Anchored by a buzzing university, Coventry is one of the liveliest cities in the West Midlands. For visitors, Coventry offers a unique blend of city life and country charm. History and heritage run deep in Coventry, which offers everything from ancient cathedrals and Elizabethan manor houses to crumbling castles and Shakespeare legacies.

The city serves up a vibrant cultural scene, with plenty of museums and galleries to explore. It’s also home to a fantastic collection of arts, theatre and cultural venues in addition to beautiful parks and gardens and an impressive line-up of hotels. From global chains to boutique style accommodations housed in converted heritage buildings, there’s something for every palate.

31 kilometres south-east of Birmingham, Coventry is a short 35-minute drive via the A45 or just 20 minutes by express train. The city is also just 153 kilometres north-west of central London. It’s serviced by its own railway station, with local buses offering transport around the city centre.

While today Coventry is home to thousands of students, it wasn’t always so academic. It was once a busy manufacturing town, specialising in the production of cloth, clocks, bicycles, automobiles and munitions. Unfortunately, it was its talent for manufacturing weapons that led to a fiery blitz by the German Luftwaffe during WWII. It was so extreme that the Nazis were inspired to create a new verb, “coventrieren” meaning “to flatten”.