Leicester

Richard III, the Jewry Wall and a night on Belgrave Road

One day in Leicester covers Richard III and the Romans. See his tomb in Leicester Cathedral, then the King Richard III Visitor Centre over the original grave and the timber-framed Guildhall. In the afternoon visit the Jewry Wall and St Nicholas Church, and spend the evening eating on Belgrave Road, reached by bus or on foot past Abbey Park.

Morning. Start at Leicester Cathedral on Peacock Lane, where Richard III lies in a raised tomb of Swaledale stone, reopened to visitors with the rest of the cathedral in November 2023 after a long renovation. Cross the road to the King Richard III Visitor Centre, built over the site of the Greyfriars friary; the story runs from the Wars of the Roses to the 2012 dig and the DNA work that confirmed the bones, and ends at the glass floor over the original grave. The Guildhall is a minute away on Guildhall Lane: walk through the timber-framed hall and the medieval galleries.

Afternoon. Head west to St Nicholas Circle for the Jewry Wall and its museum, then step into St Nicholas Church, which was built over a Roman shrine. If you still have energy, the Great Central Railway runs steam trains north from Leicester North on weekends.

Evening. Take a bus or walk north past Abbey Park to Belgrave Road, the Golden Mile, for dinner among the Gujarati and South Indian cafés. Finish with a show at Curve theatre on Rutland Street, or a film at the independent Phoenix in the Cultural Quarter. Travellers continuing north can reach York by train, while London is an hour away the other direction.

Dosa, chaat and pani puri on the Golden Mile

Leicester eats best on the Golden Mile, the stretch of Belgrave Road running into Melton Road, where Gujarati families from East Africa settled in the 1970s. Its cheap, informal cafés serve chaat, pani puri and masala dosa, with sweet shops north of the Abbey Park roundabout. Many places close on Monday or Tuesday, so check first.

The stretch of Belgrave Road that runs into Melton Road is where Leicester eats best. Gujarati families settled here from East Africa in the 1970s, and the cafés between the sari shops and jewellers still lean towards vegetarian Gujarati and South Indian cooking. Most places are informal, quick and cheap, with counters for takeaway and a few tables at the back.

Go for chaat (crisp snacks layered with yoghurt, tamarind and chutney), pani puri, and masala dosa at the South Indian kitchens. Chaat houses and sweet shops cluster north of the Abbey Park roundabout, and Punjabi grills sit alongside them for anyone who wants meat. Opening days vary a lot, with many places closed on Monday or Tuesday, so check before crossing town.

In the centre, the food is more mixed: pubs, chains around Highcross, and independents in the Cultural Quarter near Curve. The city is also linked with Leicestershire classics such as pork pies from nearby Melton Mowbray and Red Leicester cheese, which turn up in delis and pub menus.

Diwali lights, Download weekend and Leicester's rainy December

Leicester has a mild, damp climate, with July and August highs of 21C to 22C and rain in every month, peaking at about 69 mm in December. Its biggest event is Diwali on Belgrave Road in October or November, set by the lunar calendar, and in June the city is a practical base for Download Festival.

The long-term figures for Leicester show a mild, damp climate with no real dry season. January and February peak at about 7C with lows around 1C. May reaches 16C, July and August 21C to 22C, and September still manages 18C. Rainfall sits between about 46 mm (July) and 69 mm (December) every month, so a light waterproof is sensible at any time of year.

Autumn is the city's big moment. Diwali in Leicester centres on Belgrave Road, with a lights switch-on and then a Diwali Day of fireworks and stalls, usually in October or November depending on the lunar calendar. Expect very large crowds and closed roads.

In June, rock fans pass through for Download Festival at Donington Park, north-west of the city near East Midlands Airport; Leicester is a practical base with more rooms than the villages around the site. For a contrast in pace, the Great Central Railway's weekend steam services run through the Charnwood countryside, and the National Space Centre on the north side makes a good wet-day stop.

Roman Ratae, Wolsey's abbey and a title nobody predicted

Leicester's story runs from the Romans, who developed Ratae Corieltauvorum as a tribal capital around AD 50, to a football title few predicted. The Roman baths at the Jewry Wall are the oldest visible layer, and Abbey Park holds the ruins of the abbey where Cardinal Wolsey died on 29 November 1530.

Wolsey was buried at the abbey, and its site is now the park, a short walk north of the centre along the River Soar on the way to Belgrave Road.

Leicester is the largest city in the East Midlands, with about 383,000 residents in 2025, and one of the most diverse in Britain. At the 2021 census 43.4% of residents identified as Asian and 40.9% as White, and that mix shows in the food on the Golden Mile and in the scale of Diwali.

Sport fills the calendar. Leicester City won the Premier League in 2015 to 2016 after starting the season as 5,000-to-1 outsiders, and Leicester Tigers play rugby union at Welford Road, their ground since 1892, which holds 25,849. For shopping, Highcross, expanded and renamed in 2008, is the main centre.