Norwich, GB

A neighbourhood restaurant on St Benedicts Street that has become the city's foodie calling card, serving serious modern-British cooking without a trace of stuffiness in a warm, stylish room. It's Norwich's special-occasion dinner. Best for a celebratory meal of accomplished, unpretentious cooking.

A relaxed neighbourhood restaurant on St Benedicts Street serving seasonal modern-British small and large plates built on local produce, with a good natural-wine list. It's a younger, easygoing counterpoint to the city's fine dining. Best for a relaxed dinner of seasonal plates and good wine.

A tiny French bistro in the Lanes where a French chef cooks the honest, homely food of his childhood, from croque monsieur to soupe a l'oignon. The heartfelt cooking and warm welcome make it a local gem. Best for a pocket-friendly, genuinely French lunch or dinner.

A long-running Spanish tapas bar and cafe above Exchange Street in the Lanes, bringing a taste of South American and Spanish spirit to Norwich for over 25 years. It's a convivial spot for shared plates and wine. Best for a sociable dinner of tapas and a jug of sangria.

One of the best Italians in the city, in the heart of the Lanes, serving generous, good-value plates that mix classic and inventive flavours in a buzzy room. It's a reliable, satisfying Lanes dinner. Best for a relaxed Italian meal with generous portions.

A small Lanes pizzeria turning out thin, wood-fired, stone-baked pizzas with Neapolitan-inspired toppings, with the neighbouring Garnet pub to sit and eat in. The dough is the point. Best for an unfussy wood-fired pizza and a pint next door.

A laid-back Japanese restaurant near Tombland with bare tables, bamboo blinds, and a menu of donburi, noodles, katsu curry, and sake. The honest, well-priced Japanese food is a welcome change of pace. Best for a casual Japanese dinner of donburi or katsu curry.

A characterful Indian restaurant serving regional street food and home-style dishes beyond the usual curry-house list, in a colourful, welcoming room. It brings genuine regional Indian cooking to the city. Best for an adventurous Indian dinner of street-food-style plates.

A beloved Lanes chippy on Lower Goat Lane serving inventive fish-and-chips and seafood wraps, with a quirky basement seating den. It's the city's cult fish-and-chip spot. Best for a creative fish supper eaten in the funny little basement.

A renowned exclusively vegetarian restaurant in Trowse, just outside the city, serving inventive meat-free dishes and house-roasted coffee in a relaxed village setting. It's a destination for plant-based dining near Whitlingham. Best for a vegetarian dinner paired with a Whitlingham Country Park walk.

A Norwich coffee roaster with a cafe on Pottergate in the Lanes, pulling carefully roasted espresso to a coffee-loving local crowd. It's the serious-coffee anchor of the Lanes. Best for a proper coffee and a quiet sit while exploring the independent quarter.

An artisan bakery-cafe turning out excellent sourdough, pastries, and good coffee, a favourite for a morning bake or a takeaway loaf. The bread has a devoted following. Best for a pastry-and-coffee breakfast or quality bread to take away.

A dedicated dessert restaurant in the Lanes serving beautifully plated puddings and patisserie that you order like a tasting flight, a rare dessert-only treat. It's a sweet-tooth's destination. Best for a dessert-flight finale after dinner elsewhere, or an indulgent afternoon stop.

A country park just southeast of the city built around the Great and Little Broads, with a flat three-mile circuit of the Great Broad through meadow and woodland, plus watersports and a barn cafe. It's the city's nearest taste of the Broads. Best for an easy lakeside circuit and a barn-cafe stop.

A large area of wooded heath on a rise northeast of the centre, with paths through gorse and woodland and the best views back over the city and cathedral from near Cafe Britannia. It's the city's wild green high ground. Best for an easy-to-moderate heath walk with city views and a cafe.

A flat path along the River Wensum linking the cathedral, the medieval Pull's Ferry watergate, and the lone Cow Tower through riverside meadows. It strings together some of the city's quietest historic corners. Best for an easy riverside loop taking in the cathedral-side landmarks.

A long, flat, traffic-free rail-trail running from Norwich northwest into the countryside toward Aylsham, following disused railway lines through woods, river valleys, and old stations. It's a gentle long-distance route you can sample in sections. Best for a flat, easy walk or bike ride out of the city into rural Norfolk.

A pretty, accessible broad northeast of the city, reached on foot through woodland to a quiet lakeside with a small beach, canoe hire, and Broads scenery. It's an easy introduction to the Norfolk Broads. Best for an easy woodland-and-water walk and a paddle on a classic Broad.

A grand formal city park southwest of the centre with a model boating lake, bandstand, tree-lined avenues, and easy flat paths, near the River Yare. It's a relaxed, classic municipal park for an easy stroll. Best for a flat, family-friendly walk and a coffee at the pavilion.

A local-history museum in a medieval merchant's house in the Lanes, telling the story of Norwich's trades, from weaving and shoemaking to mustard and chocolate, with characterful displays. It's a charming, human-scale museum. Best for an hour on the city's industrial and everyday past.

A major art gallery in a landmark Norman Foster building on the university campus, with a world-spanning collection from tribal and ancient art to Francis Bacon and Henry Moore. The architecture and the collection are both significant. Best for a half-day of world-class art a short trip from the centre.

A Grade I listed medieval merchant's house turned museum of domestic history, where rooms are dressed in different eras from a medieval undercroft to a Georgian parlour. Walking through is like time-travelling through the centuries. Best for an atmospheric hour wandering rooms staged through history.

The city's main theatre, staging major touring drama, musicals, ballet, and pantomime in a large modern auditorium. It's the heart of Norwich's mainstream live performance. Best for an evening of touring theatre or a big musical.

A unique puppet theatre set inside a converted medieval church, staging imaginative puppet shows for children and adults plus workshops. It's a genuinely unusual and charming venue. Best for a family show or an offbeat evening of puppetry in a medieval setting.

An independent cinema housed in a complex of historic medieval buildings in the Lanes, showing art-house, world, and select mainstream films with a good cafe-bar. It's a civilised, characterful night at the pictures. Best for an indie film and a drink in a historic setting.

A beloved live-music and arts venue in a converted medieval church on St Benedicts Street, booking touring and emerging bands, comedy, and spoken word in an intimate room. It's the backbone of the city's grassroots scene. Best for an evening gig or comedy in an atmospheric church venue.

A renowned Norfolk brewery at Woodbastwick east of the city, home of Wherry ale, with a taproom and shop and tours of the brewhouse. It's a classic Broads-edge brewery visit. Best for a tour and a pint of fresh Wherry, ideally combined with a Broads outing.

A wild, imaginative outdoor adventure park northeast of the city with treehouses, rope bridges, zip wires, and marsh boardwalks themed around a children's book. It's a brilliant, screen-free family day out. Best for a full family day of outdoor adventure with younger kids.

A magnificent Norman cathedral begun in 1096, with England's second-highest spire, the largest monastic cloisters in the country, and a ceiling studded with hundreds of carved roof bosses. It's free to enter and genuinely awe-inspiring. Best for the cloisters, the roof bosses, and the peaceful close around it.

A great Norman keep on a mound above the city, built soon after the Conquest and now a landmark crowning the centre, with a museum and art gallery inside. The hilltop setting gives views over the rooftops. Best for the imposing keep and the city views, with the museum within for a fuller visit.

One of the best-preserved medieval streets in England, a cobbled lane of crooked timber-framed and Tudor houses, antique shops, and cafes that looks barely changed in centuries. It's the city's most photogenic corner. Best for a short, atmospheric wander and a coffee in a Tudor building.

One of the oldest and largest permanent outdoor markets in the country, founded in the 11th century, with nearly 200 brightly-canopied stalls of street food, produce, and crafts beneath City Hall. It's the bustling everyday heart of the city. Best for a cheap, varied lunch grazing the food stalls.

A warren of narrow medieval streets and courtyards packed with over 300 independent shops, cafes, bars, galleries, and small museums north of City Hall. It's where the city's independent character lives. Best for an afternoon of browsing independents and ducking into hidden courtyards.

A hidden three-acre Victorian garden in a former chalk quarry near the Catholic cathedral, with a Gothic fountain, terraces, and woodland walks restored by volunteers. It's a magical secret most visitors miss. Best for a peaceful, offbeat half-hour in a hidden green pocket.

A circular medieval brick artillery tower standing alone on a bend of the River Wensum, one of England's earliest purpose-built gun towers, reached by a pleasant riverside walk. It's a quiet, atmospheric landmark. Best as the turning point of a riverside stroll from the cathedral.

Norwich's grand Victorian Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral, a soaring building often mistaken for medieval, with superb stained glass and a tower you can sometimes climb. It's a striking contrast to the Norman cathedral across town. Best for the dramatic Gothic interior and stained glass, free to enter.