Packed within almost continuous, two-mile-long walls (the most complete set of city walls in the country), Chester is a vibrant mixture of architectural styles set on the banks of the River Dee. Roman remains co-exist alongside Tudor-style half-timbered houses; the splendid cathedral dates back to Saxon times, although its bell tower was added in only 1975; and the double-decker galleried rows – rife with vaillainry back in Tudor times – now offer double the opportunity for shopping. This is a certainly a city of unusual contrasts: eat in the basement of Spudulike on Bridge Street, and you’ll be eating among the ruins of a Roman bath house. “Chester pleases my fancy more than any other town I ever saw,” said 18th-century essayist James Boswell. Two hundred years on, it’s hard to disagree.

1 Chester Visitor Centre
On arriving in Chester, make your first port of call the Visitor Centre. Located in a large red-brick building on the eastern side of the city, next to the remains of Britain’s largest Roman amphitheatre, it’s much more than your average tourist information office. It’s well stocked with all the usual pamphlets, but it’s also a centre for brass rubbing and candle making, as well as a meeting point for guided walks around the city. There are displays and videos on Chester’s history, and locally-made handicrafts are on sale. So scour the centre for information, then plan your day over coffee and a snack in its café.

2 The Walls
Chester’s city walls have been built up and added to since Roman times. They form a virtually continuous orbital pathway around the city – a sort of pedestrian M25 without the traffic jams. There’s no better way of getting a feel for the city than to work your way around the walls, pausing to take in views of the Cathedral, the King Charles and Water Towers, the Roodee (England’s oldest racetrack), Chester Castle, the Dee with its bridges and weir, and the splendid Victorian clock mounted above Eastgate Street. Many of Chester’s shops have rear entrances opening out onto the walls, and there are usually steps leading downwards whenever the walls cross one of the city’s main streets. The walls form an integral part of the city, and in good weather they are thronged both with tourists taking in the sights, and busy locals using them to take sneaky shortcuts from one part of the city to another.

3 The Cross and The Rows
The Cross, reconstructed using fragments of an earlier cross smashed during the Civil War, marks the intersection of the city’s main Roman roads. It’s the busiest place in Chester. A meeting place for locals, it’s also surrounded by buskers who are drowned out in the summer months by the ear-splitting “Oyez, Oyez!” of the city’s town crier.
Radiating out from the Cross are the Rows – continuous first-floor arcades running above the half-timbered shops beneath, which date back to the 13th century. The upper levels are accessible via steep stone steps. Part undercover, part open to the air, the Rows are one of Chester’s most photographed features.

4 The Cathedral
Pressed up hard against the city walls, and crowded by other buildings, Chester Cathedral contributes greatly to the city’s medieval feel. You might come across its warm sandstone walls unexpectedly while cutting through St Werburgh Street, or glimpse the west window from the piazza in front of the town hall. The best view is probably from the city wall, right next to the cathedral’s strikingly modern and separate bell-tower. Originally a monastery – it still has its cloisters – the cathedral has been added to and restored over the years. For an unusual dining experience, try eating in the Cathedral’s Refectory Restaurant, sited in the magnificent monk’s hall.

5 The Grosvenor Museum
The Grosvenor Museum offers many excellent galleries, including one devoted to wildlife and another dedicated to artistic representations of the city. But there is no doubt that it is Roman Chester that lies at the heart of the museum’s work. If you’re expecting dusty glass cases of obscure artefacts, forget it. The life of Roman Chester (or Deva as it was then known) is brought to life by a host of interactive displays, reconstructions of life in the 20th Legion, and exhibitions of Roman tombstones. A private company, Roman Tours, works from the museum and offers city tours led by authentically dressed Roman soldiers.
If you really start getting into Chester’s history, why not try the colourful Dewa Roman Experience, or the History and Heritage Centre? They’re both just five minutes’ walk away.

6 Shopping
In terms of both the quality and variety of retail establishments on offer, Chester is second to none. The city centre and the rows have all the big high street names, plus some rather more exclusive boutiques, while the Grosvenor Arcade houses Chester’s own department store, Browns. On the north wall, you will find award-winning Rufus Court, a pretty collection of small shops and places to eat: try Alexander’s – a coffee house by day and a jazz, blues and comedy club by night. Chester also boasts two markets: a big indoor one behind the town hall, and small open-air one in front.

7 The River Dee
One of Chester’s greatest glories is the River Dee, which runs through the south side of the city. A series of terraces drops down to the water’s edge from the Old Dee Bridge, with its massive weir, to the pedestrian suspension bridge that joins Grosvenor Park on the north bank to Queen’s Park on the south. On summer evenings, the terracing is packed with people enjoying the views and listening to music from the bandstand. Light refreshments are available at a host of riverside teashops, while the beer garden of the Boathouse Inn, next to the suspension bridge, is the perfect spot for a cold pint with a view of the river.