Leicester Local Information: 10 top things to know... more

  • 1. History of Leicester

    The history of Leicester can be seen everywhere in the city with remains and buildings that still stand today. The Roman baths in the city of Leicester can be seen in the Jewry Wall Museum next to the historic Church of St Nicholas. Leicester Abbey was founded in 1143 and its remains can still be found in the city’s Abbey Park. The Great Hall of the Guildhall was built in 139...Read more0, and this is now a museum. Leicester's tree-lined New Walk, from today's Welford Place to Granville Road and Victoria Park, was built in 1785. In 1868 the Clocktower was built and this is still a landmark today. Leicester Cathedral began its life 900 years ago when the Normans began to build the original church. It was rebuilt and enlarged between the 13th and 15th centuries and became the Civic Church. The church was restored and rebuilt just over 100 years ago, when the 220ft spire was added. Read less

  • 2. Now in Leicester

    As well as many historical buildings, Leicester boasts many modern buildings such as the National Space Centre. Leicester is the largest city in the East Midlands and sits at the edge of the English National Forest. It is the 10th largest city in England and the 13th largest in the United Kingdom. The city is a major commercial and manufacturing centre. In the 1980s and 1990s m...Read moreany major improvements were made to the city and regeneration projects are still taking place. Read less

  • 3. Events in Leicester

    Among the annual events and festivals taking place in Leicester are the St George’s Festival, the Riverside Festival, the Summer Sundae Weekender, the Spark Art Festival and the Caribbean Carnival. Musical performances take place regularly in many of the city’s parks through Leicester City Council’s Bands on Parks scheme. The city centre’s Big Screen shows major nationa...Read morel events such as the Royal Wedding, as well as local news and information. Read less

  • 4. Attractions in Leicester

    The National Space Centre is a leading attraction full of displays and information about space, science and astronomy. The centre includes many interactive exhibits. There are plenty of museums to choose from in Leicester. The Jewry Wall Museum is the city’s museum of archaeology and includes the walls of Roman baths and many archaeological collections. There is also Newarke ...Read moreHouses Museum, The Great Hall of Leicester Castle, The Guildhall, The Magazine, The Abbey Pumping Station and Belgrave Hall Museum and Gardens. Read less

  • 5. Things To Do in Leicester

    The canals and waterways are popular among visitors. The Grand Union Canal runs through the city and many canal boats can be seen travelling along it. The Foxton Locks is a good spot in which to relax and watch the boats; there is also a museum at the site. There are many parks and open spaces to enjoy in and around the city centre. The list includes Abbey Park, Braunstone Park...Read more, Victoria Park, Castle Gardens and Spinney Hill Park. The Brocks Hill Country Park and Visitor Centre has woodland, a play area and an environment area to explore. Read less

  • 6. Business in Leicester

    The Haymarket and the Shires Centre are the two main shopping centres in the city and St Martin’s and the Leicester Lanes house many independent shops. Belgrave Road has shops and traders selling South Asian food, clothing and jewellery. Leicester’s famous covered market is amongst the largest in Europe and dates back 700 years. It has over 300 stalls daily, offering everyt...Read morehing from food to CDs. A third of the city's workers are in manufacturing - mostly in textiles and clothing, but also in electronics, food and drink, printing and plastics. Read less

  • 7. Transport in Leicester

    East Midlands Airport is in north-west Leicestershire and has flights to many European cities. There are also some long-haul flights from the airport and flights to UK cities. Leicester is close to the M1 motorway. The M69 motorway also starts near Leicester, and runs to the M6 motorway. Leicester has a Eurostar link, making it easy to travel by train to and from Europe. Leices...Read moreter Train Station has great rail links to the rest of the UK. Read less

  • 8. Entertainment in Leicester

    Curve is a theatre in the city centre featuring two state-of-the-art auditoria. De Montfort Hall offers a varied programme of events including jazz, ballet, comedy, opera, world music, West End musicals, a classical programme and family shows. Phoenix Square is a digital media centre which shows films and hosts exhibitions, performances, festivals, artist residencies, off-site ...Read moreprojects, workshops, education activities, seminars and conferences. Among the list of theatres are also The Little Theatre and the Sparkenhoe Ark Theatre. Among the venues to see live music are the Leicester O2 Academy and the Auditorium. Read less

  • 9. Famous Landmarks in Leicester

    Leicester Cathedral is open to the public seven days a week and has an interesting history to tell and some beautiful stained glass windows. The Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower is right in the heart of the city centre; it was built in 1868. The Guildhall, built in the 14th century, is a Grade I listed building. Over the years it has been used as a prison, a library, a school and...Read more a courtroom, among other things. It is now a museum. Read less

  • 10. Interesting Facts about Leicester

    Leicester man Thomas Cook began his tourism company in 1841 with one-day trips to Loughborough from Leicester. His idea eventually became an international travel company.

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  • Calling all green fingers

    Green fingers are needed to help keep parks in tip-top condition. Leicester City Council is searching for volunteers to look after the city’s parks, nature reserves and green spaces. People of all ages and abilities are being encouraged to take part in the project, which involves maintenance work, cleaning gardening jobs and improvement work. Jobs include planting bulbs, picking up litter, looking after trees and cleaning out ponds and streams. The volunteers will also be given a chance to train …

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  • Sporting champions awarded

    The spotlight shone on sporting champions during a glittering award ceremony. Snooker player Mark Selby was crowned Leicester Mercury Sportsman of the Year during the ceremony at the end of January. The player, who is also known as the Jester from Lester, was unable to appear at the event as he was playing in the Masters tournament in London, so it was accepted on his behalf by the evening’s host Willie Thorne. The title of Sportswoman of the Year went …

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  • Brave Malachy is back at school

    Brave six-year-old Malachy Pringle is back at school after having major brain surgery that doctors thought was not possible. The youngster was diagnosed with having an inoperable brain tumour last April but his family were not prepared to give up hope. His parents, Luke and Rebecca, were told the tumour was too big to remove safely, but they managed to find a surgeon in Liverpool to carry out the 10-hour surgery. Less than a year later, Malachy is back with …

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  • Top award for top dad

    Super dad Rob Greensmith has been named the UK’s most fantastic father. Rob, 28, of Sileby, received the national Mother and Baby Magazine award after being nominated by his wife Laura, 28. Laura put his name forward for the title after describing him as her “rock” through a difficult pregnancy, a cancer scare, a tough labour and post-natal depression. She said: “I had a tough pregnancy with my high blood pressure being monitored constantly but he was my rock, even …

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