Chichester

A Roman city in West Sussex, where the cathedral and city walls frame the old streets. Nearby sights include Fishbourne Roman Palace, the harbour village of Bosham, West Wittering beach, and the Goodwood Estate.

Chichester is a small city in the county of West Sussex in southern England and the county town. It is about 1.5 hours by train from London and about 30 minutes from Portsmouth. The Romans founded the city as Noviomagus. It still has a cross-shaped street layout and nearly intact medieval city walls. At the centre stands the Market Cross, built in 1501. Four main streets run out to the southeast, southwest, northeast and northwest, and the cathedral spire can be seen from almost anywhere in town.

Sightseeing falls into three areas. The first is the old town: the cathedral, the Bishop's Palace Garden, the city wall walk, Pallant House Gallery and the Novium Museum. It can be covered on foot in half a day. The second area lies to the west and south, around Chichester Harbour. The harbour village of Bosham, the Itchenor ferry pier and West Wittering beach are the stars of summer, and to the west of town is Fishbourne Roman Palace, which contains some of the finest Roman mosaics in Britain. The third area is the South Downs to the north. Goodwood House and its racetrack, the Weald and Downland Living Museum, West Dean Gardens, the ancient yew forest at Kingley Vale, and the National Trust properties of Uppark and Petworth are scattered throughout.

The best season is May to September. In July, the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Glorious Goodwood horse race take place, and in September, the Goodwood Revival vintage motor race festival fills the area. Book accommodation well in advance during these events. Public transport to the countryside attractions is sparse, so driving or cycling is recommended. There is a cycle path from the city to West Wittering. Stagecoach buses also serve the area.

Plan to stay 2 to 3 days: one day for the old town and Fishbourne, one for the harbour and beaches, and one for the South Downs and estates.

Top sights

• Chichester Cathedral – A Norman-style cathedral with nearly a thousand years of history, famous for its freestanding bell tower and Chagall stained glass. Chiches…
• West Wittering Beach – One of South England's most popular sandy beaches, with fine sand, dunes, and vast shallows exposed at low tide, with views toward the Sout…
• Bosham – An old fishing village on Chichester Harbour, where a Saxon church and a seafront road that floods at high tide create a picturesque scene.
• Uppark House – A 17th-century country house on the South Downs, carefully restored after a 1989 fire. H. G. Wells spent part of his childhood here.
• Fishbourne Roman Palace – The largest Roman villa site north of the Alps, with beautifully preserved mosaic floors, including the famous 'Cupid on a Dolphin.'
• Pallant House Gallery – An art gallery that combines a Queen Anne-era townhouse with a modern new wing, renowned nationwide for its collection of British modern ar…
• Chichester Cross – A Gothic octagonal market cross completed in 1501, standing where four Roman main streets meet. It is the landmark at the heart of the old…
• Chichester City Walls Walk – City walls founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the Middle Ages, about 90% still intact. A walkway on top lets you circle most of the old…
• Bishop's Palace Gardens – A free garden right next to the cathedral, enclosed by the old city walls. From the lawn you can look up at the cathedral spire, a classic…
• The Novium Museum – A city museum built over the remains of a Roman bathhouse, where you can see underground bath ruins and two thousand years of Chichester's…
• Chichester Festival Theatre – A famous British theater that opened in 1962. Its thrust stage was a first of its kind, and its summer season often sends productions on to…
• Goodwood House – The residence of the Dukes of Richmond, which houses paintings by Canaletto and others. Each summer it hosts the world-famous Festival of S…
• Goodwood Motor Circuit – A classic racetrack converted from a World War II airfield. Every September, the Revival vintage race meeting has everyone dressed in perio…
• Goodwood Racecourse – A racecourse on the South Downs ridge, hailed as the most beautiful in Britain, where the late-summer Glorious Goodwood meeting is the seas…
• Weald and Downland Living Museum – An open-air museum where more than fifty medieval to Victorian buildings have been moved and rebuilt, and the filming location for the BBC’…
• West Dean Gardens – Victorian gardens beyond a flint manor house, with a 100-metre pergola walk and a walled kitchen garden with greenhouses as the highlights.
• Petworth House and Park – A 17th-century Baroque mansion run by the National Trust, home to a large collection of Turner paintings and set beside a deer park laid ou…
• Bignor Roman Villa – A Roman villa site on a farm at the foot of the South Downs, with fine mosaics including Venus and a cupid dressed as a gladiator.
• Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve – One of the finest ancient yew woodlands in Europe, with some trees over two thousand years old, plus Bronze Age burial mounds and distant s…
• The Trundle (St Roche's Hill) – A Downland summit crowned by an Iron Age hillfort, overlooking Goodwood Racecourse, Chichester Cathedral and the coast.
• Tangmere Military Aviation Museum – An aviation museum on the site of the RAF airfield that was on the front line of the Battle of Britain, displaying Spitfire and Hurricane r…
• Chichester Ship Canal – A 19th-century canal that departs beside the railway station, with sightseeing boats and a towpath for walking or cycling out to Chichester…
• Itchenor & Chichester Harbour Water Tours – A harbour village crowded with sailing boats, where you can take a cruise around Chichester Harbour and maybe spot seals and flocks of wate…

Where to eat

• Cassons – A Michelin Guide-listed country restaurant in a rustic old brick-and-timber house, serving hearty modern British food.
• El Matador – A family-run Spanish tapas bar in an old wine cellar, serving freshly made tapas and cocktails, with flamenco on weeken…
• Thyme and Chillies – One of Chichester's most acclaimed Indian restaurants, serving regional specialities alongside Indian wines.
• Purchases – A restaurant and bar in a Georgian building on North Street, with a pre-theatre menu and a heated secret garden.
• The Fat Fig – A popular brunch café on South Street, serving Mediterranean-inspired dishes alongside English classics, with plenty of…