Introduction

Norwich, the capital of Norfolk, is an ancient and gracious city that is best explored on foot, since many of the finest medieval buildings are hidden away down narrow alleys and streets.

The Tourist Information Centre can be found in The Forum. Telephone 01603 727927 or visit www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/

Attractions
Norwich Castle, the county’s principal museum, contains diverse treasures, including ancient gold jewellery, silver, porcelain and Roman pottery. There are hands-on exhibits, models, video screens and computer animation. The gallery collection includes works by the Norwich School of Painters and there are regular loans from Tate.
Tel: 01603 493625.

Origins at The Forum is a multi-media journey of exploration over the past 2000 years of local history. Tel: 01603 727920.

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, at The University of East Anglia, is an award-winning building housing paintings and sculptures from around the world.
Tel: 01603 593199. www.uea.ac.uk/scva

Entertainment
Norwich offers a choice of professional and amateur theatres, a puppet theatre and outdoor performances through Theatre in the Parks during July and August.

There are both mainstream multiplexes and an art-house cinema, and regular concerts are held in several venues.

The Lord Mayor’s Celebrations take place over the weekend of the second Saturday in July, and the annual Beer Festival is held during the last week of October.

Nightlife in Norwich is lively throughout the year, particularly at the weekends, with a large number of clubs centred on the area around Prince of Wales Road.

Shopping
The city has a wide range of shops, from intimate specialist boutiques to national chain stores and supermarkets, and includes a number of large department stores.

The Castle Mall is an ingeniously designed shopping centre. It is barely visible and sits under the Castle. It houses many shops, a good selection of restaurants and on level 5 is an 8-screen cinema.

Chapelfield is Norwich’s newest shopping centre and contains over 80 shops, 17 cafes and restaurants and the only House of Fraser in the region, all in a stylish and contemporary environment.

Norwich Market is made up of 200 stalls under multi-coloured roofs in the centre of the city, selling a huge range of products and services. It is the largest six-day open-air market in England.