Making a weekend of it

Activities in and around Norfolk

We are so lucky to live in a region that people come to for their holidays, so there is lots to do and see in East Anglia (especially in June!)

EAT & DRINK

Norwich is a secret foodie paradise - we can never tell if we want nobody to know or if everyone should know! Top tip: book before you come, Norwich has a huge culture of eating out.

Eat

  • Yalm - set in the beautiful arcade, a food hall with a wide variety of indie restaurants in-house. We particularly love Cristophe’s Crepes (warning, QR code ordering)

  • Café 33 (on Exchange Street - does not take bookings) - fantastic brunch and the best cake in the city. The queue moves fast.

  • Haggle - elevated Turkish food; make sure to get the baklava.

  • Yard (does not take bookings)- a fantastic little pasta place, not to be confused with the brilliant The Yard coffee shop.

  • The Bicycle Shop - one of our favourite little places; we especially love the baked camembert and the African peanut stew (when its on the menu!)

  • The Kimchi - cosy Korean food, Hannah has spent two birthdays here.

  • XO kitchen - Jay Rayner’s favourite Norwich spot.

  • LUPA pizza - a little walk from the centre, but our favourite pizza in the city.

  • Benoli - slightly pricer, but absolutely fantastic Italian food.

  • Ber Cerdita - fantastic tapas, can be a little loud.

  • Wrights - fantastic toasted sandwiches and specials. Hannah and Jo ate at Bury St Edmunds Wrights branch after every wedding dress appointment!

Coffee and pastries

  • Dozen - only open Thurs/Fri/Sat. Best pastries in the city. We are regulars and very fond of Bernie who runs the counter (she is the baker’s mum!). Approximately 3 seats total, but you can also takeaway. Black coffee and the best hot chocolate in the city are also available.

  • Two magpies - fantastic sweet and savoury pasteries and bakes, also excellent weekend brunch menu. Extremely busy always.

  • Bread Source - six locations in the city (including at the cathedral), good bread and pastries (incredible doughnuts), coffee, tea and soft drinks available.

  • Strangers - excellent local coffee.

  • Kofra - multiple branches, excellent local coffee, lovely bakes and cakes

Drink

  • The Hop Rocket, Unthank Road - our favourite pub in the city, very small, good vibes.

  • The Garnet, Market Place - wonky, trendy pub; you are allowed to bring food from the market in.

  • The Belgian Monk, Pottergate - wide selection of Belgian beers.

  • Playhouse Bar, St George’s Street - good vibes, amazing ceiling.

  • The Fat Cat, West End Street - famous ale pub, CAMRA award-winning, popular with locals.

  • The Rosebery, Rosebery Road - famous for their roasts (must book). Cosy pub vibes.

  • Chambers Cocktail Bar, Wensum Street - fantastic cocktails, good prices

  • Thee bar downstairs at Haggle, St Benedicts - fantastic drinks, but London prices

Play

Both in the city and beyond there are so many fun things to do. Below we have listed just a few:

  • SEALS! In the summer you can get a boat from Blakney Point to see the seals. These are the common seals, which are a bit smaller than grey seals in the picture.

  • Castle! Norwich Castle SHOULD be reopened by June after an 8 year restoration project.

  • Cinema! We love Cinema City in Norwich - one of the oldest still-functioning buildings in the city.

  • Mini golf! Are you ready for the sights and delights of Great Yarmouth? There are lots of options but it is widely agreed that Castaway Island is the best. Also, in Great Yarmouth, you will find the Time and Tide museum, Victorian Gardens (which have been recently restored), a boating lake that you can take a little peddalo out on and lots of beach.

  • Bowling! The best bowling in Norwich is The Bowling House. Old-fashioned style bowling and excellent junk food. You can also book a private kareoke booth if you want to (we love this).

  • Classic seaside town! You can easily get to Cromer or Sheringham from Norwich by train. Cromer has excellent chip shops, some cute second-hand bookshops, a pier, lovely beaches, Amazonia Zoo and a cinema. Sheringham is home to the North Norfolk Steam Railway, which we would highly recommend.

  • Boardgames! We are obsessed with Slice & Dice board game cafe in Norwich. Easy to book online.

  • A bit further afield in (say it quietly) Suffolk are: Orford, where you will find the Pump Street bakery/cafe and chocolate shop alongside an excellent medieval tower; Southwold, which is famously cute and has a very strange set of amusements on the pier; Jimmy’s Farm, which is an excellent zoo and working farm which includes polar bears - Hannah got to feed a giant anteater here for her 35th birthday and it changed her whole life.

For more recommendations, just let us know - if there is one thing people from Norwich love to do, it is to advertise it as aggressively as possible to anyone that will listen.

Explore

Norfolk is famously beautiful - we thought it might be useful to list some of our favourite places to explore.

In the city:

  • The Plantation Gardens - beautiful, mysterious garden next to the catholic cathedral.

  • Norwich Cathedral - the most extensive cloisters in the UK and a font made from a bowl from the old chocolate factory.

  • Rosary Cemetary - the first non-denominational cemetary in the UK, beautiful victorian garden cemetary with a fairy-tale chapel, wildlife everywhere.

  • Lion Wood - some of the last ancient woodland in the city, 22 acres of greenery and wildlife across two valleys in the city centre.

  • A wander around Norwich Lanes - we are lucky to have many independent shops and restaurants in Norwich, and the very best of them can be found in The Lanes. We would particularly recommend The Book Hive, Elm and Fire & Flux. A short walk away you will also find Magdalene Street where you will find one of the best and strangest shops in the city: Looses Emporium.

Out in the wilds:

  • East Ruston Old Vicarage Gardens - incredible, lovingly maintained gardens with different ‘zones’.

  • Holkham beach - you park next to internationally important wetlands, walk through the wood and emerge onto a vast beach of dark sand. Truly magical.

  • Blickling Hall - big National Trust property with brilliant gardens.

  • Castle Acre - supposedly for the fantastic castle ruins, but really for the overpriced but brilliant cafe (Wittles).

  • Grime Graves - neolithic mines. Probably not worth it if you aren’t an English Heritage member, definately worth it if you are.

  • The Broads - rent a boat from Wroxham and explore. Also while in Wroxham, marvel at the monopoly that is Roy’s.