Things to do in Norwich
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Adam & Eve's
A 13th-century brew-house built to quench the thirst of cathedral builders, this is now Norwich's oldest-surviving pub, and an adorable little sunken-floored gem. So snug it is that the upper bar barely fits the barmaid, perhaps why the staff has a reputation for grumpiness! Take a pew outside amid the old-mangle flowerpots, or keep an eye out for the resident ghost in the character-rich interior.
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Elm Hill
Elm Hill is an utterly charming medieval cobbled street of crooked timber beams and doors, intriguing shops and snug cafés, this street is also the centre of the local antique business. From here walk down Wensum St to Tombland, where the market was originally located. Despite its ominous overtones, 'tomb' is an old Norse word for empty, hence space for a market.
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Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
Housed in the first major building by Norman Foster, now the darling of Britain's architectural set, the Sainsbury Centre is the most important centre for the arts in East Anglia. Filled with an eclectic collection of works by Picasso, Moore, Degas and Bacon, displayed beside art from Africa, the Pacific and the Americas, it also houses changing exhibitions that cover everything from local heritage to international art movements. Even if you're not an art buff you're almost guaranteed to find something of interest going on here.
The gallery is about 2 miles west of the city centre. To get here take bus 25, 26 or 35 from Castle Meadow (20 minutes).
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Norwich Cathedral
Norwich's most stunning landmark is the magnificent Anglican cathedral, its barbed spire soaring higher than any in England except Salisbury, while the size of its cloisters is second to none.
Begun in 1096, the cathedral is one of the finest Anglo-Norman abbey churches in the country, rivalled only perhaps by Durham. The sheer size of its nave is impressive, but its most renowned feature is the superb Gothic rib vaulting added in 1463. Among the spidery stonework are 1200 sculpted roof bosses depicting Bible stories. Together they represent one of the finest achievements of English medieval masonry.
Similar bosses can be seen in closer detail in the cathedral's remarkabl…
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St Julian's church
Tucked away in a tiny alley, St Julian's church is a shrine to Julian of Norwich and has been a centre for pilgrimage for centuries. Writer and mystic Julian (also known as Juliana, 1342-c 1429) wrote down her religious visions in a collection called The Revelations of Divine Love, which is unparalleled in English literature for its clarity and depth of perception. Sadly the cell where she wrote the book was torn down in the Reformation, much of the building was reconstructed after WWII.
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Origins
Located at the Forum, family-focussed Origins is a wonderful interactive museum that surrounds you with film, images and noise in its exploration of 2000 years of regional history. There are numerous buttons to push and games to play; you can have a go at speaking the original Norfolk dialect (not easy), flooding the Norfolk Fens or simply sit back for story time with weird and wonderful tales of the area's mythology.
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Norfolk Broads
The county's most beautiful attraction, the peaceful Broads are a mesh of navigable slow-moving rivers, freshwater lakes, wild water meadows, fens, bogs and saltwater marshes, flourishing nature reserves and bird sanctuaries. Together they form 201km (125mi) of lock-free waterways. A boat is best to spy on its birds, butterflies and water-loving wildlife.
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Dragon Hall
Another remarkable medieval building, this magnificent trading hall dates from 1430. The first floor great hall has a stunning crown-post roof with a carved dragon figure which gave the building its name. Guided tours are available on Tuesdays at 2pm.
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Pulse Cafe
This funky lounge-bar in the old fire station stables serves a bumper crop of hearty vegetarian dishes. There's also a great choice of sandwiches, organic ciders and beers and scrummy deserts.
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Norwich Castle, Museum & Art Gallery
Perched on a hilltop overlooking central Norwich, this massive Norman castle keep is a sturdy example of 12th-century aristocratic living. The castle is one of the best-preserved examples of Anglo-Norman military architecture in the country, despite a 19th-century facelift and a gigantic shopping centre grafted to one side.
It's now home to an art gallery and superb interactive museum. The museum crams in a wealth of history, including lively exhibits on Boudicca and the Iceni, the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, natural-history displays and even an Egyptian gallery complete with mummies. Every room is enlivened with plenty of fun for kids, but best of all is the atmospheric kee…
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Caley's Cocoa Cafe
Local chocolate-maker's cafe serving light meals and luscious sweets in the confection-like Guildhall's old Court of Record.
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Ten Bells
This is this kind of faded 18th-century pub where people feel instantly at ease, calmed by the real ales, mellow red velvet and quirky memorabilia and amused by the red phone booth in the corner. It also fancies itself as an intellectuals' hang-out, with poetry readings and arts-school regulars.
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Briton Arms Coffee House & Restaurant
Romantics and traditionalists should make a beeline to this darling little 15th-century thatched cottage tearoom, overhanging cobbled Elm Hill and snug with wooden beams, rustic wooden benches and a little terraced garden. It serves classic English comfort food as well as good coffee and cakes.
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Bridewell Museum
Closed recently for major redevelopment, the 14th-century bridewell or 'prison for women, beggars and tramps', is housed in a former merchant's house and is filled with fascinating paraphernalia and reconstructions of Norwich's principal shops and industries. Check the website to find out about new opening hours.
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Adlard's Restaurant
This elegant and airy Michelin-starred eatery is the place to splurge on both food and excellent wines. It specialises in modern British cuisine with a French accent and keeps the décor simple and pleasing with wooden floors, large canvases and large windows.
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Waffle House
Pop in for a crisp and light Belgian waffle with sweet or savoury toppings at this down-to-earth and friendly cafe beloved by Norwich families, students and professionals.
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St Andrew's and Blackfriars' Halls
Once home to Dominican Blackfriars, the spookily Gothic-looking St Andrew's and Blackfriars' Halls now serves as an impressive civic centre where concerts, antique and craft markets, the Music and Arts Festival and even the annual beer festival are held.
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St Benedict's Restaurant
A bubbly little brasserie with excellent husband-and-wife chefs at the helm, St Benedict's has an Edwardian frontage and cheerful modern interior and an original modern British menu that includes such quirky desserts as Horlicks ice cream.
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Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum
A claustrophobic tunnel from Norwich castle emerges into a reconstructed WWI trench at the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum, which details the history of the local regiment since 1830. It has another less dramatic entrance from the road.
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Mercy
A massive club set in a former cinema, with DJs that favour R&B and club classics.
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Strangers' Hall
A maze of atmospheric rooms furnished in different medieval styles is on view in this early 14th-century town house. You can see the Great Hall set for a banquet, examine historic toys or try your hand making a bed Tudor style. Outside is a pretty 17th-century knot garden.
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Greenhouse
This simple organic, Fairtrade, vegetarian, vegan and all-round goody-two-shoes café is a hit with students and has a cute little vine-covered, herb-planted terrace.
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Forum
The all-glass Forum is the most impressive building to hit Norwich's skyline in decades, and is home to Norfolk's main library, the regional BBC and the tourist office.
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Liquid
True to its name, Liquid is a big molten-themed club filled with warped furniture, lava lamps and bubble projections, and playing everything from retro to R&B.
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Broads Boatrains
Runs a variety of cruises from Griffin Lane, Station Quay, and Elm Hill Quay.
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