AIBU to make a weekend of Norwich in early December?

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What's Norwich like at Christmas? Thinking of taking the small person to ROARR for their birthday at beginning of December,and we're about 2hrs drive away, so wondered if we should make a weekend of it?

They will be 7, and they love a city break, have been to London, Cologne, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin etc and they love it....

We might go in on the train, might drive. Probably drive though.

Norwich is a lovely city, very walkable, lots of independent shops, cafes etc and lots of history.
If you drive there are plenty of places nearby of interest

We love Norfolk - coast, Broads, lovely towns & villages, great walks.

Lovely, anything in particular you'd recommend? :)

No don't went there for 3 days last year. Nothing there apart from the cathedral. The castle looks like a Victorian wear house. The shops were all closed, like in permanent and the "park and ride" bus stopped at every single stop on a grubby busy road into town...apart from that it was shit

Norwich is brilliant. I used to live there and now DO does (299 miles away so it’s a long distance thing) but I’m there a lot

Theres the castle, the amazing food market. gorgeous parks, really great live music and arts scene, great shops, canoeing down the river, a fun complex near the station with trampoline and bowling and chain restaurant s…there really is something for everyone plus the cathedrals and the lovely old building s

Shops were all closed? 😂 Where did you go? There’s a huge shopping centre with new places opening all the time. And the lanes are gorgeous. They might be closed on a Sunday due to them being independent shops.
They’ve done so much with the castle too. It’s definitely worth a visit.

The castle has been renovated recently and my children loved it.

Beautiful cathedral and the market is fabulous.

Loads for children to do and lovely pubs and shops.

If they like comic books/star wars/disney then definitely recommend Cosmic Joe's. We stayed for 2 days and went back 3 times as my 9 year old was in heaven

Elm Hill, the lanes, pop into the Maid’s Head (claims to be the oldest hotel in England, I know there are a few that do but it’s still lovely and always make a big effort for Christmas, heated courtyard for a hot chocolate will be very festive)

They’ve just reopened the castle it was closed for years, I’m told it’s well worth a visit now. Maybe a ghost tour- they do some great ones and you’ll get to know a lot of history.

Chapelfield gardens sometimes have a Christmas market.

it’s small, but it’s walkable, the pubs are fab, and it has a lot of character.

Norwich is quite nice. It can be very chilly on that North Sea coast at that time of year - so wrap up well!

Norwich is lovely, completely walkable and buzzing in the city at Christmas! In addition to what PP have recommended (lanes, elm hill, cathedral, castle) there are Santa Cruises on the Broads, ones I've been on go from Wroxham, and also the Bure Valley Railway steam train (if my memory serves me correctly!!)

Yes do, Norwich is a lovely city! Roarr is a lot of fun, very close by there is also the bug parc which is worth a visit if your DC likes creepy crawlies. There are also good Christmas light shows at Thursford and Sandringham (though those are a bit of a drive out, you’ll be about half way to thursford at Roarr). There are lovely themed afternoon teas at the Assembly House too which are fun but a little pricey.

Make sure you choose some food from the market too, they have some fab options these days!

Christ knows where we went then, because after the cathedral all we came across was rough looking streets, a shopping centre with no open stores and that was it

I'm from Norwich originally but sadly no longer live there. It's great, you can absolutely make a weekend of it and it's lovely at Christmas too. I always tell people who've never been, that it's like York but cooler and less busy. Plenty of accommodation in the city centre (a couple of premier inns, Maids Head hotel is very nice). If we can't stay with family when we go down, we like the Rosebery Pub (lovely victoria pub with rooms about a mile out of town). Norwich is full of lovely independent shops, some great cafes and pubs. As others have said, Norwich is full of history, well worth a visit to the castle and strangers hall, also walk around Elm Hill area. You can also drive out or get the train to coast (Cromer and Sheringham are close by and nice towns) and the Norfolk broads where you can hire boats for the day.
Transport wise, it depends where you are coming from, if you're northern and any further than Sheffield, I would drive as trains can be long and generally a bit of a PITA. Have a great time and enjoy the fine city!

I've taken my DD for a couple of weekends in Norwich. It's a lovely city. If they are into stem then you could book a session at https://stemex.uk/
Mine also likes https://www.cathousenorwich.org/ but I don't know if they allow as young as 7.

Hotels in Norwich are a nightmare. Overpriced and terrible. I swear hotel refurb is banned in Norwich, there is no other explanation for why they are so universally awful! Other than that it is lovely.

I’m really struggling to recognise the bad descriptions of Norwich! I studied there and have visited often since, it’s a lovely city.

Definitely. Ignore the poster moaning about the castle. The castle has had a massive revamp and reopened earlier this year, and is now very child-oriented in the best way.

The market is excellent for foodies and there are lots of quirky shops and cafes in the Lanes.

The dinosaur park is great fun for kids and I believe they have different themes at different times of year, so there may be a Christmas theme.

The cathedral is pretty spectacular, and I recommend visiting it, although DC might be bored. The whole area around the cathedral (Cathedral Close, Tombland, Elm Hill, Princes Street, Pulls Ferry) is very old with wonky Tudor buildings and intricate medieval stone gateways. It's good for those who like history.

Oh, you went too far down Magdelan street then towards the old Anglia Square. A quick look
on Google maps could have easily sorted you out, no need to condemn a beautiful city entirely 😂

So you decided for some reason to head away from the city centre and wander down Magdalen Street instead of going to any of the much nicer areas of the city? 😂 Then claiming that Norwich is a dump based on a single run-down street (which is probably the most run-down in the city)?

Norwich Castle is excellent for children. There is also the science place...I cant remember the name!

If you could change the timing, Norwich has a great family science festival every February half term with loads of events, both drop in and book able.

It's her birthday trip, so we can always go back again in Feb if we like it 😀

Make sure to visit Bread Source. There’s several in the city including one in the cathedral. Best vanilla doughnuts ever 😋

At Christmastime, they sometimes have an ice rink outside The Forum, which is near the market, if you & DC fancy ice skating. I’m not sure how you check whether it will be there this year or not.

Why are you asking. Do what you want