Browse visitor attractions in Essex — days out, family attractions, museums and things to see, each with a link through to the attraction's own website for opening times, prices and booking.
Why not extend your visit to Essex by booking accommodation . Find links to websites offering a variety of properties including hotels, holiday parks, cottages, lodges and campsites. · 0843 289 3 589
Nr Brentwood CM15 0LA · Adult from £7.00
Essex's leading multi activity hub
Colchester
The largest Norman keep in Europe, built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, now a museum of Roman and local history.
Visit websiteStanway, near Colchester
A long-established zoological garden, open since 1963, with a large collection of animals including big cats, primates and giraffes.
Visit websiteCastle Hedingham
An exceptionally well-preserved 12th-century Norman keep, still owned by descendants of the original builders.
Visit websiteNear Saffron Walden
A vast early-17th-century Jacobean mansion with "Capability" Brown landscaped grounds, once rivalling a royal palace.
Visit websiteLayer Marney, near Colchester
England's tallest Tudor gatehouse, an unfinished early-16th-century show tower with gardens and estate.
Visit websiteStansted Mountfitchet
A reconstructed Norman motte-and-bailey castle and Domesday village on its original 1066 site.
Visit websiteRettendon, near Chelmsford
One of the Royal Horticultural Society's five flagship gardens, a large dry-garden landscape on a hilltop site.
Visit websiteElmstead Market, near Colchester
An internationally influential ecological garden built on "right plant, right place" principles, plus nursery and tearoom.
Visit websiteFingringhoe, near Colchester
Essex Wildlife Trust's very first nature reserve, established 1961, overlooking the Colne Estuary.
Visit websiteLayer-de-la-Haye, near Colchester
A wetland reserve of international importance around a major reservoir, hosting tens of thousands of wintering wildfowl.
Visit websiteChipping Ongar / North Weald / Epping
A preserved heritage steam and diesel railway running on the former Central Line branch between Epping and Ongar.
Visit websiteSouthend-on-Sea
A seafront theme park billed as the UK's largest free-admission fun park.
Visit websiteSouth Woodham Ferrers
A family attraction combining farm-animal encounters with adventure play, rides and a dinosaur-themed zone.
Visit websiteSouthend-on-Sea
The world's longest pleasure pier at 1.33 miles, with its own pier railway.
Visit websiteClacton-on-Sea
A traditional seaside pleasure pier with rides, arcades and an aquarium.
Visit websiteEast Mersea, Mersea Island
A coastal country park on Mersea Island where the Colne and Blackwater estuaries meet, important for overwintering birds.
Visit websiteHadleigh, near Southend-on-Sea
A ruined 13th-century royal castle on a hilltop with panoramic views over the Thames Estuary.
Visit website