Norwich

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Norwich is the two-cathedral city and county town of the English county of Norfolk in the region of East Anglia. It lies some 185 km (115 miles) from the English capital city of London and is a convenient base for exploring the Broads and the North Norfolk Coast.

	norwich Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By road 2.2 By train 2.3 By plane 3 Sleep 4 See 5 Do 6 Buy 7 Eat 8 Drink 9 External links

Understand

Norwich has a population of about 125,000.

The history and culture of Norwich and Norfolk is showcased in the Origins exhibition, now available Online (http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/visiting/origins/) (Flash required)

Get in

By road

Major trunk roads to the Norwich Area are the M11, A14, A11 (via Cambridge), A12, A140 (via Ipswich) from London, the South East of England and the ferry port of Harwich.

The A14, A11 and A47 serve the Midlands and the North.

There isn't a lot of parking in the city. But there is a very good park and ride service. From most of the major junctions on the bypass you can find colour coded buses going into city every 6-7 minutes.

By train

Trains to Norwich depart from London Liverpool Street Station (Circle and Central Underground Lines), half hourly on the hour and half hour. Train services run on weekdays with the fastest journey time of 1h 36m. Other routes serve Cambridge, Peterborough (for connections to the Northeast and Scotland), the Midlands (Birmingham, Nottingham) and the Northwest (Manchester, Liverpool). For details call National Enquiry Line, tel 08457 48 49 50.

By plane

Norwich is home to a major regional airport - Norwich International Airport (http://www.norwichinternational.com/) - with over 300 worldwide connections via Manchester, Edinburgh or Amsterdam. London Stansted is also within easy reach by road (65 miles).

For more information, contact Norwich Airport on (01603) 411923 or Fax (01603) 487523.

Sleep

Hotels are not Norwich's strong point.

There is the Maids Head in Tomblands but it is a bit old fashioned and out of date. They tried refurbishing their restaurant so maybe the will sort the rest of the inside soon too. It is in a very pretty building so it is good for tourists who want a bit of old England.

There is the hotel Nelson by the railway station. Very convenient but full of middle managers come to do some work for Norwich Union. Also can be very noisy at night as it is opposite Riverside (a big nightclub/bar/cinema/bowling/restaurant complex.

There are a couple of new chains hotels in town. On Duke Street next to a new car park is the Premier Travel Inn. Clean cheap and central but very bland. There is a new Travelodge opening next to the new bus station. Same as the Travel Inn I guess, bland but clean and convenient.

There is a Hilton just out to the east of the city on Cromer Road. Nice enough as all Hiltons are and convenient for the airport and Norfolk Broads.

There are a range of bed a breakfasts around the city some good, some bad.

Out of the city there are some larger golfy type hotels. Dunston Hall (owned by the De Vere group) just south of the city and Sprowston Manor (owned by the Marriott group) just north of the city. Both are ok and generally get 4 star ratings but there are hardly hotels you would choose to go on holiday to. They have lots of facilities (spas, gold pools etc) and are the best place to stay around Norwich if you don?t need to be in the city centre.

See

• Norwich Cathedral 1 (http://www.cathedral.org.uk/) - the 900-year old Norman cathedral church
• Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery 2 (http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/default.asp?Document=200.21)
• the Forum 3 (http://www.theforumnorwich.co.uk/) - a new landmark building, architecturally dynamic, housing the municipal library, arts and information centre - includes the amazing Origins exhibition of local history and culture
• the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts 4 (http://www.uea.ac.uk/scva/) - located on the campus of the University of East Anglia - NB: currently closed until late 2005 for refurbishment Well worth the visit, lovely building and an underground section with changing exhibitions in art, ceramics, textiles....creative and imaginative. The main building has a permenant exhibtion of the Sainsbury supermarket family pottery and sculpture a lot of rare chinese and tribal stuff - wrth spending at least half a day threr.

If you want some peace and tranquility in the middle of the city, "the plantation " is a small nicely formed private garden. Walking downhill from the Roman Catholic Cathedral (not the Church Of England one) the gardens are on the left between the two parts of the Beeches Hotel.... If there is no one there pop your £2 in the box and enjoy.

Do

• Norwich Theatre Royal 5 (http://www.theatre-royal-norwich.co.uk/)
• Maddermarket Theatre 6 (http://www.maddermarket.co.uk)
• Norwich Puppet Theatre 7 (http://www.puppettheatre.co.uk/)

Norwich is the key site for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival (http://www.n-joy.org.uk/) held every year in the month of May

Buy

Norwich punches above its weight in retail terms and is regarded as one of Britain's major regional shopping centres. The Castle Mall shopping mall has recently been joined by a major new city-centre development, the Chapelfield mall, on the site of a former chocolate factory. It has a big "Cigar entwined in a wire frame" sculpture on top to help people find it.

Other than the shopping centres there is a big John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams and local department store Jarrolds. London Street and the market square are the principal shopping areas, primarily occupied by well-known chain stores; additionally, a wide range of independent specialist stores is concentrated around the Goat Lane/Pottergate/St. Benedict's area of the city centre.

That leaves us with the market! Apparently the largest permanent outdoor market in Europe, and one of the finest city markets in the UK. It has recently been refurbished and will be a riot of primary colours and retracting roofs.

Eat

Restaurants in Norwich are getting better.

Malaysian

There is a Malaysian buffet on Timber Hill called "Malaysian Delights". The food is good but rather toned down for the average Norfolk palate. It has a reasonable range for lunch and a bigger range for dinner. The best thing though is that you can eat as much as you want for £4.99 for lunch and £9.99 for dinner.

Chinese

There is a range of Chinese restaurants in the city. Mainly they seem to be run by one family under the banner of Lucky Star. Two big buffets (Riverside and above a car park at the top of St Stevens Street) and one fast food type restaurant. They are all much of a muchness but Riverside is the most popular and therefore busiest. There are some others (mainly of Prince of Whales Road).

Thai

There seem to be loads of Thai restaurants in Norwich. Not sure why it has more than its fair share but since most of them are good we shouldn?t complain. The best two are probably Sugar Hut and Silk Thai. Sugar hut is owned by a couple who have 3 restaurants in the city and this one is the original and best. Good menu and choice of wines, lovely staff and well prepared food. Quite busy on the weekend for dinner so book in advance. Thai silk on the other had seems to always be quite. Very well decorated with lovely fixtures and fittings. It has a good range of food and but is slightly more expensive than Sugar Hut. I am a bit biased but I would say that sugar hut is slightly better value for money but not as attractive.

Indian

Indian restaurants in Norwich have, over the past decade or so, been engaged in a fierce price war which has seen menu prices stay low - sometimes, it has to be said, at the expense of quality.

A very good new Indian restaurant called Oasis opened recently on Queen Street. It is in a converted church so it has big high ceilings and lots of space. There are quiet little enclaves off to the side where they seem to put couples which is a nice idea as the main restaurant can be noisy with a band. If you want fun and a lively atmosphere then it is great. Well decorated with a very modern style so as different as you will get from the stereotypical Indian restaurant. Food is medium hot by English standards so if you are used to Asian or Indian food then you need to ask them to spice it up a bit (which they seem happy to do). The staff seem helpful and friendly if not the most traditional of service.

There are several other Indian restaurants on Magdalene Street and a good place on St Benedict?s called Bengal Spice.

Italian

The standard Cafe Uno, Pizza Express etc are all present but are of a fairly chain restaurant standard so go if you want but there are some better choices. Zizzis in Tomblands is nicer than average with a traditional big wood burning oven so they do some nice flavoured pizzas and baked pastas. The best value for money is probably Figaro's. Pizzas around £6-£7 and generous toppings and some very good calzone.

There is one other place to mention as you should avoid it. Italia Nostra. It is just off Tomblands and looks really authentic from the outside. That is about all it has going for it though. It is dark inside, the staff are fairly arrogant and forgetful and the food is disappointing.

Tex/Mex

Two worth trying. Pedro?s in Chapelfield gardens and Mambo Jambo?s. Pedro?s is ok nice setting in the park but the service is poor. Mambo Jambo?s on the other hand is great. Don?t go expecting great food but you get loads of it. It also has a cheap bar and is always full of groups of friends, work parties and birthday parties. This may be because for a reasonably price you get loads of drinks and huge portions of food.

Drink

Norwich is home to the multi award-winning Fat Cat, a real ale paradise. Other popular pubs in the city centre include the Ten Bells, Pottergate Tavern (for the alternative crowd), Coach & Horses, historic Adam & Eve, and Steam Packet. See the link below to a comprehensive guide.

External links

• Norwich City Council (http://www.norwich.gov.uk/)
• Visit Norwich (http://www.visitnorwich.co.uk/norwich.html) - official page of the Norwich Area Tourism Agency
• norwichpubs.info (http:///www.norwichpubs.info) - guide to Norwich pubs.