drawing Room, and the Green Drawing Room. The gallery linking these rooms is about 50 m long and hangs paintings by masters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, and Vermeer, making it the essence of the Royal Collection. The highlight of the entire tour is the Throne Room. The archway and canopy were designed by architect John Nash, inspired by his experience in theater set design, creating a highly dramatic visual effect. The pair of thrones in the hall were used in the coronations of Elizabeth II and Charles III respectively, and the official portraits specially created by painters of the King and Queen are also on permanent display here. The Throne Room once served as the backdrop for the wedding photographs of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and to this day remains the venue for court ceremonies such as investitures. The changing of the guard ceremony in the palace forecourt is equally captivating. During the ceremony, a detachment of guards marches from Wellington Barracks to the palace accompanied by music, relieving another detachment to become the King's Guard—a classic scene for experiencing British ceremonial tradition.

London · 25.9km from Watford

Westminster Abbey

9.4

4.8/5

1.5k reviews

• Visit the site on the north bank of the Thames where kings were crowned and royal weddings took place • Stroll through the UK's royal burial sites and visit the resting places of royal family members and legendary figures like Newton and Darwin • Explore magnificent, solemn, and serene Gothic architectural masterpieces Westminster Abbey, located on the north bank of the Thames in London and adjacent to the Palace of Westminster, is a Gothic-style royal church in Britain. Magnificent and grand, it is a sacred site in the UK and holds a prominent status among the country's many churches. The Henry VII Chapel is located at the rear of the church, featuring ornate decorations and surrounded by numerous chapels. Above the west door stand ten statues of 20th-century Christian martyrs, installed in 1998, representing figures from around the world, including Martin Luther King Jr.

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Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

8.1

London · 21.5km from Watford

225 reviews

Spanning 326 acres of beautiful gardens and home to the world's largest living plant collection, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located just a 30-minute drive from central London. The iconic Palm House recreates a tropical rainforest environment, where you can experience the humid, sultry tropical atmosphere up close; the Temperate House is one of the most prominent surviving Victorian glasshouses, reopened in 2018 after restoration and housing approximately ten thousand rare plants from temperate regions. The 17-meter-tall contemporary art installation "The Hive" celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026, exploring the importance and plight of bees; while the towering treetop walkway offers a unique perspective overlooking the garden. Those afraid of heights can stroll along the vibrant Great Broad Walk, enjoy unique botanical art and special exhibitions in our galleries, or relax in the cozy restaurant. In the newly built Carbon Garden, you can admire a striking pavilion inspired by fungi, learn about the scale of the climate crisis, and explore how plants can help us tackle it. As a global scientific charity, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew aims to help halt biodiversity loss and develop nature-based solutions to some of the most pressing global challenges facing humanity. △ Discover rare tropical plants in the Palm House △Kew Palace was built in 1631; a century later, George III was educated here and used it as a summer residence. △ Davies Alpine House has many alpine plants that can overcome harsh conditions at the Earth's poles or mountain tops △ Explore 10 different climate zones at the Princess of Wales Conservatory △Waterlily greenhouse(Waterlily House, closed in winter) features giant Amazon water lilies with leaves up to 3 m wide

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St. Paul's Cathedral

9.2

London · 26.3km from Watford

982 reviews

St. Paul's Cathedral is one of London's iconic landmarks, designed and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and completed in 1710. A church has stood on this site since 604 AD, and the current building is over 300 years old. It is a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture and a venue for major national ceremonies in the United Kingdom—from the state funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, and Winston Churchill, to the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and the thanksgiving service for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, all held here. The centerpiece of the cathedral is its three-layered dome: the inner dome rises 225 feet high and 102 feet in diameter, visible from the cathedral's interior; the middle layer is a brick cone supporting the lantern tower; the outer layer is a lead-covered timber dome, visible from the exterior. Atop the dome are a golden ball and cross, reaching a total height of 365 feet. For more than 250 years it dominated the London skyline, until buildings surpassed its height in the early 1960s. Inside the dome is the Whispering Gallery, renowned for its unique acoustics; continuing upward leads to the Stone Gallery and the Golden Gallery, which offer panoramic views of London. The cathedral features over six million pieces of glass mosaic decoration. The organ has more than seven thousand pipes, over a hundred stops, and five keyboards, and both Mendelssohn and Handel once played here. The cathedral's crypt is vast, spanning beneath the entire building, and is the burial place of British notables such as Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, the painter Turner, and Sir Fleming, and a memorial to Nightingale is also located here. The cathedral's architect, Sir Wren, is himself buried here as well, and the Latin inscription before his tomb means "If you seek his monument, look around you."

No. 14 of Best Things to Do in England

The National Gallery

8.7

4.8/5

724 reviews

The National Gallery is located on the north side of Trafalgar Square and was founded in 1824. The gallery houses numerous fine art masterpieces from the 13th century to the early 20th century, covering typical representative works from almost all periods in the history of European art, from the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance to the French Impressionist period. Museum overview The museum displays famous paintings by masters such as da Vinci, Van Gogh, Monet, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. The entire gallery is divided into four wings: the Sainsbury Wing, the West Wing, the North Wing, and the East Wing, with exhibits arranged in chronological order. The interior decoration is very classical and ornate. It is crowded with visitors all day long, so it is recommended to arrive early for entry. Before visiting, you can rent a Chinese-language audio guide for 4 pounds at the entrance of the main portico or on the second floor of the Sainsbury Wing, which provides detailed commentary on more than 40 collection highlights. The collection is mainly displayed on the second floor of the gallery, spread across dozens of exhibition rooms. The Sainsbury Wing, added in 1991, houses early Renaissance works, the most famous of which are Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks" and "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist." The West Wing of the main building displays Italian and German paintings from the High Renaissance, including the rare large-scale paintings in the gallery. The North Wing features 17th-century Dutch, Italian, French, and Spanish paintings. The East Wing's collection includes Venetian, French, and British paintings from the 18th to the early 20th century, with landscape paintings as a major highlight, as well as many fine works of Romanticism and Impressionism. The National Gallery houses numerous treasures. Even without much knowledge of art, you can intuitively feel the power of art here. A general visit takes at least over 2 hours; if you have plenty of time, you can set aside half a day. Popular exhibit recommendations Below are some recommended popular exhibits that you should not miss even on a quick tour, and they often require queuing to visit. Michelangelo's The Entombment, located in room 2. Rembrandt's "Self Portrait at the Age of 34," located in Room 15. Monet's "Water lily pond" (The water-lily pond), located in exhibition room 46. Van Gogh's "Sunflowers", located in room 43. Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks" (The Virgin of the Rocks), located in exhibition room 51. Botticelli's Venus and Mars, located in room 62. Raphael's The Madonna of the Pinks, located in Room 61. Please note that the paintings on display may be moved every day, and their locations are not fixed. After entering the museum, you can first check the specific location of the paintings at the information desk and pick up a guide brochure. During your visit, some paintings may not be in their designated locations due to conservation, loans, or other reasons. You can visit the official website in advance or contact the museum's information department (information@ng-london.org.uk) to check whether a specific painting is currently on display. Official guided itinerary If you feel a bit lost about visiting the gallery, you may want to join the official English guided tour, which lasts about 1 hour each time and introduces around 6 paintings. The meeting point is at the information desk in the Sainsbury Wing, with start times at 11:30 and 14:30. An additional session is offered at 19:00 on Fridays, and at 16:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, there are 10-minute English talks on individual oil paintings at 16:00 from Monday to Friday; please ask at the information desk for details. The gallery also recommends some self-guided trails, including themes such as landscape painting and family-friendly viewing, which you can print in advance to use as a guide. For the Chinese version, see: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/printed-trails-chinese

London · 25.1km from Watford

Tower of London

9.3

London · 28km from Watford

1.1k reviews

The White Tower will present visitors with some of the Tower of London's most complex and challenging histories. Opening in 2027, this story-led interpretation - centres on the lives of Tower prisoners, Anne Boleyn, John Gerard, and Josef Jakobs and will be complemented by authentic artefacts associated with historic torture. The Tower of London stands majestically on the north bank of the Thames. It is a Norman fortress ordered by William the Conqueror in the 11th century and served as a royal palace, fortress, armory, mint, and prison for over 900 years. Queen Anne Boleyn was executed within its walls, and the future Elizabeth I was imprisoned here before her coronation. The unsolved mystery of the two young princes' disappearance in the "Bloody Tower" remains to this day. With its gripping royal history, it is an essential stop for understanding British history. · Savor the rich historical and cultural ambiance of the Tower of London, and listen to the legends and mysterious stories behind it. · Admire the exquisite royal jewelry, coronation crowns, and scepters in the Jewel House, and exploreWhite pagoda(the White Tower) houses world-renowned royal armory collections and treasures. · Don't miss the guided tour by the Yeoman Warders to learn about the tower's iconic thousand-year history. △The Tower of London is a castle that initially served as a royal palace, later taking on various roles such as a fortress, armory, execution ground, and prison. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. This site imprisoned high-profile prisoners like Elizabeth I and witnessed the execution of many nobles. △Tower of London'sThe treasure house displays the jewels, coronation crowns, scepters, swords and other treasures of the British royal family. Travelers slowly pass through on the automated walkway during the visit, while large screens above the glass display cases explain the history of these treasures and their role in coronation ceremonies. Pictured is the imperial crown containing 23,578 gemstones, which is exquisitely beautiful. △Get a close-up view of the exquisitely carved rare armor in the white pagoda and experience the time-honored royal culture. △In addition, you will see many ravens during your visit, some of which are kept by the government but have their wings clipped; it is said that as long as there are ravens in the Tower of London, England will not suffer invasion.