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Northampton Cathedral
Attractions in Northampton

Seeing Northampton? Begin at Northampton Cathedral

Visitors to Northampton can choose from 8 museums, 2 castles and 2 theme parks. We list 9 places to visit inside Northampton’s built-up area and 9 within 5 km of its edge. For a longer trip, Bletchley Park lies 29 km away.

Photo: Northampton Cathedral, JohnArmagh (Public domain)
In Northampton
9
inside the built-up area
Within 5 km
9
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
8
in or near town
Castles & historic places
5
in or near town
Best known

Highlights of Northampton

After Northampton Cathedral come 4 museums and a castle.

CathedralNorthampton Cathedralin townCastleNorthampton Castlein townMuseumCentral Museumin townMuseum78 Derngate: The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Housein townMuseumAbington Park Museumin townMuseumMuseumMuseum of Leathercraftin town

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

Plotted on the map

Out at 12 km is The Canal Museum, the farthest.

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The dashed line is Northampton’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022

By kind

What you can see

Most are museums or galleries, 8 in all, ahead of castles or historic places (5).

Museums & galleries 8 museums5 in town · 3 nearby
Castles & historic places 2 castles · 2 historic houses · 1 cathedral2 in town · 3 nearby
Zoos, theme parks & days out 2 theme parks · 1 heritage railway · 1 wildlife park2 in town · 2 nearby
Other attractions 1 attraction0 in town · 1 nearby

Green: inside Northampton. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

Every place

All of them, one by one

9 in town lead, with 9 more within 5 km of its edge after them.

Althorp

Historic house · 3.4 km outside town, to the northwest

Stately home and estate in West Northamptonshire, England, UK.

About Althorp →

The 9 inside Northampton come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.

413 listed buildings and 5 scheduled monuments are on Northampton’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Northampton →

Big names nearby

Beyond Northampton

Bletchley Park, at 29 km, heads the 12 day trips.

MuseumBletchley Park29 km southHistoric houseHistoric houseWoburn Abbey35 km southeastCastleKimbolton Castle35 km eastMuseum · National TrustStowe House26 km southHistoric houseEaston Neston14 km southwestCastleLavendon Castle17 km southeastMuseumThe National Museum of Computing29 km southCastleBury Mount14 km southwestHistoric houseColworth House22 km eastHistoric houseBoughton House24 km northeastCastleRockingham Castle32 km northCastleAstwell Castle23 km southwest

Places well known beyond Northampton (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.

Good to know in Northampton

What are the main attractions in Northampton?

The best known inside Northampton’s built-up area are Northampton Cathedral, Northampton Castle, Central Museum and 78 Derngate: The Charles Rennie Mackintosh House. In all, 9 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 9 more within 5 km.

Does Northampton have a museum?

8 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Northampton: Central Museum, 78 Derngate: The Charles Rennie Mackintosh House, Abington Park Museum and Museum of Leathercraft.

Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Northampton?

None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Stowe House (National Trust), 26 km south.

What are the best-known days out near Northampton?

Within 40 km: Bletchley Park (29 km), Woburn Abbey (35 km), Kimbolton Castle (35 km), Stowe House (26 km).

Where are Northampton’s historic buildings listed?

Northampton has 413 listed buildings, 15 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.

How is this list made?

From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Northampton when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (21)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.