Heritage Britain

Places to Visit in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Cheltenham, Cheltenham

Cheltenham

Tourist Information Centre
77 Promenade
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL50 1PJ
Tel: 01242 522878
Fax: 01242 255848
Email: click here
Cheltenham online: information and bookings

Cheltenham is England’s most complete Regency Spa town. According to legend, the first medicinal waters were discovered when pigeons were noticed pecking at salty deposits, which had formed around a spring. Cheltenham became a spa town in 1716, and in 1788 King George III came to drink the waters, followed by many other aristocratic and distinguished figures.

Sweeping classical terraces and elegant villas are set in landscaped estates around broad tree-lined walks. Regency town houses with ironwork balconies, surround the leafy Promenade and historic squares. Notable places to see include the parish church of St. Mary’s, with its’ 14th century stained glass and rose window, the neo-Gothic school buildings of Cheltenham College and the Ladies’ College built in the French-Gothic style, with a remarkable bronze dome.

The Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum houses a nationally designated Arts & Crafts collection, with furniture, art, pottery and silver by many of the pioneers of the Movement, including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones and The Edward Wilson Gallery celebrates the life of the famous Cheltenham-born polar explorer. Holst’s Birthplace Museum is a rare example of a Victorian-Edwardian family home, where the famous musician and composer of The Planets was born in 1874.

Not to be missed are the caryatids in Montpellier, based on those on Athens’ Acropolis. The most magnificent architectural feature of Regency Cheltenham is the colonnaded and domed Pump Room, where visitors can taste the town’s famous alkaline spa water in this Grecian-style building, overlooking the picturesque gardens and ornamental lakes of Pittville Park (check for opening times).

Famous for its’ many Festivals, from Folk and Jazz to Science, Music and Literature, Cheltenham offers an exciting annual programme, with a wide variety of entertainment, including concerts and comedy in the Town Hall, Pittville Pump Room and local theatres. Cheltenham’s Promenade provides stylish shopping with many top fashion names to choose from, and nationally-known shops abound in the High Street, Beechwood Shopping Centre, Regent Arcade and the Brewery, with specialist boutiques in the Montpellier and Suffolks area. Cheltenham is also renowned for its’ colourful parks and gardens and floral displays and offers a fine selection of hotels, guest accommodation, self catering and serviced apartments. A wide choice of excellent restaurants and café culture with a continental atmosphere, combine to make Cheltenham an ideal place to stay, and to tour around the Cotswolds and beyond.

In case of alteration, please check prices, opening times and any specific important information before booking or visiting

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Places to Stay near Cheltenham

George Hotel & Montys, Cheltenham
MacDonald Queens Hotel, Cheltenham
22 Lansdown Place, Cheltenham
Carlton Hotel, Cheltenham
Clarence Court, Cheltenham