Indoor activities
Find indoor activities for half term holidays, bank holiday weekends, seaside escapes and city breaks. Take your pick from indoor attractions and such as free museums and other indoor attractions such as aquariums and galleries, or if you’re feeling braver, there are climbing centres, underground caverns and cycle velodromes. You can tour television studios and explore living history heritage attractions, or even whet your whistle on a brewery tour. Whatever you fancy doing, England is packed with indoor activities and things to do on a rainy day.
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Get on board at the National Railway Museum
The world's largest railway museum is home to a staggering collection of restored locomotives, including the fastest steam engine of all time.
Location: York, North Yorkshire
Rainy Day Activities: Step back in time at York Castle Museum
Travel back in time on a rainy day at this trend-setting museum, which transports visitors back through 300 years of history.
Location: York, North Yorkshire
Blast off to the National Space Centre
From astronauts to rocket towers, satellites and meteorites, there is plenty of space to explore at this fun, family-friendly attraction.
Location: Leicester, Leicestershire
Rainy Day Activities: Explore history at Winchester’s Military Museums
Broaden your knowledge of the British Army and the various battles fought throughout history at Winchester’s six Military Museums.
Location: Winchester, Hampshire
Travel back in time at Milestones Museum
A trip to Milestones in Basingstoke brings the past to life. The museum is home to over 20,000 objects that were either made or used in Hampshire, and is a record of the county's social, industrial and transport history.
Location: Basingstoke, Hampshire
Rainy Day Activities: Visit the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
All the great civilizations of the world are represented in the Ashmolean Museum’s collections; escape the rain for a whole day, or pop in for five minutes for a quick browse.
Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire
Rainy Day Activities: Sunderland Museum
Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens is a great place for the whole family to spend the day – and it’s free.
Location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear
Go chocolate crazy at Cadbury World
A must-visit destination for chocoholics of all ages, Cadbury World in Bourneville near Birmingham is full of fun indoor activities and things to do when it rains.
Location: Birmingham, West Midlands
Rainy Day Activities: Discover tropical fish at SEA LIFE Brighton
Take a deep breath and see if you can walk through the world’s largest under-sea glass tunnel at SEA LIFE Brighton.
Location: Brighton & Hove, East Sussex
Rainy Day Activities: Explore Earth and space at Liverpool’s World Museum
Need ideas on things to do when it rains? Visit one of North West England’s oldest museums and get a hands-on look at our planet from the oceans to the stars.
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside
Rainy Day Activities: Climb the walls of St Werburgh’s Church
Test your strength as you climb up the walls of this 15th-century church on an indoor activity break in Bristol.
Location: Bristol
Rainy Day Activities: Step into history in the Churchill War Rooms
Delve underground into Churchill’s War Cabinet Rooms and uncover the secret location which housed the Prime Minister during WWII.
Location: Westminster, London
Rainy Day Activities: Discover Sheffield’s story at Kelham Island Museum
The ‘Steel City’s’ unique industrial story is brought to life through interactive galleries at this captivating indoor museum.
Location: Kelham Island, South Yorkshire
Rainy Day Activities: Explore the spectacular Science Museum
Known around the world for its historic collections and inspirational exhibitions, London's Science Museum is a treat for all the family.
Location: South Kensington, London
Rainy Day Activities: Get hands on at the Natural History Museum
See hundreds of exciting, interactive exhibits in one of London’s most beautiful landmark buildings.
Location: South Kensington, London
Step aboard a supersonic Concorde at Aerospace Bristol
Visit the true home of the Concorde at Aerospace Bristol, which tells the story of Bristol’s amazing aviation achievements.
Location: Bristol