I know what you’re thinking: a weekend in Leicester? And you wouldn’t be alone. Even the locals thought it was a bit odd. But I’m in this underrated city in Britain for two good reasons, and while I’m here I find a whole lot more to make me want to stay.
Weekend in Leicester
My weekend trip has come about because my boyfriend wants to explore the city’s connections to one of its most famous sons: Arts and Crafts architect and designer Ernest Gimson.
It’s also happening because I’ve been a bit obsessed with Richard III since reading Shakespeare’s play of the same name in high school.
When the king’s remains—which had been missing for over 500 years—were suddenly discovered under a parking lot in Leicester in 2012, I made a mental note to visit someday.
How to Get to Leicester
So now we’re off on our weekend in Leicester. In just over an hour on the train, we get from London to Leicester and start exploring.
Where to Stay in Leicester
First we check into our hotel in Leicester. St Martins Lodge is a housed in a beautifully renovated Grade II-listed building right in the heart of the city.
Our room is stylish and has views of Leicester Cathedral and its gardens. But as much as we’d love to luxuriate in it, we have sightseeing to do.
Things to Do in Leicester
There’s a lot more to explore than I imagined, too. I had worried that there wouldn’t be enough things to do in Leicester to keep us busy for two days, but we end up having the opposite problem.
Richard III in Leicester
We start with Richard III. A visitor center dedicated to the controversial king opened in 2014 on the site of the medieval Greyfriars Friary Church where the Plantagenet monarch was originally buried.
It leads us through the story of his final days in 1485 and the rediscovery of his remains. At the end it takes us to the very spot where his bones were found. Goosebumps.
Leicester Historic Sites
Across the square outside lies Leicester Cathedral, where Richard III is now buried. We go in to see his tomb and discover that it’s only one of the amazing works of art housed within the walls.
There’s more outside, too. Behind the cathedral is the lovely 14th-century Guildhall. Its half-timbered facade is straight out of a storybook.
Down the street is a set of full-blown Roman ruins. I’m a huge sucker for Roman history, and seeing the Jewry Wall, one of the tallest surviving pieces of Roman masonry in Britain, is pretty amazing.
That’s to say nothing of Saint Nicholas Church next door, which exhibits a fascinating mix of architectural styles dating back centuries.
Leicester Architecture
But we’re not just here to look at medieval and Roman Leicester. There’s a lot to the city from more recent times.
One of the things that delights us about Leicester is that seemingly every street has gorgeous Victorian and Edwardian buildings above the often bland shopfronts.
It’s easy to miss them if we don’t look up, but when we lift our eyes, it’s like magic.
We absorb everything from the Thomas Cook Building—it was erected to honor the travel entrepreneur—to the Turkey Cafe—it amuses us with its Art Nouveau nod to the Thanksgiving bird.
We’re awed by how much beauty there is here, and glad we have a weekend in Leicester to take it all in.
New Walk in Leicester
Still looking up, we make our way through the city center to the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on New Walk. The museum is under renovation, but it usually has an impressive Arts and Crafts collection on display.
We see an exhibition and the exhibits that are still open, then go out to explore one of my favorite places in the city: New Walk.
Established in 1785, this long pedestrianized stretch transports us back in time. Lined by historic buildings on both sides, it’s a lovely place to soak up Leicester’s past.
Stoneywell House
Another lovely place is 15 minutes outside the city. Stoneywell house was designed by Ernest Gimson for his brother at the end of the 19th century.
A stunning example of an Arts and Crafts house in the UK, it’s now a museum run by the National Trust.
We take a tour of Stoneywell, absorbing the intimate interior and exploring the wild garden landscape outside. It’s the perfect counterbalance to the city, and a great way to end our weekend in Leicester.
Leicester Trip
As we travel back into town to catch our train to London, we can hardly believe how much we’ve found to love in our weekend in Leicester.
In fact, we’ve enjoyed it so much that we can’t help going for a last glimpse of some of our favorite streets and buildings before we leave.
Once en route to the capital, it doesn’t take us long to start planning our next trip to Leicester. When the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery is fully open again we’re going to head back and take in the collections and a lot more of the city.
When we do, we’ll know to leave ourselves plenty of extra time to explore.
Have you been? How would you spend a weekend in Leicester?
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36 Comments on Lady’s Guide to a Weekend in Leicester
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I’m from Leicester and it makes me so happy that you enjoyed my hometown! I was obsessed with Jewry wall museum and the guildhall as a child haha.
If you come back Abbey Park is a lovely place to go for a walk and it has the old ruins of the abbey King Henry the 8th used to visit and where Cardinal Wolsey died and is buried. Also, out of the city and into the countryside there’s bradgate park which is lovely and has more ruins, rivers and deer just walk around freely.
Emily x
Thanks, Emily! Those sound like great places. I will make a note for my next visit. I’m so amazed by Leicester’s history!
Thanks for the tip about ticketclever – I’ll try it next time i need a train!
You’re welcome! I hope you find it helpful.
so many beautiful buildings!
Yeah!
One of the many cities in the UK that is so overlooked! If you have time to explore the countryside he to Rutland water as it is beautiful!
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ve heard great things about it.
I love the fact that Richard’s casket was made by his descendant, a woodworker in Canada who had no idea he was related until the people searching for descendants to match DNA found him. And I’ve also heard Bradgate Park is a marvelous and magical place. It once belonged to the Grey family (as in Lady Jane and Elizabeth Woodville’s first husband before she married Richard’s brother Edward IV). Not missing that once I make it to Leicester, hopefully summer next year.
Nice! Sounds like a great place.
There is also the National Space Centre and the Great Central Railway
Thanks!
There is also the abbey pumping station museum which houses some interesting facts and exhibits! And depending how you have travelled to leicester – bosworth battlefield in market bosworth!
Thanks, Rachael! I will put those on the list for next time.
I am from leicester and all the comments are true … vista brad gate park on the outskirts of the city, a lovely place to walk … vista the house (part ruins) of lady Jane grey … Queen of 9 days! The ruins also see ‘deadly night shade’ growing freely in the ruins. Newtown lindford is full of picture book cottages and lovely pub for lunch or dinner …. if you come by car, go to Foxton locks for a beutiful canal walk, market Harborough, has an historic medieval market building and great for lunches and shopping … Uppingham has great walks, old cafes, fabulous old public school …. venture out to bosworth and walk around the battle of bosworth fields and museum … bring your dog’s or come by motorbike … great roads to ride, Donnington park on the doorstep, great bikers pub ( man within compass in whitwick) also does weekend out door music events in the summer , an active monetary on the doorstep with visitor centre, cafe and tours … leicester is lovely and I only scratched the surface x
Wow, sounds like there’s a lot more to see around Leicester than I ever imagined! Thanks for sharing your tips.
It’s good to know there’s more to see than just Richard’s tomb, if I go all the way there! I’m a bit disappointed with the stark looking cut cross in stone, but would love to visit anyway… Did you get to see the 3d printed bones? I read they made a rendition of his skeleton so they could rebury him. If you’re interested in Richard III, I highly suggest reading The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Penman! It’s a really good book, and sympathetic to Richard, rather than making him evil as Shakespeare did. (Though Shakespeare was working under the Tudors, so we can’t blame him!)
Yeah, it was cool to see the 3D printed bones. Thanks for the book recommendation. I will check it out.
Thanks for the inspiration. My brother lives just outside Leicester in Blaby and whenever I visit I always avoid the city thinking that it’s not very interesting. I Think I’ve only really seen the shopping center!
Seems that I was wrong.
Next time I come I will make the effort to have a better look at it.
Bradgate Park is amazing.
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy exploring the city on your next visit. Sounds like I really need to make a trip to the park!
Foxton Locks too. An an amazing series of locks to allow the canal boats to to go up and down a hill. Fascinating.
Nice! Sounds great.
I grew up in Leicester, and attended King Richard III High School. Looking at your interesting site brought back many memories of long ago. Very happy memories, I might add.
England is heaped in history, and Leicester is no exception. Did you know that the science of DNA was first tested there at the University of Leicester? (Research Sir Alec John Jeffreys/) He had been talking with a police officer friend who was frustrated by a 4 year old unsolved murder mystery, and another similar rape/murder had occurred. Alec Jeffreys and the police department arranged for all men in the small community give DNA samples ~ the results were useless! Then one evening an off duty policeman stopped off at a local pub for a sandwich, He overheard two men at the next table laughing about how one of the men had fooled the police by paying the other man to impersonate the first, and give a second sample using his name. The policeman arrested both men at that point and did new DNA tests. Colin Pitchfork was then identified and convicted of the two murders.
Just thought you might find this an interesting (more recent) historical event that happened a few years before the discovery of Richard III’s remains.
Regards, Nicki
Wow, thanks for sharing that story!
I went to school at Alderman Newton’s Grammar School, next door to the cathedral, and walked past the remains of Richard III every school day. It’s bizarre to think of it now.
We have a visit planned for later this year to see the gardens which are opened for viewing at Willoghby Waterlees, but have so much else planned, such as Stonywell etc. we don’t think a week is long enough.
But there is always another time, we hope.
Thanks for the post.
That’s great! I hope you enjoy your trip.
Visit Highcross and Beaumont Centre they are great ? also visit Humberstone Park I live near
Thanks!
Loads of great suggestions. I’m from Leicester and it was really nice to come across this post!
As well as all of the other suggestions, don’t forget to visit Belgrave Road a.k.a the Golden Mile or Curry mile. So many wonderful and tasty curry houses line this mile-long road, all extremely cheap. It’s great if you can come during Diwali when the whole road is decorated in lights.
I’m glad you liked the blog post! I actually ate there my first night in Leicester and really enjoyed it.
We’re coming up tomorrow! Looking round the university on Saturday then planning a visit to the Richard III Centre on Sunday. We came up just to see the car park at the time he was discovered as my daughter was fascinated which has led to her wanting to study history. Could do without this heat all weekend though, am dreading that part
I hope you have a great time!
Wow, thanks for that wonderful trip down memory lane!
I lived in Leicester until I left to go to university and teachers’ college in Norwich, and emigrated to Australia in 1973.
I often walked to school (Wyggeston Girls) via New Walk, and visited the Museum there many times. My favourite exhibit was the stuffed giraffe – we loved standing under him!
After reading this I must visit next time we travel to the UK!
You’re welcome! I’m glad it brought back memories and inspired you to go back.
Hi from New Zealand. There’s a bunch of us here who are avid Leicester City football fans. For me anyway, it was the excuse to finally visit the city, many years ago. But you are spot on with your “underrated” tag. It’s a great city and it’s fair to say it feels like a home away from home now. Nice to read your write-up.
I’m so glad to hear that!