pickyourtrail_logo

Things to Do in Chester (Cheshire, England)

Best things to do in Chester
Written by Nigilesh on October 24, 2024

Chester was founded in AD 70 on the edge of the Wales boundaries as Deva Victrix Roman castle. The city walls have wide ashlar block shades from Deva’s old walls. Let’s take a look at the best things to do in Chester. The Rows are visible on the Roman streets of Chester. They are ancient timber buildings with upscale galleries that can be found nowhere else in the world. Without citing the zoo, you can’t talk about Chester. It is one of the world’s best and also one of the very first human cages to be used. So get ready to explore it all with England travel packages from Pickyourtrail for assured hassle-free English vacation!

Top 10 things to do in Chester

  • The City Walls
  • Chester Zoo
  • Chester Rows
  • The Cathedral
  • The Groves
  • Eastgate and Eastgate Clock
  • Grosvenor Park
  • St John the Baptist’s Church
  • Grosvenor Museum
  • Roman Amphitheatre

1. The City Walls

When Chester was reconstructed in the 10th century, it was only the southeast defences that were changed to enter the Dee River. Taking a nice stroll along the walls would be one of the relaxing things to do in Chester.

The promenade leads through the historic landscape of Chester. Mount Morgan, on the north side of the river, was built as an observation post and weapons site. It is worth seeing the walls on the ground floor, where the oldest Roman ashlar blocks can be identified. Also, a spolia piece can be identified (a Roman stone used in Medieval times).

2. Chester Zoo

Chester Zoo
Source: Google Images

Chester Zoo is a giant and one of the finest zoos not only in the United Kingdom but in the world. More than 20,000 animals live on more than 125 acres. The founder, George Motterhead, planned to create a bar-free zoo. While you are on a vacation to the UK with your family, this is one of the ideal things to do in Chester.

Sumatran tigers, cassowaries, Visayan wary powders, Malayan tapirs, tentacular snakes, and several other species from the area are found in this region.

3. Chester Rows

Chester rows
Source: Google Images

The Rows are a collection of wood-framed galleries in the historical centre of Chester. You can find these along Watergate Lane, Northgate Lane, Eastgate Street, and Bridge Street. These covered sidewalks have no equivalent anywhere else in the world.

They are located above the street level, leading you past the third line of shops. The first reference to the Chester Rows dates back to 1293, after a city-wide fire two decades earlier.

4. Chester Cathedral

The Cathedral of Chester has residues from Norman Romanesque to Perpendicular Gothic of every old English style of architecture. The northern transept is the oldest component of the cathedral. Visiting this cathedral is one of the top things to do in Chester.

The chorus had been sculpted around 1380 because of the dramatic Gothic stalls. They have high pointed canopies adorned with small spires and hooks and 48 misericords with a variety of unusual characters. In fact, the Lady Chapel in the 13th century has a stone rib vault in the Early English Gothic style.

5. The Groves

The Groves is a charming promenade along the river on the north banks of the Dee from the west underneath the walls of the town at Lower Bridge Street to Grosvenor Park. Walking through the lime trees, antique Georgian homes, cafes, and the sight of the mansions of the Queen’s Park district would be magnificent. Also, a few meters east of the nice Edwardian bandstand is the Queen’s Park suspension bridge, one of the most photogenic locations. This is one of the charming things to do in Chester, so don’t forget to book your England tour package to witness such joy.

6. Eastgate and Eastgate Clock

The eastern door is the main entrance to the Roman fortress of Deva, the most famous monument of Chester. The architect John Douglas of Cheshire designed a magnificent clock, backed by open-world iron pylons flaked with gold, to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897.

Joyce of Whitchurch was to be wound by hand once a week until 1974. Additionally, the initials of Queen “VR” (Victoria Regina) are above the face of each side.

7. Grosvenor Park

Edward Kemp drafted Grosvenor Park, which is known to be one of the most excellent parks in the country since that year.Kemp’s plan incorporates structured lawns, flowerbeds, and walks, along with picturesque features such as a stone arch separated from the church of St. Michael. The architecture of the church is truly magnificent!

There is also a young people’s recreation zone, the lodge cafe, and one of Britain’s leading open-air theatres, with performances taking place from the beginning of July to the end of August.

8. St John the Baptist’s Church

St John the Baptist’s Church
Source: Google Images

This medieval church stands on a hill that overlooks the Dee River, beyond the eastern walls. The St. John the Baptist Church, made of sandstone, has Anglo-Saxon foundations and may have been set up in the seventh century. It was the 11th century that survived architecture when Bishop of Lichfield moved his Bishop’s See to Chester and became a cathedral for St. John.

During the Renaissance, this eastern part of the church was ripped down, and the remains can be visited outside. You can also see in a church the pieces that were supposedly standing in the churchyard of Saxon stone crosses.

9. Grosvenor Museum

The Grosvenor Museum has collected all kinds of captivating curiosities in the last 130 years in a Renaissance-designed building from 1886. Within the exhibition, you can find the largest selection of works by the English aquarist Louise Rayner and a group of six woodwind instrument designers, Peter Bressan.

In addition, the museum has useful galleries documenting the region’s natural history, including reconstructions of period homes over the years, including their original decoration, furnishings, and drawings, including kitchen utensils. The list of best things to do in Chester won’t be complete without the Grosvenor Museum.

10. Roman Amphitheatre

The Roman Amphitheater was built in the late 70s. Also, It was unexplored in nearly 1700 years as a historic site and a Grade I structure. On location were two separate amphitheatres, the first date from the third century, with a capacity for at least 8,000 spectators.

The issue was that the mentioned structures on all but the north side of this ancient monument were built during the interim of the year. So it has just managed to recover the northern quarter.

There is a grassy bank, where a curved holding wall that borders the box used to be sitting. In fact, a London-based artist Gary Drostle painted a Trompe-l’oeil wall in 2010, to give an impression of how the remainder of the house felt.

By now you would have had a fair idea of what to expect from Chester on your next vacation to the United Kingdom. Get in touch with our travel experts to craft your vacation according to your needs. Pickyourtrail offers amazing England honeymoon packages along with a variety of others, like family, luxury, or solo packages, for a seamless experience!

Related Posts

Get in touchWe’ll start with some questions and get you to the right place.
Dwaraka
Sumeet
Sunil
10000+ itineraries curated and counting
Dwaraka
Sumeet
Sunil
10000+ itineraries curated and counting
Build Your Itinerary YourselfCustomise and build your own itinerary
We think you are in .
Update your location?