Great Britain: Hotels amid World Heritage, Nature and History

Great Britain combines prehistoric monuments, historic buildings and exceptional landscapes. The World Heritage Site “Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast” comprises around 40,000 regularly shaped polygonal basalt columns, while Stonehenge and Avebury form a World Heritage Site with Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and funerary monuments.

Culture and history

The World Heritage Site “Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites” is part of Great Britain's World Heritage. Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world, while Avebury has the largest prehistoric stone circle in the world.

In London, the Palace of Westminster remains the seat of Parliament and is also considered an important monument of Gothic Revival architecture. Monarchs are crowned, married and buried in Westminster Abbey. The Tower of London is the most complete surviving example of an 11th-century fortified palace in Europe; its Crown Jewels have been kept there since the 17th century.

The World Heritage Site “Old and New Towns of Edinburgh” combines a medieval Old Town with a neoclassical New Town. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal stretches over 18 kilometres. The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is regarded as a pioneering masterpiece of engineering and monumental architecture by Thomas Telford. The World Heritage Site “The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales” comprises six elements: quarries, mines, historic settlements, gardens, ports, railways and roads.

Landscapes

The Giant's Causeway was formed around 50 to 60 million years ago through volcanic activity. Footpaths at the Giant's Causeway provide views of the coast from the cliffs as well as access to geological features at close range. The Giant's Causeway has been a visitor attraction for at least 300 years.

The English Lake District is a mountainous landscape with glaciated valleys and narrow lakes. At the same time, it preserves agro-pastoral traditions based on local sheep breeds and communal grazing of upland pastures. The English Lake District provides access and opportunities to experience its special qualities. The United Kingdom also has areas of landscape protected for their natural beauty, as well as rare animals, plants and geological features.

Active travel

The national parks of the United Kingdom offer walks, hikes and extensive trails for different abilities and interests. For easy cycling tours, they have traffic-free minor roads, bridleways and cycle paths. This means that different forms of travel coexist within the national parks: short walks, longer hikes and cycling tours on specially suitable routes.

Getting around

Most larger cities in England and Wales can be reached by train from London in no more than three hours. Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland can be reached in less than five hours. Standard visitors can normally stay in the United Kingdom for up to six months.

The United Kingdom's visitor offering includes coasteering along the rocky coast of Wales. Stargazing is also part of the visitor offering in the Scottish Highlands. Scotland offers landscapes, lochs, islands and mountains as natural spaces for visits and experiences. Northern Ireland combines World Heritage sites and Game of Thrones filming locations with impressive landscapes.

Other regions:Jersey, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Greater London, Yorkshire and the Humber, Northern Ireland, North East England, East of England, Scotland, South East England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands, North West England, East Midlands.