Norwich

Norwich sits in a broad river bowl where the Wensum loops around a hill crowned by two great medieval survivors: the flint-and-stone bulk of Norwich Cathedral, its spire the second tallest in England, and the chalky keep of Norwich Castle, staring down at a jumble of red pantiled roofs. The city earned its old nickname of the "Fine City" for the sheer density of what it kept - more than thirty medieval parish churches still stand within the line of the vanished city walls, more than in any other city north of the Alps, and the medieval street pattern of lanes, courts and yards has survived largely intact.

That inheritance now sits alongside a lively, workaday city of independent shops, a university with a strong reputation for the arts and creative writing, and a covered market that has traded on the same spot since the twelfth century. Norwich was named the UK's first UNESCO City of Literature, a nod to a long line of writers connected with the city from Julian of Norwich onwards, and it wears its history lightly rather than as a museum piece - Elm Hill's cobbles and timber-framed shopfronts sit a few streets from chain stores and student bars.

Norwich is also the natural gateway to the Norfolk Broads, the network of navigable rivers and shallow lakes that begins just beyond the ring road, and to the beaches and crab boats of the north Norfolk coast beyond that. The city itself is compact and almost entirely walkable, with the cathedral, castle, market and riverside all within about fifteen minutes of each other on foot, which makes it an easy base for a short break as well as a stop on a longer Norfolk tour.

Top things to do in Norwich

Norwich rewards slow exploration on foot, but a handful of sights anchor any visit.

• Norwich Cathedral - a largely unaltered Norman building begun in 1096, with the second-highest spire and one of the largest collections of medieval roof bosses in the country, set around a tranquil close.
• Norwich Castle - a Norman keep refaced in Victorian times, now housing a museum and art gallery with an important collection of Norwich School landscape paintings and displays on the castle's former life as a prison.
• Elm Hill - a single cobbled street of Tudor merchants' houses that survived a 1507 fire and later slum clearance, widely reckoned the best-preserved medieval street in England.
• Norwich Market - one of the largest and oldest open-air markets in the country, its striped stall roofs covering everything from Norfolk produce to street food and second-hand books.
• Dragon Hall - a rare surviving medieval merchant's trading hall on King Street, with an exposed timber roof and a small exhibition on the city's medieval cloth trade.
• The Norwich Lanes - a warren of narrow streets between the market and St Benedict's Street, now filled with independent cafes, vintage shops and small galleries.
• Plantation Garden - a Victorian gothic garden tucked behind a busy road, with a flint fountain, terraces and a rustic bridge, restored by volunteers and easy to miss.
• The Broads and Norfolk coast - Wroxham and Hoveton, the unofficial "capital of the Broads", are a short drive or train ride away, with the beaches at Cromer and Sheringham a little further beyond.

Getting to Norwich

Norwich has direct trains from London Liverpool Street, run by Greater Anglia, taking around one hour fifty minutes on the fastest services; some trains call at Ipswich or Diss along the way. There are also direct services from Cambridge (around an hour) and Peterborough, useful for connections from the Midlands and the north. Norwich International Airport, just north of the city, has a limited schedule of UK and European routes and is linked to the centre by bus and taxi.

By road, Norwich is reached via the A11 from Cambridge and the M11/M25, or the A47 from Peterborough and the Midlands; both feed into the city's ring road, from which the centre is signposted. There is no need to drive into the historic core itself - a series of Park and Ride sites on the main approach roads offer cheap parking with a frequent bus link into the centre, and are generally the easiest option for a day visit. Central multi-storey car parks exist but fill up and cost more, especially on market days and match days.

Best time to visit Norwich

Spring brings daffodils and blossom to the cathedral close and Plantation Garden, and the city is at its quietest before the main summer crowds, making it a good time for gallery visits and long walks along the Wensum. Summer is the busiest season, with outdoor events, longer opening hours at the market stalls, and the Broads at their best for boating, though the city itself never feels as crowded as the coast in high season. Autumn suits a visit built around food and culture, with the Norfolk Show season over and the Norwich Bonfire and food-festival calendar picking up through October and November. Winter is atmospheric rather than busy - the Cathedral and Castle both look their best under low light, the Christmas market takes over the marketplace, and hotel rates tend to be at their lowest outside the festive weeks themselves.

Where to stay in Norwich

The Cathedral Quarter and Tombland, around the cathedral and the Maids Head Hotel, suit visitors who want to be within the historic core, close to Elm Hill and the river, with a quieter, more genteel feel after the shops close. The Golden Triangle, a leafy residential area southwest of the centre popular with university staff and students, has a good choice of guest houses and B&Bs in Victorian terraces, a short walk or bus ride from the centre. The area around the Riverside and Prince of Wales Road, near the railway station, suits those who want chain hotels, restaurants and nightlife on the doorstep, and is the natural base for anyone arriving by train. For a quieter break, or a trip that combines the city with the Broads, the villages and small towns just outside Norwich - Hethersett, Wroxham and Aylsham among them - offer country house hotels and touring parks with easy access back into the centre by car.

Food and drink in Norwich

Norwich's food identity still leans on Colman's, the mustard maker founded in the city in 1814; the old Colman's shop and mustard museum on the Royal Arcade, though it has changed over the years, remains a point of reference for the brand's long local history. Norfolk's agricultural hinterland shows up strongly on menus around the city, from Cromer crab and coastal seafood to game, asparagus and soft fruit in season, much of it sold directly at Norwich Market's food stalls alongside longer-established butchers, cheesemongers and bakers. The Assembly House, an eighteenth-century assembly rooms building near the theatre, is well known locally for afternoon tea and a more formal dining room in period surroundings. Established local restaurants such as Roger Hickman's have built a reputation for modern British cooking using Norfolk produce, while Grosvenor Fish Bar, a long-running chip shop in the Norwich Lanes, is often cited as one of the best in the country. Norwich also has a strong real-ale pub scene, anchored by the Fat Cat on Woodcock Road and a clutch of small breweries and taprooms across the city, alongside a growing number of independent coffee roasters and cafes concentrated around the Lanes and St Benedict's Street.