Nottingham

Nottingham grew up around a sandstone bluff above the River Trent, and that geography still shapes the city today: a warren of caves beneath the streets, a castle rock at its heart, and a compact centre that rewards walking rather than driving. It is a city that trades heavily on legend, Robin Hood's outline appears on everything from pub signs to football shirts, but the real story is one of industry and reinvention. Lace, coal, bicycles, pharmaceuticals and cigarettes each had their turn making Nottingham rich, and the money left behind a run of handsome Victorian and Georgian buildings, most visibly in the Lace Market, where former warehouses and factories have become bars, apartments and creative studios.

What makes Nottingham an easy weekend break is its scale. The castle, the Old Market Square, the Lace Market and the main shopping streets all sit within about fifteen minutes' walk of one another, so visitors rarely need transport once they arrive. Two large universities keep the population young and the nightlife busy, while a strong independent retail and hospitality scene, in Hockley and the Lace Market especially, sits alongside the big chain stores in the centre. It is also a genuinely green city close up: the Arboretum and the Forest Recreation Ground offer open space minutes from the shops, and Wollaton Park's deer herd and Elizabethan hall lie a short bus ride from the centre.

Nottingham rewards visitors who come with an evening or two spare rather than racing between sights. The caves alone, hundreds of them carved into the sandstone over centuries, take an afternoon to appreciate properly, and the best of the city's food and drink is found by wandering rather than ticking off a list.

Top things to do in Nottingham

The city centre and its immediate surroundings hold enough to fill several days without needing a car.

• Nottingham Castle occupies the sandstone rock above the city and now houses a museum covering the Robin Hood legend, the city's rebel history and its lace and industrial past, alongside grounds with wide views over the rooftops.
• City of Caves, entered through the Broadmarsh shopping centre, is a network of man-made sandstone caverns used over the centuries as tanneries, air-raid shelters and slum dwellings, and gives the clearest sense of the hidden city beneath the streets.
• Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, built into the rock beneath the castle, is regularly cited as one of England's oldest pubs and is worth a visit for its cave-cut back rooms as much as its beer.
• The Lace Market rewards an unhurried walk past former Victorian warehouses, the restored Adams Building and St Mary's Church, now filled with independent shops, galleries and bars rather than lace merchants.
• National Justice Museum, housed in a former courthouse and gaol, lets visitors sit in the dock and walk the old cells while tracing the history of crime and punishment.
• Wollaton Hall and Deer Park, a few miles west of the centre, combines an Elizabethan prodigy house, a natural history museum and 500 acres of parkland grazed by red and fallow deer.
• National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont offers rowing, canoeing, white-water rafting and open riverside walking beside the Trent on the eastern edge of the city.
• Nottingham Contemporary, one of the largest contemporary art galleries outside London, sits on the edge of the Lace Market and shows free exhibitions year-round.

Getting to Nottingham

Nottingham railway station sits right on the edge of the Lace Market, a genuine walk-in city centre station rather than one requiring a taxi or tram. Direct services from London St Pancras run roughly hourly and take around one hour fifty minutes with East Midlands Railway, making Nottingham a realistic day trip as well as a weekend break from the capital. There are also direct trains from Sheffield, Leicester and Birmingham, and connections through Derby for services further afield. The city's tram network, NET, links the station to the centre and out to the Queen's Medical Centre and Phoenix Park, and buses cover the wider suburbs well. By road, Nottingham sits just off the M1 at junctions 24, 25 and 26, with the A52 and A453 feeding in from Derby and Leicester respectively; the ring road makes crossing the city by car straightforward, though the centre itself is largely pedestrianised and best avoided by drivers. Several multi-storey car parks ring the centre, with park-and-ride sites on the tram lines a cheaper option for a full day. East Midlands Airport, serving a range of UK and European routes, is around 20 minutes from the city by car or the Skylink bus.

Best time to visit Nottingham

Spring brings the Arboretum and Wollaton Park into bloom and is a comfortable season for walking the centre without the crowds of summer. Summer is Nottingham's busiest period, with beer gardens along the canal and the Lace Market filling in the evenings, and the Nottingham Riverside Festival and outdoor events at Wollaton Park drawing visitors through July and August. Autumn suits the city particularly well: the Goose Fair, one of Europe's oldest travelling fairs, takes over the Forest Recreation Ground in early October, and the parks turn a deep colour that flatters the sandstone buildings. Winter sees the Old Market Square filled with an ice rink and Christmas market from mid-November, and the city's indoor attractions, the castle, caves and museums, come into their own when the weather turns, making a winter city break a realistic option even outside the festive season.

Where to stay in Nottingham

The Lace Market and the streets immediately around the castle put visitors within walking distance of almost everything and suit anyone prioritising an evening out or an early start at the museums. The Old Market Square and the main shopping streets are the obvious base for a straightforward city-break stay, close to the tram, station and the bulk of the restaurants. West Bridgford, just across the Trent Bridge and home to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and the City Ground, offers a quieter, more residential base with its own strip of independent cafes and restaurants, popular on match days and with families. Those arriving by car and wanting easy access to the M1 and the Nottingham Belfry or the Park Plaza's parking often look slightly further out, towards the ring road, where prices ease without losing a quick tram or bus link into the centre.

Food and drink in Nottingham

Nottingham's food scene has grown well beyond its historic reputation for Stilton, made just over the county border, and the Bramley apple, which originated from a tree still standing in Southwell. Hockley and the Lace Market hold the highest concentration of independent restaurants and bars, from long-standing curry houses to newer small-plates openings, while the Cornerhouse and the Old Market Square area cover the bigger chain restaurants and late bars. Sneinton Market, redeveloped around independent studios and food stalls, is worth a visit for weekend street food and the Nottingham Vegan Market held there periodically. The city's pub heritage runs deep: alongside Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, the Malt Cross on St James's Street occupies a restored Victorian music hall, and a cluster of real ale pubs around the Lace Market keep the city's brewing tradition, once dominated by the Shipstone's and Home breweries, alive through smaller modern producers. Victoria Centre Market and the Flying Horse Walk arcade add further options for a slower browse between meals.