Start from 33 curated places around Reading, GB, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
London Street Brasserie
Reading's long-running flagship restaurant beside the River Kennet, open since 2000 with critical acclaim and a loyal local following who call it the LSB. It serves accomplished modern-British cooking in a relaxed riverside room. Best for a special-occasion dinner or a riverside lunch in the heart of town.
Sweeney & Todd
One of Reading's oldest and best-loved eateries, a quirky pie shop and restaurant on Castle Street famous for its award-winning pies served in a warren of cosy rooms behind the bakery. It's a true local institution. Best for a hearty pie-and-mash lunch in characterful surroundings.
Trails & outdoors
Thames Path
The national trail follows the Thames through Reading, with a lovely flat stretch east from Caversham past meadows and locks toward the village of Sonning. It's the town's classic riverside walk. Best for an easy riverside walk to a Thames-side village pub and back.
Christchurch Meadows
Riverside meadows on the Caversham bank of the Thames, just across the bridge from the centre, with flat paths, open grass, and views of the river and rowers. It's the easiest green escape from town. Best for a flat, family-friendly riverside stroll a few minutes from the centre.
Things to do
Reading Museum
A free local-history museum in the grand Victorian Town Hall, home to a full-size Victorian replica of the Bayeux Tapestry and galleries on Roman Silchester and the town's story. It's a characterful, free cultural stop. Best for an hour with the Bayeux Tapestry replica and the abbey history.
The Museum of English Rural Life
An acclaimed, surprisingly delightful museum at the University of Reading exploring the history of the English countryside, farming, and rural life, with beautifully designed galleries and a famous social-media wit. It's free and far more engaging than it sounds. Best for a free, charming couple of hours on rural England.
Landmarks & sights
Reading Abbey Ruins
The atmospheric ruins of a great 12th-century abbey founded by Henry I, who is buried somewhere on the site, conserved and reopened in 2018 as the Abbey Quarter beside Forbury Gardens. It's 900 years of history in the heart of the town. Best for a self-guided wander of the ruins, ideally with a Saturday volunteer-led tour.
Forbury Gardens
An elegant Victorian public garden beside the abbey ruins, centred on the giant cast-iron Maiwand Lion, one of Reading's best-known landmarks, with bandstand, flowerbeds, and lawns. It's the town's prettiest green square. Best for a relaxed sit by the lion and a stroll into the adjoining abbey ruins.