Things To Do And Places To Visit In Chichester

By Keith McGregor

The four main streets of the city (North, East, South and West) are lined with bustling shops, businesses, restaurants and pubs. At Christmas the Rotary club in Chichester place a large Christmas tree near the cross at the centre of the city. Colourful lights are also draped high above the streets and emit a magical glow which lights the streets after sun down. A Christmas market is setup in the streets and roast chestnuts and other warm snacks are served.

Chichester is home to some great home-grown shops and businesses, some recommended ones to visit are The Cornish Pasty Factory (North street), The Orchard Tearoom (North street), Bah! Humbug sweet shop (Butter market, North street), The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (West street), Montezuma's organic chocolate factory and shop (East street), The Surf Grill Shack (South street), Toywizz (South street) and The Slug and Lettuce pub (South street).

The Chichester Gate leisure complex is located just outside the southern gate of the city, a five minute walk from the city centre (opposite to the police station and canal, near Stockbridge road). It features something for all of the family – bowling (Lakeside Superbowl), a cinema (Cineworld), a health club (Cannons), a hotel (Premier Travel Inn) and several restaurants and bars (The Chicago Rock Café, Domino's Pizza, Frankie and Benny's, KFC, McDonald's, Tandoori Nite and The Gatehouse).

Not too far from Chichester Gate is the Westgate Leisure Centre. The Westgate Leisure Centre is a sports centre providing a number of activities including swimming, trampolining, football and squash. Located behind the centre is a skate park for skaters, rollerbladers and BMXers which features a half pipe, fun box, tabletops and spines.

Looking for the perfect picnic location? Priory Park will cater to all of your needs – great for kids and adults, the park is a large green with a playground, a hill where a motte and bailey castle once stood, a priory (now a museum), a cricket pitch, a bird cage and a bowls green. The playground is split into two sections for infants and for older children, both of which are very well equipped and in excellent condition. There are picnic benches in the playground area which are a great place to eat, but many people enjoy to picnic on the green or at the top of the motte and bailey hill. On sunny days one can watch cricket matches whilst picnicking in the shade of the priory or on the green.

The cattle market is open every Wednesday and Saturday, and is host to a number of stalls. From fruit and vegetables, to meats, foreign foods and iPods, you will find it at the market. The cattle market still has traces from Chichester's roots, and on the Eastern wall you will find metal rings attached where cattle were once tethered hundreds of years ago.

But, of course, a visit to Chichester is not complete without a visit to its historic cathedral. The cathedral grounds are open to the public everyday of the week, and there are plenty of places to eat. There is a café in the cathedral and a garden to eat in, but the green at the front of the cathedral provides an adequate spot. The cathedral is in West street by the cross, and is almost impossible to miss. The cathedral's fascinating architecture and history are found interesting by everyone from children to great grandparents. Trips to the spire are even held occasionally!

If you are planning on visiting Chichester, you may need to book some accomodation in Chichester. Chichester is such a great place to visit for a holiday or long weekend - there is an abundance of accomodation to choose. For the perfect hotel in Chichester, why not visit Crouchers Country Hotel and experience both this fascinating historic town and this beautiful hotel in Chichester at the same time!

Keith McGregor is a partner of Strawberrysoup, a web design agency with offices in Chichester and Bournemouth. Strawberrysoup specialise in creative web design, content managed websites, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing and graphic design.