The Lake District has many lakes and bodies of water that are popular with tourists. Windermere is the largest natural lake in England and has several tourist towns on its shores or nearby, including Windermere, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere. The city of Windermere has a railway station that connects directly to Manchester Airport and branches from the West Coast Main Line, so it is a popular destination for visitors. Other large lakes include Bassenthwaite Lake, which is surrounded by many square miles of fertile farmland thanks to the lake’s large drainage area, and Derwent Water, which lies near Borrowdale and another popular tourist home base, Keswick. Grasmere (which is the name of both a lake and its adjacent town), Ullswater (which Wordsworth immortalized in his poem, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud) and Conister Water are also popular with visitors to the Lake District.

Other attractions are scattered throughout the various villages. Alston is home to the South Tynedale Railway, which still operates steam and diesel cars. The town of Carlisle is home to a Gothic cathedral that dates from 1122 and houses some excellent specimens of medieval artwork and craftsmanship. Dove Cottage, now a museum, is located in Grasmere, where the famous poet Wordsworth spent many of his adult years. Several towns, including Ambleside, Ulverston and Kendal, have gardens dedicated to local flora and fauna.

Beatrix Potter fans should not miss the opportunity to visit Hill Top (National Trust) at Near Sawrey, Hawkeshead, where she wrote and illustrated many of her famous stories. For Arts & Crafts period style  and inspiration,  John Ruskin's house Brantwood (nr Coniston) and MH Baillie Scott designed Blackwell (nr Bowness) are open year round. The Pencil Museum in Keswick provides an insight into  graphite, which was first discovered on Seathwaite Fell in Borrowdale.