A weekend away, or rather, 24 hours and a few minutes. We could only spend a night out so we wanted a destination that was fairly easy to reach, not too big a place, and had some points of interest. We settled for Chester, historic town in the north west of England, about 2 hours by train from London

Chester has the most complete city walls, the oldest racecourse and the largest Roman Amphitheatre in Britain, plus a 1000 year old Cathedral with Europe’s finest example of medieval carvings (and a Lego version as well!), and it also has a wide choice of restaurants and a zoo. It felt like the right destination for our little group of explorers: myself, my best friend and my 8yo son.

So what to do and see in Chester in 24 hours? Here are 8 tips to make the most of your weekend in Chester.

Do a mystery self-guided tour

This is a very cool way of exploring a new place, while learning about the history and the heritage, discovering little known details and admiring the surroundings. In the past we have done the Mystery Guides which we love – this time we had a gift from a friend of a digital alternative, with a different provider from Get Your Guide. While it was entertaining and did get us around town (19,000 steps!), a hardcopy book with history and a mystery are much better. We saw loads of people walking around with a Mystery Guide and we sort of felt a touch jealous!

Still, we saw so much of the town, from the tranquil riverside and elegant victorian bridge to the medieval almshouses (the “tiny doors”, above photo) and the Roman amphitheatre.. yet we missed out on English Heritage’s Chester Castle and Agricola tower, with medieval frescoes and I am absolutely gutted for it.

Explore Chester Cathedral

If you read this blog regularly, you’d know I have a penchant for all things medieval, especially churches, and Chester had long been on my list of places to visit. The Cathedral is quite unique, in red stonework, and very imposing. Over 1000 years old, its history is fascinating and worth a read before visiting. There are many areas to explore, but be careful you don’t visit before a service or before an event (such as evening concerts). We were kicked out with different degrees of friendliness by the staff, and returned later to continue our visit. The cafe – inside the former refectory – is stunning and a great place to grab a coffee during a visit.

Enjoy one of the best pizzas in the UK

In Chester, you ask? Yes of course. Neapolitan Giacomo, after years working in London, wanted to set up his own business outside of the crowded capital and by chance, picked Chester. He’s now fully settled in the centre of it all, and his small but lovely pizzeria Stile Napoletano has recently placed as n13 pizzeria in Europe, up many places from last year. It’s very popular, you need to book quite in advance but it’s so worth it. We had creative pizzas (below my Ischia with courgette and pesto), and the little one had his own kids size margherita. Fantastic!

Pick up a real Italian gelato

With the same patriotic inspiration, a short walk from Stile Napoletano is another Italian outlet, Krum Gelato. We walked past and it did look pretty authentic, with loads of mouthwatering flavours on offer. We tried a few, from the white chocolate and cherry to vanilla and lemon, and pistachio. We definitely recommend it.

Walk the Rows

The one and only 700 year old Rows galleries “where shopping is a double delight” are truly unique to the UK, and maybe, the world. I had never seen anything like this, where there is an upper, covered walkway above the street level. It seems that in Victorian times, the rich would shop, sheltered from weather, in the upper levels, while the lower classes shopped the street level offering, come rain or shine and with their feet in the dirt of the roadside. Who knows. In any case these are really interesting and make for a quirky stroll… the shops include a variety of offices, fashion, toys, beauty brands, bars and so forth.

Visit Chester Market

An indoor food and craft shopping area, Chester Market really impressed me. Way more enjoyable than overcrowded Borough Market, much nicer and tidier than London’s now ubiquitous Market Halls, Chester Market has a bit of everything, from flower shops to coffee roasters, from traditional clotted cream to mexican tacos, but also some cool kids’ areas, creative water fountains (find the Tardis!) and the occasional entertainment.

Discover Chester’s Roman past

It’s everywhere, you just need to look and spot it. From the wild boar statue outside Chester Market, to the city walls, the Romans left traces in Chester’s history and topography. Don’t forget (like I did! did I mention it??) to check out the Agricola Tower with its frescoes, and the pretty Roman Gardens and of course, the amphitheatre. More on the Roman trail here

Enjoy specialty coffee and breakfast

We realised Chester has loads to offer in terms of artisan coffee and cool places to have breakfast. With only one morning available, we picked Jaunty Goat on Bridge Street. It opens early on a sunday and has a very pleasant, bright interior (nordic style) with friendly and efficient service and fab selection of bakes and cooked dishes too. The coffee and walnut cake I had was delicious, not too sweet at all and moist; the belgian waffles with berries and yogurt truly excellent. The coffee of very high standard and I’d love to return.

Other choices we had shortlisted to try: Bridge Street Cafe, 200 Degrees Coffee and Marmalade. We did enjoy a take away flat white at Bean & Cole’s Chester Market branch.

So much more to do…

Of course! We loved exploring the shops in Chester: apart from the regular chains, there are so many quirky, independent shops, from rare whiskies to cool second hand record and book stores, craft jewellers and role games, it’s fun to peruse the Rows or stumble upon some of these in the side streets, so ensure you do spend a bit of time browsing what Chester has to offer.

Outdoor pursuits

Of course, Chester is also famous for its zoo. With over 30,000 animals, Chester Zoo brings you face to face with roaring big cats, free-flying birds, colourful reptiles and so much more, across 128 acres of immersive habitats.

While the zoo is just outside the centre of town, within a few minutes from the Cross is Chester’s racecourse, the oldest horse racing ground still active in the world, dating back to the 16th Century.

Both these options require way more than 24h, and we did not check them out, so there is definitely another reason or two to come back!

Travel & stay

We traveled with Avanti West Coast and used their superfare which is a great value option if you can be flexible. To stay, we opted for Travelodge Central Bridge Street, which was extremely good value (£119 for 3, room only) and very well located, about 6m walk from the Cathedral area.

There are some stunning hotels in Chester for those who wish to treat themselves: The Coach House Inn, The New Blossom McDonald and the Indigo.

In conclusion

We had a fantastic 24 hours in Chester, and couldn’t recommend it more for a weekend getaway. There is enough to do to keep friends and families occupied, with great dining options and lots to see!