Colchester Attractions

Stride out of your Colchester hotel to step on Roman foundations, past Elizabethan and Georgian townhouses and Victorian parks.

Historic Colchester

Explore the history of Britain’s oldest recorded town in Castle Park. Here, Victorian manicured gardens surround a Norman castle built on Roman foundations. South of town, the pinnacle-designed St John’s Abbey Gate was built to contain revolting peasants in the rebellious 15th century. Stained-glass windows tell Colchester’s story at the Baroque Town Hall.

Art and museums in Colchester

Leave your Colchester hotel and check your watch against the antique timepieces in the Elizabethan Tymperleys Clock Museum. The story of the Roman defeat at the hands of fiery redhead Boudicca, the first real Essex girl, is told at the Castle Museum. Blue tits and Brent geese flap in the old church grounds at the Natural History Museum.

Quirky things to do in Colchester

Giggle through wildflower meadows after tasting the Essex-fermented red and white at Carter’s Vineyard, north of your Colchester Hotel. Jedi knights catch up with Chewbacca and R2D2 at the Stars Wars toy collection at Hollytrees Museum.

Events in Colchester

Gulp Essex-dredged shellfish in October at the Town Hall at the Colchester Oyster Feast. Chocolate fountains flow in Castle Park in June at the Colchester Food and Drink Festival. Join the mini Mardi Gras in September when majorettes lead floats at the Colchester Carnival.

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