The 13 Best Places to Go in the UK in 2023
Every winter, we look ahead to the upcoming year and consider which destinations – of the many, many beautiful places across the world – we'll see travellers flocking to. As part of our Best Places to Go in 2023 series, we shine a spotlight on the destinations in the world, as well as the US, India, Spain and the UK that are set to have a real moment in 2023, whether thanks to splashy hotel openings, foodie awakenings or cultural moments that the whole world will be watching.
This list – curated by our expert contributors – is an edit of cities, regions and entire counties across the four devolved nations of the UK that should be on your radar right now. From Manchester's new museums to Glasgow's slew of slated hotel openings via conservation initiatives in Inverness and the sparkly arrival of Eurovision in Liverpool, these are the 13 best places to visit in the UK in 2023, in no particular order. And don’t forget to visit our global list of international destinations to visit next year – the best places to travel in 2023, vetted by Condé Nast Traveller editors, plus ideas for places to go in the USA, top spots in Spain and destinations to book in India. Happy travels.
AlamyManchester, England
As the world’s first industrial city, Manchester has always been about redbrick urbanity and vocal street culture, but in 2022 something changed: it got greener. While the 154 acres of RHS Garden Bridgewater bedded in nicely outside the Salford village of Worsley, with its walled-garden microclimate, more vital greenery arrived in the city centre as Castlefield Viaduct became Manchester’s answer to the New York High Line, seeding cotton grass, ferns, fennel and broom along 330 metres of former Victorian rail track. And right next to Piccadilly Station, Mayfield Park – the city’s first new park in a century – opened on a derelict brownfield site with meadows, trees and play areas alongside the River Medlock. So it seems apt that its latest hotel, Treehouse Hotel Manchester, is a celebration of biophilic design, with bee hives in the roof gardens and living walls. The sustainability-minded Treehouse, which opens in spring near Selfridges, will also have a zero-waste restaurant, hopscotch carpets and a rooftop bar from local DJs-turned-restaurateurs the Unabombers. When it comes to diversity, Manchester Museum is reopening after a major revamp with galleries devoted to the city’s Asian diaspora – including a South Asia gallery curated by 31 people from the area, telling stories such as the day Gandhi visited the mills of Darwen in Lancashire. Other openings include the Fashion Gallery at Manchester Art Gallery, and the Co-op Live music venue in the NOMA area, along with a TBA debut by Soho House; but the most anticipated is Factory International in June, its name inspired by the city’s genre-breaking record label. Set on the site of Granada Studios, this primetime cultural space will help host the Manchester International Festival and carve out its own identity with Free Your Mind, a kinetic multi-media performance based on the Matrix films, and the largest ever immersive installation from Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, entitled You, Me and the Balloons. You can toast the polka-dotting artist with one of the tasting menus at MUSU, a theatrical new Japanese restaurant on Bridge Street from chef patron Michael Shaw, where dining booths transform at night into cocktail-club tables for floor shows. Rick Jordan
Getty ImagesWales
It’s been a few decades since actor Richard Burton famously described laverbread – seaweed, mixed with oats and fried in bacon fat – as the Welshman’s caviar, but a Welsh foodie renaissance has taken a while to arrive. That’s changing, as a new generation of chefs dig into their terroir and emerge with handfuls of truffles, scallops, and cheeses, from James Sommerin’s Home restaurant in Penarth to SY23 in seaside Aberystwyth, headed by Great British Menu finalist Nathan Davies. There’s also been the rise of hard-to-reach destination restaurants determinedly doing their own thing, such as Annwn in deepest Pembrokeshire, where Matt Powell forages most of his ingredients from the shoreline, and Gareth Ward’s Ynyshir in the Dyfi Valley, which was just awarded a second Michelin star; Ward’s empire will grow in 2023 with the opening of eight-cover Gwen – named after his mother – with sourdough pizzas on the menu. The new Paternoster Farm, meanwhile, set in a former Pembroke cowshed, is doing wondrous things with Porthilly oysters, Welsh Mountain lamb and sea beet – with its Five Mile Feasts gathering up all sorts of local treasures. And in Cardigan, the Albion Aberteifi – certainly the coolest hotel to arrive in Wales in years – is set to open its own restaurant on the river bank, with a Scandi-Japanese direction, along with a woodland onsen and spa. Wales seems to be a hub for the UK’s thriving outdoor sauna scene: Snowdonia-based Heartwood Saunas handcrafts them from sustainable cedar and spruce, and will launch a new forest project this December. In Carmarthenshire, the seven-mile stretch of Pendine Sands is enjoying a revival, with Caban hotel opening in spring alongside the Museum of Land Speed, which celebrates the many land-speed records made on the beach, including one by actor Idris Elba in a Bentley Continental GT. Reducing the speed a notch, new slow-travel route The Wild Drovers’ Way unfurls over 180 miles from the foothills of the Cambrians into the Brecon Beacons – a lovely way to appreciate some of Wales’ rural highlights. RJ
Getty ImagesBath, England
“Who can ever be tired of Bath?” wrote Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey, and over two centuries on, this phrase still rings true. The grand Regency facades, the gurgling River Avon and the intricate web of streets that lead toward the grandeur of the famed Royal Crescent, looking down over the honey-hued architecture, makes for an enchanting visit year-in, year-out. For 2023 though, Somerset’s biggest city – and the home of many Bridgerton filming locations – has filled its calling cards with new openings of particular note. Cleveland Pools, the UK’s only surviving Georgian lido and its oldest outdoor pool will re-open for the first time in four decades after a major refurb, flanked by meadows on one side and the original changing rooms on the other. 8 Holland Street, a gallery space and studio – which gets its name from its original sibling by the same name perched between Notting Hill and High Street Kensington – is taking its dedication to living among good design one step further in 2023 and launching a new three-bedroom luxury townhouse above its public space for staycationers who want to really immerse themselves in Bath’s culture scene. Elsewhere, various new restaurant openings, including The Beckford Canteen, headed up by former Fischer’s and Cora Pearl chef George Barson, will join a smorgasbord of much-loved eateries. Finally, offering visitors new opportunities to soak up the city’s heritage of wellness, a new festival of well-being will launch in the spa city too. ReBalance Bath (7 – 26 February 2023) will bring together venues, hotels, spa therapists and restaurants for three weeks of feel-good activities in February, from mindfulness and yoga to sound baths and foraging sessions. Anya Meyerowitz
Getty ImagesGlasgow, Scotland
Music in all its forms flows through and defines Glasgow as surely as the River Clyde itself. The Celtic Connections festival has grown to become an integral part not only of the city’s music scene but of the world’s music scene. In January 2023, the festival celebrates its 30th birthday. Look out, too, for talks, tie-ins and spin-off events at the same time, not least those at the splendid Kelvingrove Museum (such as Love of Print, which runs until 12 March and celebrates 50 years of Glasgow Print Studio). Later in the year, the UCI Cycling World Championships will take place. The largest cycling event in history, they say. Impressive as that may be, the fixture is a Johnny-come-lately compared to the Scotland v England football match in September at Hampden Park to mark the 150th anniversary of the world’s oldest international dispute over an inflated pigskin bladder. The Burrell Collection – one of the world’s greatest single-collector collections – reopened in 2022 after a very long, very expensive and, as it turned out, very successful refurbishment. The first temporary exhibition since the museum’s reopening, The Burrells’ Legacy: A Great Gift to Glasgow, will remain on show until 16 April. There’s been a lot of talk in recent times about Glasgow’s supercharged food-and-drink scene – Michelin stars seem to be shooting all over the place and AA rosettes popping up like, well, roses. The 2023 guide contains no fewer than 15 entries under a Glasgow heading, ranging from the immaculate (Cail Bruich, Unalome) to the merely irresistible (Rickshaw & Co, GaGa Kitchen). Where to stay? The Kimpton Blythswood Square is a perennial favourite, and its Scandi-inspired pop-up spa, Thaw, may very well see the hotel booked solid through the winter months. With any luck, the long-anticipated Virgin Hotel will open in early 2023 (if its sister property in Edinburgh is anything to go by, it should be great fun); as will the House of Gods which promises, by Zeus, to deliver a divine thunderbolt of louche, sleepless, neon-lit, velvet-upholstered decadence. Steve King
AlamyEastbourne, England
In the last few years, Eastbourne has brushed off its erstwhile sleepy image to emerge as the latest up-coming coastal hotspot to watch. And nothing signals the of-the-moment creative buzz here more than Towner Eastbourne, a major player on the local gallery scene. It will celebrate its centenary with Towner 100 – a year of exhibitions that includes a summer show dedicated to Barbara Hepworth and, from September, the Turner Prize (it’s the first time the contemporary art award has been held in Sussex, so is a big deal). In January, Scandi-style Port – which turned the idea of a classic seaside stay on its head when it opened in 2021 – is tapping into the trend for pop-up beach saunas by collaborating with Samphire Sauna, a wood-fired wellness experience in a converted horse box. For the full heat and cold-water therapy circuit, alternate sweating with quick dips in the sea), which can be followed up with brunch in the hotel restaurant. And, while regular visitors might be familiar with long-established events such as the annual Rothesay International Eastbourne tennis tournament (known as a warm-up for Wimbledon) and Airborne, a spectacular air show where the likes of the Red Arrows soar high above the seafront in a two-mile display, there are also newer, sillier additions to the calendar too – as witnessed in the increasingly popular Soapbox Race. The third iteration will see competitors once again create their own homemade soapbox racing karts and take on a downhill course navigating tight corners, ramps and hay bales around the town. Emma Love
Getty ImagesEdinburgh, Scotland
Known for being home to the biggest arts festival in the world, Edinburgh is naturally a performer’s paradise. But outside of the Fringe, the Scottish capital consistently lures in visitors for its famously picturesque streets, world-renowned historical hotspots and ever-expanding food and drink scene. Spoiling dining is easy to come by in the city, with three restaurants – Condita, The Kitchin and Martin Wishart – awarded Michelin stars in 2022. But newer openings like the laid-back Palmerston, delightful restaurant/wine bar Eleanore or wonderfully cavernous Newbarns Brewery Taproom all highlight the variety and quality on offer in all neighbourhoods. Elsewhere, Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Marketplace in the recently opened St James Quarter celebrates both Scottish produce and independent businesses, with everything from mouth-watering burgers courtesy of El Perro Negro to artisan gelato via Joelato. London’s iconic Duck & Waffle is also set to open its first Scottish restaurant in the building, while the 12-storey W Edinburgh hotel, with its striking façade crafted from a winding steel ‘ribbon’, is due imminently on the same premises.
In the heart of Edinburgh’s New Town, you can get a taste of Perthshire’s celebrated Gleneagles Hotel thanks to the new Gleneagles Townhouse. The hotel and members' club provides elegance and grandeur, with pastel-toned furnishings and modern touches offering added levels of comfort. In 2023, the Red Carnation group are also due to open their first Scottish hotel, 100 Princes Street, with respectful renovations of the original building enhanced by Alexander McQueen-inspired interiors. In the world of art, meanwhile, 2023 looks to be a significant year in the city as the revamp of the Scottish National Gallery will officially be complete, following years of construction work. The new suite of galleries are set to include large windows and views across Princes Street Gardens, with displays made up of art from the National Galleries of Scotland’s collections as well as loans from other leading arts institutions. Arusa Qureshi
AlamyKent, England
Kent has long been a holiday hot spot with its plump oysters, artistic communities and blazing Turner-esque sunsets. But the buzz around its seaside towns has now grown impressively loud, with a slew of brand new exciting openings catering for the increasing influx of curious visitors and new creative residents. As usual, Margate is leading the charge. Well worth a visit is atmospheric Parisian-style wine bar Sète run by the team behind Barletta, the lovely Turner Contemporary gallery restaurant – their garden is opening in spring 2023 and will be the go-to place come summer. But where to rest your head after one too many glasses of Beaujolais Nouveau? Until recently there’s been a distinct lack of smart places to stay if you want to turn a day trip into a cheeky weekender or longer. Luckily, there’s a new wave of food-focused hotels opening across the county. First came Fort Road Hotel, an elegant revival of a seafront institution with mid-mod rooms, a playful bistro headed up by an ex-River Cafe chef Daisy Cecil and a rooftop bar with views over the harbour arm. Following on, Guesthouse has snapped up another seafront stunner right on the main sands and will be opening No 42 in spring 2023 with a restaurant, spa and roof terrace. Alongside Margate, Deal has also secured must-visit status thanks to Nuno Mendes crafting the much-lauded menu at The Rose and the recent opening of Updown, an impeccably restored 17th-century farmhouse with rooms and a hyper-local farm restaurant just 15 minutes drive from the sea. For a more rural break, Boys Hall will open in a restored Jacobean manor house near Ashford. Perfect as a base to explore Kent or just to eat your way around the county at their restaurant celebrating seasonal Kentish produce. Sonya Barber
Getty ImagesInverness, Scotland
Think of the Scottish Highlands and the imagination grasps for craggy-faced mountains, empty moorlands, and roller-coasting glens, a landscape tailor-made for slow travel. But life here is moving at a fast pace and Inverness – and its surrounding matrix of lochs and wild lands – is gaining worldwide recognition for several thrilling reasons. There’s excitement around the spring opening of the world’s first rewilding centre west of Loch Ness in Glenmoriston, now home to more than 4,000 native animal and plant species on eco-charity Trees for Life’s reconquered Dundreggan Estate. That buzz is also translated farther north in Dornoch, where new thermal imaging safaris from Connell Outdoor Pursuits provide remarkable insights into the late-night lives of deer, badgers, and, most joyously of all, rarely-seen pine martens. In Inverness itself, along the river, at pink-sandstone Inverness Castle, an era-defining regeneration project that began in 2020 is transforming the fortress — until it reopens, the views from the ramparts unspool across the city to where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth. Perhaps, the greatest praise should be reserved for family-run Newhall Mains on the Black Isle peninsula – the 18th-century farm estate is now fully up to speed, with razzmatazz apartments, spoiling cottages, and its own private airfield half an hour from Inverness. Come mid-summer, expect a similar sort of resurrection in seaside Dornoch, where Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts is to revive Dornoch Station hotel, an altar for golfers on the doorstep of the long ascendant Royal Dornoch championship course and wildly popular North Coast 500. Mike Maceacheran
Getty ImagesLiverpool, England
Liverpool’s reputation for putting on a good show is set to be put to the test in 2023, with the Grand Final of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest taking place in the Liverpool Arena next to the River Mersey on Saturday 13 May. The city’s music scene was catapulted into the global spotlight when The Beatles reached international stardom in the 1960s, with music venues such as The Cavern Club playing host to acts including Gerry & the Pacemakers, Cilla Black and Queen. Today, live music remains at the centre of the city’s cultural heart, and brand new venues including BOXPARK – housed in the old Cains Brewery – and Johnny Cash-inspired dive bar Mean-Eyed Cat promise to add to Liverpool’s packed events calendar in 2023. Meanwhile, planning is well underway for Baltic Weekender 2023, a multi-genre, multi-venue festival in the Baltic Triangle, one of the city’s most artistic and up-and-coming neighbourhoods. Complementing Liverpool’s status as a cultural hub is the city’s huge array of leading food and drink venues, from the religiously-seasonal Manifest Restaurant to Gary Usher’s Wreckfish Bistro and the nearby Art School Restaurant – all of which have been named in the prestigious AA Restaurant Guide 2023. All eyes will be on Dale Street in the coming months as a new hotel nears completion following a two-year, £40-million heritage refurbishment of the historic Municipal Buildings. First built in 1868, the restored facade of the stunning grade II-listed Victorian building was recently unveiled after more than 12 months under wraps – a welcome (re)addition to the city’s thriving hospitality scene. Rachel Kevern
Getty ImagesYorkshire, England
Immortalised by Emily Brontë's fantasised vision of the Yorkshire Moors in Wuthering Heights, Yorkshire’s heritage is one of equi-rough and smooth. Rugged landscapes and a history of industry and tough materials mix with literature and an ever-evolving art scene that has churned out countless greats – from David Hockney and Barbara Hepworth to renowned sculptor Henry Moore – to create a heady, boundary-pushing mix of man-made and natural beauty. And the region has a foodie scene to match. In fact, the AA Restaurant Guide 2023 has marked North Yorkshire as only second to London in terms of its quantity of high-quality restaurants, meaning that memorable dining is only ever a few streets away here. From The Black Swan at Oldstead, a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms on the edge of the North York Moors belonging to celebrity chef Tommy Banks (who also owns Roots in York, also Michelin-starred, offering a seasonal farm-to-table tasting menu in an 1800s building) to The Hare Inn, a 12th-century inn nuzzled into the bosom of the North York Moors which won Restaurant with Rooms of the Year. Outside of the vibrant culinary scene, Yorkshire’s chocolate-box towns (think: Harrogate), magnificent Yorkshire Dales National Park (a rich tapestry of thousands of square miles of moors, valleys and undulating peaks) and vibrant culture scene weaves together enough of a draw on its own. Leeds, for example, has been named the City of Culture for 2023, and as such will host a year-long celebration of culture, with 12 signature events and a multitude of creative experiences peppered throughout the year – and the city – for locals and visitors alike to enjoy. AM
Getty ImagesMayfair, England
Including London in a list like this feels almost like cheating – in any given year, there are, of course, a handful of exciting new openings scattered across the UK's capital. 2023 is no different: smart London hotels are cropping up from a shiny new Six Senses to the long-awaited opening of Raffles at the Old War Offices. But it's splashy, sexy neighbourhood Mayfair that seems to have taken the crown as London's most exciting corner in 2023. The opening of Mandarin Oriental Hanover Square, a diminutive sister space to stalwart Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, will breathe new life into the area in spring. Michelin-tipped chef Akira Back will helm the restaurant here, and a slick spa will round out the property's wellness offering. Elsewhere, the UK's first-ever St Regis hotel will open around the corner on Berkeley Square (home of the famed members' club Annabel's). Taking over what was once The Westbury, the St Regis team are currently overseeing a £122 million makeover, which includes adding a jazz bar, a spa and, curiously, an extra floor. Mayfair has always been a hub for discerning food lovers, and 2023 will also see the opening some attention-grabbing restaurants. As well as flagship spots in both the Mandarin Oriental and St Regis, Claude Bosi (of Bibendum fame) will open Socca with Samyukta Nair, the woman behind Jamavar and Bombay Bustle, while Tom Sellers, chef-patron of Michelin-starred Restaurant Story, will open a second spot in Mayfair's Hotel 1. And those hungry for culture will be delighted by the Centre for British Photography, which will open in January in 8,000 square feet of space over three floors just off Piccadilly. Sarah James
Getty ImagesPeak District, England
It may have been the first area of the UK to be decreed a national park way back in 1951. But the Peak District has long played second fiddle to the Lakes and the Cotswolds when it comes to superior hotels amid the greatest natural splendour that this island can offer. No longer. The opening of Wildhive Callow Hall is an effortlessly cool re-think of what a trad country house can be in 2023. Treehouses in the Derbyshire estate’s bucolic woodland and a shepherds hut peeking coquettishly over the hillside provide a genuine sense of luxurious isolation (complete with kitchens and walk-in shower and wet room) but if you prefer being only a staircase away from the action then the main house delivers with its colossal beds, and flashes of contemporary art all curated by in-demand interior designer Isabella Worsley. A sustainably and locally sourced menu created by chef David Bucowicki; hits all the right notes in dishes like stalkers pie filled with venison and pease pudding and carver duck with pressed celeriac, Koffman cabbage and bramble. You’ll need to traverse the hills for a fair old while to walk all that hearty fayre off and perhaps Chatsworth House is a little far on foot at a solid 20 miles or so. But close to the most famed country house in Britain comes, in spring 2023, the second offering from the Bike and Boot concept, which shook up Scarborough’s staid hotel scene on opening last year with its funky colour scheme and pared-back style. The second location is around a 20-minute drive from Chatsworth and looks set to follow the Scarborough model in being a major draw to hikers and bikers who don’t want to rough it; with dog grooming facilities, bike storage and cleaning spaces and rooms bedecked in most un-hiker like hues and textures of orange, velvet and aubergine. Rob Crossan
AlamyHolywood, Northern Ireland
Pronounced the same as its Angeleno namesake, Holywood, has always been the place to live for Belfast’s well-heeled denizens with its Victorian mansions and views of the Lough. Despite being just five miles from the centre of the city, it feels like its own place and has recently been attracting a growing wave of returnees eager to avail of its small-town, seaside living with benefits. Holywood’s new energy can be found on its pleasing jumble of a High Street; browse at Chapters Bookstore, sip a wee glass of natural wine and order small plates involving ingredients like purple sprouting broccoli and fermented spelt at Frae or brunch at the plant-based Lynchpin, run by ex-Angelsea Arms chef, Joe McGowan, in a bar once run by his grandmother. Don’t let the friendly, neighbourhood feel deceive you – people travel for a table at Noble. The food is parochial in the best possible way using Northern Ireland’s finest ingredients – the rare breed, Moiled Irish beef and duck fat chips are, as the locals would say, pure class. Then there are cobweb-blowing-out walks along the 16-mile North Down Coastal Path that threads its way past sea, sand and big skies through Crawfordsburn Country Park calling at St. Helen’s Bay. Here, hardy swimmers can join the locals, who sometimes include Holywood-born actor, Jamie Dornan, braving the bone-chilling waters – on a clear day you can see Scotland. Aoife O'Riordan