Why Leicester & Leicestershire
The discovery of a king, in a car park, the unexpected win of a Premier League trophy plus the discovery of genetic fingerprinting and the National Space Centre with nearby Space Technology Park located here have attracted interest from around the world.
New hotels in the City Centre include the 250-bedroom Novotel &Adagio Aparthotel complex and The Gresham Aparthotel with quality retail, food and drink venues and an ever-growing list of leisure activities.
There is a diverse portfolio of meetings spaces, in the city meet and find out more at the King Richard III Visitor Centre where the King was discovered in a car park or have an out of this world delegate experience at the National Space Centre.
A host of top class sporting venues which have great flexible meeting spaces, with plans already underway for the Leicester Tigers’ new 180 bed hotel and conference centre as well as the expansion of the King Power Football Stadium, a Racecourse, a County Cricket Club, Race tracks and even an Elite Athletes Hotel part of Imago Venues at the Loughborough University site campus.
In the Leicestershire countryside, luxurious country house hotels like Kilworth House or Belvoir Castle provide memorable settings for business events, corporate hospitality and teambuilding. Our asset mix offers rich pickings for event planners, all within 45 minutes less than 30 miles from two international airports. Whether you prefer a peaceful woodland retreat, a smart city hotel, a sporting venue, a Space experience, an academic conference centre or a castle, Leicester and Leicestershire has exactly what you require.
The city is surrounded by traditional market towns and beautiful villages situated in the stunning Leicestershire countryside. You are never too far from being able to enjoy fresh, clean country air. Get back to nature and discover exotic species at Twycross Zoo or see the ruins of Bradgate House – once home to nine-day Queen of England Lady Jane Grey. Explore Leicestershire on canal boat and meander along the River Soar or trot along off-road bridleways.
Leicester is already a famous festival city including old favourites like the Leicester Comedy Festival and Diwali, alongside more recent additions. The international street art festival, Bring the Paint, MOD’s: Shaping a Generation and Revive have enhanced an already jam-packed events calendar.
For food and drink you can get a flavour of the area with a visit to the "Golden Mile" in effect, a tribute to the city's rich multiculturalism, dotted with enticing curry houses and Indian restaurants and lots of Asian delicacies from an array of colourful foodstores. The famous Melton Mowbray Pork pie can be sampled from the place where it is made and why not buy some Red Leicester and Stilton cheese ideal too for your picnic when you head out into the rural county.
There are some great restaurants including the award winning Johns House in Mountsorrel which has a Michelin Star.
There is no better way of enjoying a locally made and sourced pork pie than with a local distilled Gin from 45 West’s County distillery or an award winning ale from the local Everards Brewery.
For heritage attractions the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery has a broad scope, throwing out everything from Egyptian mummies and dinosaur bones to Expressionist art by Wassily Kandinsky and ceramics by Picasso. The Jewry Wall Museum recalls the Leicester of the Roman world, including the surviving fragments of its first century bathhouse.
For a quick overview on what there is here in the County from the countryside and market towns to historic and buzzing city take a look on the range of destination videos.
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