Things to do in Cheltenham

Join us on a virtual tour of Cheltenham’s historic spa buildings and picturesque parklands, taking you from the town centre through the Montpellier Quarter, and past the photo opportunities in Pittville, all before the short trip out of town to the famous Sudeley Castle.

Between the Regent Arcade Shopping Centre, where you’ll find all your favourite high street names, the boutiques of Montpellier and The Promenade, and the bargain-filled markets of Cheltenham, you can well and truly shop until you drop in the Regency town.

Come rain or shine, there’s always an activity for you in Cheltenham. The town boasts one of the best inland links golf courses you’ll ever play, boating lakes, bowling lanes, trampolines, one particularly famous farm, and a crew of top-class tour guides to take you out into the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds’ most famous town has all manner of excellent restaurants, cafés and food markets making the most of the area’s fine local produce. We’ll show you where to go for coffee, cake and cruffins during the day, plus our pick of Cheltenham’s best evening eateries that are cooking up some of the finest food you’ll eat all year, particularly when it comes to curries.

What better introduction to Cheltenham’s nightlife than a mini bar crawl around Montpellier? Along the way, you can stop off at local favourite wine bars, one of the best stocked gin palaces you’ll ever drink in, subterranean nightclubs, some of the finest pubs in Cheltenham, and a late night hotspot where the toss of a coin decides whether or not you get your round for £1.

From the ‘Cheltenham Roar’ that erupts from the opening race, right the way through to the Gold Cup, which provides a grand conclusion to four days of horse racing festivities, our guide is here to tell you all about the world-famous, much-loved Cheltenham Festival.

Masque balls, comedy clubs, Frank Matcham’s oldest surviving theatre, a state-of-the-art arts centre, the resplendent Cheltenham Town Hall, and the small matter of the Cheltenham Festival, which attracts more than 250,000 punters over four days of pints and ponies – Cheltenham’s entertainment scene has something for everyone.

Cheltenham’s cultural calendar throws up fantastic options from spring right the way through to autumn’s Cheltenham Literature Festival – the largest festival of its kind anywhere in the world. That’s not all, as the regency town also has the best gallery in Gloucestershire and all manner of fascinating museums for you to explore.

The fact you can walk from the Pittville Pump Room on one side of town to the Montpellier Gardens on the other in less than half an hour tells you how easy getting around Cheltenham can be. Most of the main attractions are central and easily visited; the only one slightly out of your way is Sudeley Castle, but it’s well worth the trip.