Make a date with Leicester new city guides

CURVE THEATRE

Make a date

with Leicester

ST MARTIN'S SQUARE

Plan your perfect escape in Leicester. Sarah Harrison, City Centre Director tells us about a collection of eight new guides to celebrate everything Leicester

With over 2,000 years of history and a bright future ahead, Leicester is a thriving city with everything from great art to great dining, world-class theatre to elite sport and experiences from as far away as the Indian subcontinent and even outer space.

Visit Leicester has released a new collection of eight city guides to showcase just some of the brilliant experiences in the city centre and neighbourhood areas.

Retail Guide

Leicester city centre and its surrounding neighbourhoods offer a great mix of high street giants and independent makers and creators, making it the shopping destination of choice for many people. Highcross and Haymarket shopping centres have over 140 high street and independent brands. Reflecting the city’s character, diversity and individualism are eclectic independent businesses clustered in the city centre’s Old Town area and neighbourhood communities.

Restaurant Guide

Japanese, Indian, Italian, Turkish, Vietnamese and so many more cuisines. The city’s diverse communities shine through in the vast range of dining options on offer. Beyond the city centre, Leicester’s neighbourhoods boast their own wonderful selection of independent eateries, each with their own story to tell. Some have been part of the neighbourhood for over 30 years and others are enjoying their first months of service, but each contributes to Leicester’s vibrant restaurant scene. This wonderful range of restaurants caters for all tastes and individual needs, from vegan fine dining and dry bars to halal menus and specialist diets.

Café Guide

Whether you’re catching up with friends, looking for a space to answer emails, having a leisurely lunch or celebrating with afternoon tea, cafés are synonymous with taking a break and savouring the moment. Leicester is home to an array of cafés across the city centre and neighbourhoods, ranging from atmospheric independent coffee shops to historic tearooms. You’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to healthy breakfasts, sociable brunch venues and finding a spot for a lingering lunch. Leicester’s late-night café scene is alive and kicking, with plenty of dessert parlours as a great option for those who want something sweet after dinner or an alcohol-free place to socialise after dark.

Leisure and Culture

From crazy golf to wine tasting to theatre trips and trampolining, the city is bursting with activities. Leicester sits against a wonderfully vibrant cultural backdrop and the city’s arts, music and festival offering is one of the best in the Midlands. With a selection of incredible museums, from household historic tales to leading the UK’s space research and exploration, there’s always something new to learn as you delve deeper into discovering what Leicester has to offer.

Beauty and Wellness

Leicester is home to some fantastically talented hairdressers, barbers, beauty therapists, tattoo artists and aestheticians. There’s a lot to be said for taking a bit of time out to look after yourself and sometimes a pampering session at your favourite salon is the perfect antidote to a busy week. You might have a specific skin, hair or body concern you want to address with a trained professional, or just want a moment of tranquillity to escape from the stresses of everyday life.

Pubs, Clubs and Bars

Discover new flavours at award-winning micro-pubs, sip something cool in the sunshine in a secluded beer garden or take a tour of a brewery to get a real taste of the city. Enjoy bars that can cater for all occasions, from your afterwork social and casual afternoon drinks to dates and celebrations. Whether you are chatting over G&Ts with colleagues, looking for showstopping cocktails, fine wines, chic champagne bars or sophisticated alcohol-free options — Leicester has got you covered. Dedicated party lovers have a choice of clubs, where they will find an eclectic mix of mainstream and alternative musical genres in venues ranging from intimate and atmospheric to clubs with multiple dance floors.

Hotels

Five new hotels have opened in the city centre since 2020 providing even more choice of where to stay. Whether you’re visiting the city with friends, catching up with family, attending an event or staying over for work, there’s accommodation to suit everyone’s needs. Aparthotels offer the perfect solution for families catching up with relatives, giving you a little more space to relax in (and for the kids to spread out in!). If you are planning a business meeting or conference, then Meet Leicester provides a free service to find the perfect venue. Find out more at visitleicester.info/meet.

Tourism Guide

The story of Leicester is an epic one and if walls could talk, our city’s historic buildings would tell some fascinating stories. Uncover the story of travel pioneer Thomas Cook and his elegant coffee houses; Richard III writing letters at Leicester Castle; Alice Hawkins and suffragette lockins; and the arrival of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show at the railway station. Stories of a Civil War bombardment of the

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Magazine in the 17th century, visits by William Morris and George Bernard Shaw to the Secular Society, and Ramsay MacDonald MP addressing crowds from the steps of the Corn Exchange.

We challenge you to look through these guides to find a new experience and then to tell us about it on social media.

Go to visitleicester.info/make-a-date-with-leicester to download the guides or pick them up from Visit Leicester Information Centre, 4a St Martins, Leicester LE1 5BD.

Grab hold of your diary… it’s time to make a date with Leicester.

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