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Coventry is a lively city of business and commerce and offers visitors a wide cultural experience.
Over 300,000 people live and work here, and the city offers a fantastic range of hotels, bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, good sporting facilities and excellent shopping centres. The centre of Coventry is traffic free and pleasant spacious parklands are dotted throughout the rest of the city.
Heavy bombing during the Second World War devastated Coventry and is the reason why the city has such modern architecture and infrastructure.
What to See and Do
Although very little remains of the old Coventry in the city centre, Spon Street has a row of fine medieval buildings which were taken from various parts of Coventry and reassembled here. Today this buzzing street features many excellent restaurants and bars set in and around these old buildings.
Other pre-war buildings that remain include the Tudor almshouses of Bond's Hospital and Ford's Hospital, which are now accommodation. There is also the 14th-century St Mary's Guildhall that has Minstrel Galleries and Medieval Tapestries well worth seeing.
The Coventry Cathedral site, combining the ruins of the old 14th century building destroyed by firebombs in 1940 with the new 20th century creation designed by Sir Basil Spence is a definite must for every visitor. The new cathedral is a magnificent example of post-war architecture and features a bronze statue of St Michael and the Devil designed by Sir Jacob Epstein, and a huge tapestry behind the cathedral altar designed by Graham Sutherland.
Lady Godiva's Statue which stands in the city centre infront of Cathedral Lane Shopping Centre is also an important land mark.
Other visitor attractions that are a definite must for any visitor are the city's excellent museums. These include the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, the Toy Museum, and the Coventry Transport Museum, which houses a fine collection of cars as well as the world's fastest car Thrust 2. While the Midland Air Museum in Bagington has an impressive selection of Vulcan Bombers.
If the great outdoors is more your thing then Coventry has Coombe Abbey Country Park and the War Memorial Park in which to stretch your legs. The Priory Gardens and Cloisters within the centre which are part of the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum also offer fantastic walks and plenty of heritage, while the Lunt Roman Fort outside of the city is a replica of a complete Roman Fort!
For plant lovers the relaxing Garden Organic Ryton is perfect to visit as it has glorious arrays of flowers and shrubs that are on show throughout the year.
One mustn't forget that the city now has it's own magnificent stadium - the new Ricoh Arena, which is home of Coventry City Football Club. This is an impressive stadium fit for a team on the way up, and has a museum as well as a shopping arcade for visitors.
Full list of Attractions
For full details of attractions in and around Coventry see our Attractions Database that lists what to see and do in Coventry City.
Enjoywarwickshire.com Gold Offers
Please also see our Attractions Database for full details on what Gold Offers are available in and around Coventry.
History
Coventry is at the heart of industry in the West Midlands and has a great industrial past. By the 14th century Coventry was internationally renowned for its dyes and non-fading blue cloth. It was the largest wool and cloth manufacturing centres in England and gave employment to a host of related trades including weavers, dyers, tailors and drapers.
Cloth manufacture eventually declined in the 16th and 17th centuries, but other related higher-value trades rose to prominence. Today, many different business sectors thrive here including the motorsports and aerospace industries, textiles and artificial fibres, machine tools, agricultural machinery, and telecommunications equipment. Coventry's economy has further diversified into financial services, education, and power transmission.
Nearby Villages
Nearby picturesque villages and hamlets include Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Wolston, Brinklow, Binley Woods, Fillongley, Berswell, Meriden, Corley, Balsall Common, Hampton-in-Arden and towns which have merged into Coventry such as Allesley and Keresley.
The Coventry Tourist Information Centre is based at:
Bayley Lane
Coventry
CV1 5RN
Tel: 024 7622 7264
Fax: 024 7622 7255
Email: tic@cvone.co.uk
Website
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Useful Links to information on Coventry and organisations within Coventry.
Accommodation in Coventry
Map of Coventry City Centre
Map - linking to now and then photos of Coventry
Pictures of Coventry
www.visitcoventry.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/coventry
www.historiccoventry.co.uk
www.thecoventrypages.net
Weather forecast for Coventry
Google Map of Coventry
Local buses serving Coventry
National transport links to Coventry
Coventry car park locations and fees |