The Perfect Day in the City Centre

I pulled out all the stops to create an ambitious itinerary for my twin sister Sav's spring break visit to Norwich and this is my idea of the perfect day in the city centre.

My sister was the last person to visit me in the UK before Covid was declared a global pandemic and the world seemed to completely shut down. I didn't know it but this would officially be my last hurrah before my frantic return home in the middle of the semester so I'm extremely glad that I planned such a fun visit in advance. Although my sister was here for a week and we split half the time in Norwich and half the time in London, I'm using the time I spent with her in Norwich to create a template of my ideal day in the city centre. We did not do all of these things on the same day, but they would make an awesome day-long adventure.

Exploring the historic landmarks

Norwich is one of the best preserved medieval cities in the UK so it makes for a fascinating place to sight-see. The main two places that I think are a must-see on the perfect day would be the Norwich Castle and the Norwich Cathedral. The Norwich Cathedral took my breath away when I first saw the outside and again once I walked through the inside. It was massive with the most intricate architecture and beautiful surrounding gardens. I was just in awe wondering how people could have built a structure like this centuries ago without the modern technology of today. Its a great place to start out the day, walking through with a latte in hand from one of the many local cafes in Norwich. The Norwich Castle is up on a hill in Norwich, but the great thing is that despite there being so much to do in the city centre, the attractions are usually no more than a 10-15 walk apart from each other and if they are farther its easy to not notice as you stop in the local shops on the way to your next sight. Inside the Castle you can see the original architecture and take a guided tour to learn about the history of how it was built and used over the course of many decades centuries ago. A portion of the Castle has also been turned into a museum with collections of artwork, natural history artifacts, and so much more.

Afternoon Tea

After exploring some of the historical sites it's a great time to sit down and relax for afternoon tea! The tea (my favorite is English Breakfast with milk and sugar) will energize you and the scones, tea sandwiches, and cakes will invigorate you. My favorite place in Norwich for afternoon tea is Biddy's Tea Room, the cutest vintage tea house with some of the best tea sandwiches I've ever had! Check out my #afternoontea blog!

Shop until we drop

Norwich is a city of so many things, and I will say one of those things is shoppers. There are malls and department stores in the city but what I absolutely love is the abundance of local boutiques selling clothes, art, vintage items, books, and more. You never know what treasures you might stumble upon when walking through the city. A great place to shop is the Norwich Market, located in the heart of the city. Walking through the many stalls is an adventure in itself, filled with a variety of unique food vendors, vintage clothing shops, produce vendors and more. Maybe you walk through and grab a bubble tea after browsing through the local shops, like my favorite, Lisa Angel.

Getting our fill of the arts

Norwich is also a city of art and one of my favorite things to do was head to the Norwich Playhouse to see a show. The Playhouse is a small theatre in the cutest area where the River Wensum cuts through the city. Although its small there are some fantastic productions every month that you don't want to miss, not to mention the significant student discounts. I saw an Elton John cover band with my friend Viviane which had me absolutely starstruck especially having recently seen the major motion picture "Rocketman". The Elton John performer looked and sounded exactly like the real Elton which made me feel better knowing I would probably never get to go to a real Elton John concert. I also saw a theatric performance of the Charles Dickens novel "Bleak House" with my Sav, which again was intriguing and captivating. Sav and I had gotten our hair done at the Toni&Guy salon (which had a student discount and a Tuesday discount) and went to the play for a day of pampering and fun. There is a bar/cafe inside that serves alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (like lattes) so whether its the intermission of a show or you are just walking through the area you can stop in for a pint or sit out on their patio for a cup of tea.

Delicious dinners and amazing drinks to end the day

There are so many amazing places to eat and drink in Norwich so it was difficult to limit this to just 2 selections(more of my favorites are featured in my "Best Dinners in Norwich" blog). However, I could not discuss a perfect day in the city centre of Norwich, UK without fish and chips, the classic British food. Grosvenor Fish Bar, located in another one of my favorite corners of the city Lower Goat Lane. Sav and I both order the Cheeky Cod, a basket of fried battered cod cheeks with lemon mayo and chips (fries) on the side. I loved them because instead of one huge fish they were like the perfect fish and chip bites! The only thing that could make this day more perfect would be ending it at one of the local pubs or bars in the city. My favorite was Cecilia's Cocktail Bar because stepping inside was like stepping into this pink fairy garden utopia where the drinks tasted like candy and the bar stools were designed to look like porch swings. Its a great place to dress up and go for a girls night out on the weekends (although it will be crowded), but on weeknights when there's less people there and you're not dressed to the nines its still my favorite place to indulge in an after dinner Bellini.