With its central location and extensive transport links with surrounding areas, Leicester is an easily accessible day out with much to enjoy.
The town centre offers a huge range of high street names, many of which lie within the newly regenerated Highcross Quarter, as well as many smaller specialist shops. Standing alongside these retail hotspots is one of the city's most popular attractions, Leicester Market, which is the largest covered market in Europe and boasts a vast range of wares.
It is often said that one of Leicester's biggest attractions is its cuisine - in a city that boasts such a wide range of cultures, it is perhaps not surprising that it would become a magnet for food-lovers. A number of restaurants in the city serve authentic Indian cuisine and traditional Caribbean fare is also widely available.
Considering the fact that Leicester has an unbroken lineage dating back to the Saxon era, anyone with an interest in local history will find many buildings of note around the city; from the ruins of Leicester Castle, the gothic splendour of St Martin's cathedral or the historic central clock-tower, to the remains of the city's Roman baths that lie alongside Leicester's famous Jewry Wall.
Fans of sport will find much to interest them in and around Leicester: experience the electric atmosphere of The Walkers Stadium, home of Championship club Leicester City FC; the city's Rugby Union team, the Leicester Tigers, are the most successful club of all time in the English game; equally Leicestershire County Cricket Club has been among the top teams of recent years.
The city has many fine leisure and entertainment venues to choose from, as well as a whole raft of one-off events ranging from the country's largest Caribbean Carnival outside Notting Hill to Britain's biggest comedy festival.