Where to Stay in Leicester, England

What is Leicester known for?

Leicester is known as the county town of Leicestershire, a city in the East Midlands with a history reaching back to Roman Ratae Corieltauvorum. Leicester's roots go back a long way. The King Richard III Visitor Centre marks the king whose grave was found beneath the old streets, while the National Space Centre and the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery draw visitors across the city.

The Guildhall and Leicester Castle stand from the medieval town. St Mary de Castro carries the story back to the Norman age.

What are the main landmarks in Leicester?

Leicester's landmarks gather across the old core and the northern edge. The King Richard III Visitor Centre and Leicester Castle stand in the medieval quarter, near the Guildhall and St Mary de Castro. Ratae Corieltauvorum lies close by.

The National Space Centre and the Abbey Pumping Station Museum rise to the north, while the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery and the Newarke Houses Museum hold the city's collections, and the Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower marks the centre. Belgrave Hall stands out along the northern road.

What is the history of Leicester?

Leicester began as the Roman town of Ratae Corieltauvorum on the East Midlands plain, where the baths and foundations of that settlement still lie beneath the streets. The town grew through the medieval centuries around its castle and churches. Leicester Castle held the old lordship.

St Mary de Castro rose beside it from the Norman age, and the Guildhall and the Newarke Houses came to serve the growing town as Leicester spread across the county of Leicestershire. Trade and cloth carried it through the later centuries. The most famous chapter came late, when the grave of King Richard III was found beneath a city car park and marked at the King Richard III Visitor Centre.

Belgrave Hall and the churches of the old parishes stand from the town's long expansion. The Abbey Pumping Station Museum keeps the record of the industrial age, while the National Space Centre marks a newer chapter on the northern edge. Those Roman walls are long buried.

The city they began still holds its old core in the East Midlands.

Where is Leicester?

Leicester stands in the East Midlands of England, the county town of Leicestershire on the low plain of the region. The city sits on gently rolling ground. River meadows edge its northern side.

The land opens outward across Leicestershire in every direction, flat and green toward the surrounding country, while the built-up streets gather around the old Roman and medieval core at the centre.

What is the climate of Leicester?

Leicester has a mild, changeable oceanic climate typical of the inland East Midlands. Winters are cool and grey, with rain and the occasional frost settling over the plain of Leicestershire. Summers turn warm and green over the Leicestershire plain.

Rain comes in every season. When the clear days arrive, the open country around the city stands out bright under a wide inland sky, far from any coast.

How do you get to Leicester?

Leicester is reached mainly by rail and road across the East Midlands. Its station sits on the main line running north and south through the region toward the wider country. Motorways pass close to the city.

The roads link it across Leicestershire and on toward the neighbouring counties, and the airport of the East Midlands lies within reach to the north of the city.