England

===Sites and institutions===
{{Further|List of museums in England}}
[[File:London Natural History Museum Panorama.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|alt=A museum building entrance.|The [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London]]

[[English Heritage]] is a governmental body with a broad remit of managing the historic sites, artefacts and environments of England. It is currently sponsored by the [[Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport|Department for Culture, Media and Sport]]. A non-governmental charity, the [[National Trust]] holds a complementary role, focussed on landscapes and [[English country house|country houses]]. 17 of the 25 United Kingdom UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s fall within England.<ref>{{cite web |author=UNESCO |author-link=UNESCO |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/gb |title=United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |website=World Heritage |publisher=whc.unesco.org |access-date=8 September 2009}}</ref> Some of the best-known of these are: [[Hadrian's Wall]], [[Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites]], the [[Tower of London]], the [[Jurassic Coast]], [[Saltaire]], [[Ironbridge Gorge]], [[Blenheim Palace]] and the [[Lake District]].<ref>{{cite web |title=English World Heritage Sites to get strongest ever protections |url=http://www.ihbc.org.uk/news/docs/English%20World%20Heritage%20Sites%20to%20get%20strongest%20ever%20protections%20CLG%20press%20notice%2027%20May%202008.pdf |publisher=Institute of Historic Building Conservation |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref>

London's [[British Museum]] holds more than seven million objects,<ref>{{cite web |title=Museum in London |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/museum_in_london.aspx |publisher=BritishMuseum.org |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> one of the largest and most comprehensive collections in the world,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=250 Years of the British Museum |url=http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1871956,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117100413/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1871956,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2009 |magazine=Time |access-date=17 September 2009 |date=15 January 2009}}</ref> illustrating and documenting global human culture from its beginnings to the present. The [[British Library]] in London is the [[national library]] and is one of the world's largest [[research libraries]], holding over 150&nbsp;million items in almost all known languages and formats, including around 25&nbsp;million books.<ref>{{cite web |title=British Library |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/80260/British-Library |access-date=5 September 2009 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bl.uk/about-us/our-story/facts-and-figures-of-the-british-library|title=Facts and figures of the British Library|website=The British Library|access-date=23 May 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731015517/https://www.bl.uk/about-us/our-story/facts-and-figures-of-the-british-library|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[National Gallery]] in [[Trafalgar Square]] houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.<ref>{{cite web |title=The National Gallery |url=http://www.artinfo.com/galleryguide/22865/9383/the-national-gallery-london/about/ |publisher=ArtInfo.com |access-date=5 September 2009}}</ref> The [[Tate]] galleries house the national collections of British and international modern art; they also host the [[Turner Prize]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2382373.stm |title=The art of Turner protests |last=Youngs |first=Ian |date=31 October 2002 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 August 2009}}</ref>

The [[Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport|Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]] has overall responsibility for cultural property and heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/secretary-of-state-for-digital-culture-media-and-sport|title=Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport - GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism – GOV.UK |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-under-secretary-of-state--81 |access-date=29 January 2020 |website=www.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> A [[blue plaque]], the oldest [[historical marker]] scheme in the world, is a permanent sign installed in a public place in England to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event. In 2011 there were around 1,600 museums in England.<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2011 |title=A review of research and literature on museums and libraries |url=http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/a_review_of_research.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904133747/http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/pdf/a_review_of_research.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2012 |access-date=24 February 2013 |publisher=Arts Council}}</ref> Entry to most museums and galleries is free.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 December 2011 |title=Ten years of free museums |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ten-years-of-free-museums |access-date=9 July 2020}}</ref> [[London]] is one of the world's most visited cities, regularly taking the top five most visited cities in [[Europe]]. It is considered a global centre of finance, art and culture.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 December 2019 |title=These Are the World's Most Popular City Destinations in 2019 |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-03/these-are-the-world-s-most-popular-city-destinations-in-2019 |access-date=3 December 2019}}; {{Cite web |title=Top 100 City Destinations: 2019 Edition |url=http://go.euromonitor.com/white-paper-travel-2019-100-cities.html |access-date=3 December 2019 |website=Euromonitor International}}</ref>