Chester Zoo is reputed to be one of the best in Europe. The zoo is home to more than 11,000 animals and 400 species, including Asian elephants and black rhinos. Chester Zoo has four different big cat species: tigers, jaguars, cheetahs and lions. The Zoo is perfect for families, and you don’t even have to walk around it if you don’t want to! Try the monorail for an aerial view of the enclosures, or the water bus for something different. The Zoo is open from 10am daily. You can get lunch and snacks in cafes, kitchens, pubs and BBQ houses around the site.

Great for: Day Trips

Chester racecourse is the oldest course still operating in England. Horses were racing at Chester when Shakespeare was alive: and they’re still going strong today! Chester’s race days start on the May festival weekend, and a full calendar of meets ensues throughout the season. Chester racecourse is seen as one of the more fashionable and chic locations on the racing circuit, where the bold and the beautiful meet for a flutter. Expect to see very famous people, and get very stuck in traffic. It’s recommended that you only travel to Chester on a race weekend if you want to go to the races!

Great for: Day Trips

Chester Cathedral should have been burned by King Henry VIII when he reformed the UK’s religious system and dissolved all the monasteries – but he left it standing because he thought it looked nice. Nearly 500 years later, it’s still standing – and it has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. A suggested donation is requested from each visitor. Look out for the Cathedral at Height tour, which takes visitors up to unprecedented parts of the Cathedral for a really unique look at the building and its city. Scale the bell tower, check out the bell ringing chamber and get next to some of the best stained glass in the UK.

Great for: History