Things to do in the United Kingdom

London, the capital, is a city of landmarks and museums, from the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey to the British Museum and the theatres of the West End. In Scotland, Edinburgh pairs a castle-topped crag and cobbled closes with Georgian squares, and fills with performers every August.

Beyond the two capitals lie Stonehenge and the Roman baths of Bath, the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge, the honey-stone villages of the Cotswolds, the Lake District, and in Scotland the Highlands, lochs and islands. Wales adds castles and mountains, and Northern Ireland the basalt columns of the Giant's Causeway.

Food ranges from the traditional pub, with fish and chips and Sunday roasts, to afternoon tea and the varied dining of the big cities. Bluebells carpet the woods in spring, summer evenings stay light until late, and the weather is changeable enough that a light layer is useful in any month. Fast trains link London and Edinburgh along the east coast.