Two days in Chester

[MerylSqueak]

A friend and I have a couple of days in Chester coming up. We're going to the obvious things like the walls and the Cathedral. Are there any less famous things we might also enjoy?

What sort of stuff do you like doing? Depending on your interests there are slots of interesting things to do in the area, though would help if you had a car. Also when are going - if there is racing on the town gets crazy.

I've a soft spot for taking a boat down the river. But if the weather is good, getting a bus to Chester zoo is always a wonderful day out.

Some sights/things to do in the city:
The Rows, Eastgate clock, Chester Castle, Cathedral, Grosvenor Park, a riverboat cruise, Ampitheatre and Roman gardens, Roman soldier tour, Grosvenor museum, Cheshire military museum, Sick to death, Chester market.

Outside Chester there's Cheshire Oaks outlet village, Chester Zoo, The Aquarium, Ice cream factory, Beeston Castle, Ness botanical gardens.

North Wales is readily accessible by train.

Walk the walls, have a meal or drinks at the Grosvenor, there’s a good cinema/theatre. Visit the cathedral and museums. The zoo is great too.

Thank you for those suggestions.

We like parks, history, books, craft, fashion. Is there any good places for tea or lunch?

We're going next week so the weather won't be good and we won't have a car.

There is a really lovely cafe on the walls called Huxleys

Try a food tour, Chester is a fab place for that
https://www.chesteronaplatetours.co.uk/

If you are interested in beauty - the Harrods beauty hall opened this week. I’ve not been in yet but amongst other things it’s meant to have the most instagrammable cafe in the UK - whatever that means!
There are lots of eating places - depends how much you want to pay really and the type of food you like. Coffee shops are plentiful - all the chains are there including Gail’s and there are independents on every street. Huxleys on the row by the Eastgate clock is very popular as is Zugers which gets very busy at lunchtimes. Both have websites.
Foodwise there is huge food hall in Chester market made up of lots of independents and Maray has just opened close to the market entrance which serves Middle Eastern sharing plates. If you fancy an Italian La Fattoria on Lower Bridge is a good option. I can also recommend the Chefs Table in Pepper Street if you are looking for something more akin to fine dining. The menu at lunchtime offers the best value - you can see what’s on offer on line.

There's a pub called The Albion by the city wall that is just like walking into a wartime pub. Like a living museum with great food and friendly service.

Craft - Glass Deva
History - Grosvenor Museum and walk the walls
Park - Grosvenor Park, walk the river/ take a cruise
Fashion - Clothes shops galore
Books - Aldous Books

Lunch - lots of options, market worth a visit
Tea - lots of options, Botanist worth a visit

https://www.storyhouse.com/. Edited to add another
new shop called H just opened and giving away lots of freebies, it is where Browns of Chester was so looks quite big https://www.harrods.com/en-gb/c/h-beauty/chester?srsltid=AfmBOopkqig8OyyC5J-QWoKvmJKlMJypBU6S1aCd0z4uDVpyF11pEXIh

There is a walking tour that sets off from the tourist office, by the town hall, at 10.30am every day (and 2pm in the summer) - £12 and very good for a potted history. As well as the Roman tours, depending what day you're there, there are Viking, medieval, Stuart, women, and Edwardian Lady history tours too.

If you happen to be visiting end of May/beginning of June, it's the Heritage Festival when there will be loads of activities on covering the history & heritage of Chester - https://www.chesterheritagefestival.co.uk/

Bookshops - second hand, we have Amblongus, Aldous, Bookingham Palace (featuring Vinyl Richie for records); new books, Books on the Walls & Waterstones, waiting for the new book shop & wine bar to open.

Rather than Gail's, Kookaburra is round the corner - tiny but amazing baking. It's really hard to choose somewhere to eat because there are so many good places - my favourite is Porta (tapas) but for casual, the market has seafood, Thai, Indian, vegan, cheese, pizza, pasta, burgers, sandwiches and a more traditional cafe to choose from. And the cheese board at Paysan wine bar is bloody amazing.

There are a few galleries on Watergate Street, and there's Pictura on Eastgate Row for creating something yourself.

Next week the Museum of the Moon is at the Cathedral my-moon.org/ and there are activities linked to it. There's also the Sick To Death Museum which is all about the history of illness and medicine which is entertaining. Have a fab time

If you like Italian book a table at La Fattoria.
Pars Kahve on the Watergate Street Rows is fabulous for breakfast.
The moon is an exhibit at the Cathedral at the moment and is beautiful, as is the whole place.

Chester is one of my favourite cities. Walk the walls, wander through the Roman Garden, take a boat up the river a choose your lottery win house, go to The Old Kings head and spot a ghost, wander around Harrods, people watch in the market, listen to a busker or two ....

See if you can spot this man - he's supported loads of big artists like Bowie and The Cure. He's a Chester legend (as is his wife.

We thought it a lovely little city with interesting streets. There was a museum called sick to death that was quirky and interesting.

This is fantastic! Just what I needed. I'm really looking forward to it now. Thank you all so much. I'm going to have great fun planning it.

Our favourite thing (aside from usual walls/cathedral) was going to the library/ cinema in the centre that has a cafe and lunch dishes. It was fab! We are bookish though.

I live in Chester. You can eat somewhere different for every meal for weeks! So many cafes and restaurants, we are really lucky.
We went to ‘prohibition’ cocktail bar last week which was fun - you have to go up some steps and knock on the door. And we really like vin santo if you fancy wine.
The hop on hop off bus is a good way to get your bearings

As others have said, Sick to Death is a lot of fun, and you can get a combined ticket for the Deva Roman Museum. It's a beautiful city just to wander around- walking the walls is recommended. We enjoy eating at the market hall. Chester Zoo is a great place to go but it's not in Chester- you might need to check public transport links if you're without a car.

Thank you. I really appreciate all the suggestions.

I absolutely agree that Chester is a lovely place to visit and, as we live in Cheshire, we probably go a couple of times a year at least. However, I have to disagree about Sick to Death. DH and I went last time we visited and thought it was a bit lame. Probably spent less than 30 minutes there. Might be better if you have kids with you. I think it is probably aimed more at the family market where toilet humour is still appealing.

But there are plenty of other attractions as PP have mentioned