1 Coventry ... · Nestled at the heart of rural Warwickshire, Coventry is one of England’s great cities, with an inspiring and world-famous history. Boasting rich, …

Coventry Cathedral is a place of celebration, hosting events, concerts and exhibitions throughout the year. Coventry and its Cathedral were devastated by the Blitz on 14 November 1940, leaving the old Cathedral ruins behind. Sir Basil Spence, architect of the new Cathedral, suggested keeping the ruins as a memorial of that fateful night. The resulting design is breathtaking and is one of Coventry’s outstanding features. The site has numerous tributes to peace and reconciliation, including the Charred Cross and the Statue of Reconciliation. Internationally recognised as a beacon of hope, Coventry Cathedral is an inspirational space for reflection.

Coventry city centre has many excellent shops, ideal for a spot of retail therapy.

West Orchards Shopping Centre houses high street favourites such as Debenhams, Miss Selfridge, Thorntons and Marks and Spencer. With the addition of quality jewellers, bookstores, fashion stores, and with on-site car parking available, you can spend an afternoon wandering the heart of the city, stopping off for lunch during your visit.

The bustling Upper Precinct offers a wide variety of shopping choices including River Island, GAME, Topshop and Primark, with the Lower Precinct offering the likes of H&M, Schuh, Next and New Look.

Shelton Square, Bull Yard, Broadgate and medieval Spon Street are home to big name brands, nestled amongst independent stores.

IKEA’s landmark city centre site can be found on Croft Road, while the unique circular Coventry Market invites you to sample fresh and local produce on sale alongside foods of the world.

The city centre welcomes regular events to Broadgate, the heart of our city, with a local Farmers’ Market appearing every third Friday of the month, selling delicious local produce from tasty pies, preserves and home-made bread to regionally sourced fresh meat and pastries.

Coventry’s award-winning Greyfriars Green connects the city centre to the railway station. Lady Herbert’s Garden, found next to Millennium Place, offers visitors and locals alike the opportunity to enjoy peace and tranquility in the heart of the city centre. Close by is the War Memorial Park, a great outdoor attraction and home to two cafés, football pitches, pitch and putt golf, tennis, skateboard facilities and a children’s play area. The park hosts numerous events throughout the year, including tea parties, family craft activities and the Coventry Godiva Festival.

With a reputation for fantastic, varied and family-friendly events, there is always something happening in Coventry. Coventry’s Ricoh Arena has hosted worldwide superstars including Rihanna, Muse and Bruce Springsteen. The Shop Front Theatre, The Empire, Warwick Arts Centre, and the Albany Theatre are just a few of the unique and exciting venues where you can experience live arts, music and comedy. The War Memorial Park welcomes thousands of visitors each year to the annual Coventry Godiva Festival while at the heart of Coventry, Broadgate provides an exciting backdrop to many of the city’s events and celebrations, including regular markets, musical extravaganzas and cultural performances.

T: +44 (0)24 7652 1200 W: coventrycathedral.org.uk

Coventry Cathedral1 St Mary’s Guildhall2

T: +44 (0)24 7683 3328 W: stmarysguildhall.co.uk

Belgrade Theatre7

Coventry city centre offers a host of wonderful dining opportunities to suit every taste.In the centre of Broadgate, a newly renovated Cathedral Lanes houses three new restaurants over two floors; the Cosy Club, Wagamama and Las Iguanas.Coventry’s historic medieval Spon Street offers numerous award-winning bars, restaurants and bistros; while nearby Belgrade Plaza has three family-friendly restaurants: Pizza Express, Café Rouge and Bella Italia.The city’s historic Cathedral Quarter is home to numerous independent restaurants and cocktail bars and West Orchards Shopping Centre hosts an extensive food court with a selection of popular food outlets.

Eating in Coventry

Shopping in Coventry

Events and festivals

Parks and green spaces Surrounding areas

Coventry Transport Museum

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Coventry Transport Museum houses the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world, and tells the fascinating story of Coventry and its people through the rise and fall of its biggest industry. Now fully open after a £9.5m redevelopment programme, visitors can experience some of the most amazing vehicles ever invented, including the fastest car in the world! Discover the real-life stories of Coventry’s innovators and entrepreneurs as you explore the history of road transport, or explore what you might be driving in the future. With a fantastic café and gift shop, and a state of the art 4D simulator, the museum has something for all the family.

T: +44 (0)24 7623 4270 W: transport-museum.com

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum

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Winner of the Guardian Family Friendly award, this stunning FREE museum offers a wealth of hands-on opportunities to learn more about the history of Coventry. Immerse yourself in captivating art and fascinating culture with award-winning exhibitions, eight permanent galleries, a packed events programme and a café selling delicious food and drinks. The Herbert makes for an entertaining day out for all the family.

T: +44 (0)24 7623 7521 W: theherbert.org T: +44 (0)24 7625 2434 W: fargovillage.co.uk

Fargo is your one-stop village for independent shopping, unique food, amazing coffee and incredible art, all in amongst artist’s studios, creative workspaces and unique markets. Fargo Village hosts events including live music and

original exercise classes and larger events including the Vegan Fair, Chocolate Festival, and CovPride throughout the year. With such a mix of creative offerings, and the different markets held over the weekend, Fargo Village is a space for everyone – come with your friends, your family or just to hang out, everyone is welcome!

Fargo Village6 8 SkyDome ArenaCoventry’s SkyDome Arena offers entertainment for the whole family. Visit Planet Ice and feel the excitement of watching the resident ice hockey team and four time Elite League Championship winners, the Genting Casino Coventry Blaze. Or why not take to the ice yourself with Planet Ice offering skate hire, dedicated student events, themed skate evenings and family orientated sporting activities? You and the family could then warm-up and catch a showing of the latest blockbuster at the on-site Odeon cinema, just two minutes from the many restaurants and bars that are perfect to round off an exhilarating day out.

T: +44 (0)24 7663 0693 W: planet-ice.co.uk

9 Coventry Music Museum

Coventry famously gave 2-Tone music to the world, with bands like The Specials and The Selecter. As influential as it was, it’s only a small reflection of the vast musical talents that Coventry can claim. The Coventry Music Museum, tells the story of Coventry’s musical heritage, from the roman occupation up to the present day. There are treasures to be found, including the Lennon Bench and Dave Willetts’ original Phantom Mask, from the Phantom of the Opera. The museum also supports the stars of the future with its Artist of the Month Award.

T: +44 (0)7971 171441 W: covmm.co.uk

St Mary’s Guildhall is one of the finest medieval guildhalls in England, an unexpected treasure in the narrow, winding lanes of Coventry’s historic Cathedral Quarter. The Guildhall has stood at the heart of

Coventry since 1340 and has witnessed events of both national and local importance, hosting monarchs, playwrights and weavers and it continues to welcome visitors from all over the world. The Guildhall’s main attraction is the magnificent Great Hall, with its medieval stained glass, a ceiling of carved angels and one of the rarest and most important tapestries in the country. St Mary’s Guildhall is open to the public; please check the website for dates.

Holy Trinity Church3The first known reference to Holy Trinity is in 1113, its beginnings tied to the history of the Benedictine Priory of St Mary which has long been associated with Earl Leofric and Lady Godiva herself. A lively, active and welcoming church, this extraordinary building has survived fire, reformation and the Blitz. The church houses many rare artefacts, perhaps the most exceptional being the famous medieval wall painting of the Last Judgement which has undergone significant restoration and is on full display. Holy Trinity welcomes visitors free of charge, seven days a week.

T: +44 (0)24 7622 0418 W: holytrinitycoventry.org.uk

Coventry is nestled between beautiful countryside and market towns.

Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare and home to the Royal Shakespeare Company, attracts visitors from around the world.

The quaint town of Warwick has a historic and famous past,

epitomised by the ‘must see’ destination of Warwick Castle.

Nearby Rugby is the birthplace

of rugby football – discover sporting history at Rugby

School and its museum. Royal Leamington Spa is packed full of independent shops, high street brands, restaurants and beautiful parks.

Home to the region’s second-largest castle, Kenilworth provides visitors with an action-packed all year round programme, not to mention picturesque Elizabethan gardens.

, Nuneaton, home to the George Eliot

trail and the stunning 18th century Arbury Hall, is worth a visit while the

delights of Britain’s second city Birmingham are a short train ride away.

With shopping, concerts, festivals and fairs throughout the year, plus exciting nightlife and history, Coventry and Warwickshire is your one-stop shop for an excellent day out.

The Belgrade Theatre is a key arts and cultural facility in Coventry and remains one of the largest regional producing theatres in Britain. The theatre offers a diverse, exciting production programme, from touring musicals to critically acclaimed plays, traditional pantomimes and comedy classics. With a café bar serving coffee and cake, the Belgrade is the perfect place to meet friends for a drink and a light lunch. Or why not book afternoon high tea in the place where stars such as Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Crawford have performed?

T: +44 (0)24 7655 3055 W: belgrade.co.uk

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Coventry is currently bidding to be UK City of Culture 2021.

Winning the title will transform the city forever and enable us to showcase the brilliant organisations that we have in the city, including the UK’s first Shop Front Theatre, the Tin Music and Arts, Coventry Cathedral and Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. For Coventry to win, we need your help. Visit the website www.coventry2021.co.uk to leave your words of support and find out how can you back the bid. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @Coventry2021 to stay up to date and join on us on this exciting journey.

Your FREE mini guide and fold-out map of the city

www.visitcoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk

Nestled at the heart of rural Warwickshire, Coventry is one of England’s great cities, with an inspiring and world-famous history.

Boasting rich, medieval heritage, Coventry has grown throughout the centuries, developing and improving to this day. Home to internationally renowned landmarks and legends, two award-winning universities, historic attractions, and a multitude of exciting, family-friendly museums and galleries, Coventry offers something for all. For more details on all of the venues featured, plus upcoming events, activities and regional information, please check the website or follow us on Twitter today! www.visitcoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk

Coventry

1 Legend has it that the city was the birthplace of St. George, dragon slayer and patron saint of England.

2 Coventry was the first city in the world to have a twin city, and now has 26, including Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad), Dresden and Jinan.

3 George Eliot lived and went to school in Coventry. Life in the city around 1830 was the model for Middlemarch, her most famous novel.

4 The great Victorian actress Ellen Terry was born in Coventry.

5 The Italian Job’s car chase scene involving Minis was filmed in huge sewer pipes in Stoke Aldermoor, in September 1968.

6 Monty Python’s first ever live performance was at the Belgrade Theatre in 1971.

7 In October 2005, the late John Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, planted two Japanese trees in the Coventry Cathedral gardens after she and the Beatles’ star visited before his death.

8 The London black taxi cab, a global symbol of Britain, has always been made in Coventry.

9 All modern bicycles are descended from John Kemp Starley’s Rover Safety Cycle, invented in Coventry in 1885.

10 The city was the birthplace of jet pioneer Sir Frank Whittle and the poet Philip Larkin.

11 Parts of Cheylesmore Manor, Coventry’s Register Office, date back to 1250. Various members of medieval royalty lived there, including George IV and Henry VI.

12 George Orwell wanted to use Coventry as the model for his study of poverty in England during the 1930s, but he found it to be too prosperous.

13 Sir Henry Parkes, five times Premier of New South Wales and the father of modern Austrailia, was born in Coventry in 1815.

14 The expression ‘true blue’ has Coventry origins and dates from the 14th century, when cloth dyed Coventry blue became very fashionable and expensive.

15 William Shakespeare almost certainly visited Coventry numerous times and performed in St Mary’s Guildhall.

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