This is London’s most underrated landmark but tourists say ‘I looked at it and left’
This is London’s most underrated landmark but tourists say ‘I looked at it and left’
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While Buckingham Palace and the London Eye might get a lot of love from tourists, London has plenty of other attractions that fly under the radar. There’s the Barbican Conservatory, the Postal Museum or the Horniman Museum, to name just a few. But a new ranking lists the capital’s most underrated tourist attractions, and it’s likely to leave tourists and locals a little confused.
![[Long exposure view Thames barrier, a retractable barrier system designed to prevent the floodplain of most of Greater London, UK; Shutterstock ID 1888973803; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237549148-d2be.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
With fewer than 10,000 visitors each year, the Thames Barrier has claimed the top spot. For those not in the know, the Thames Barrier is a flood barrier that stops central London from flooding. With a decrease in footfall in recent years, it certainly seems it fits the brief of being underrated — but TripAdvisor reviews aren’t exactly glowing.
![[England, London, Greenwich, The Thames Barrier and River Thames at Night. (Photo by: Dukas/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237549171-7e60.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Reviewer Karma Eventyr gave it ‘poor marks for effort as an attraction’ while @Ahmet T branded his visit ‘anti-climatic’ saying: ‘I literally just looked at it and left.’. Meanwhile, visitor Steve Brown summed his experience up, writing: ‘No biggy really, just a barrier across the Thames, that’s all. Once you’ve seen it then that’s it. I suppose it does a fantastic job but very boring really.’.
![[A passer-by takes a photo as the Thames Barrier is closed for the 200th time since becoming operational in 1982, to help protect London from potential flooding due to a high tide as a result of low pressure and northerly winds coinciding with spring tides, in central London on October 21, 2021. (Photo by Tolga Akmen / AFP) (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237549175-e733.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
But don’t write it off just yet. The ranking by The Times, which also featured The Cinema Museum in Elephant and Castle, and Chelsea’s Psychic Garden was described as a ‘feat of engineering’. And, when Emperor Naruhito of Japan visited London last year, he said it was the thing he was most excited to see.
