City of Coventry

A modern industrial centre and ancient cathedral city, Coventry is a diverse city of contrasts unlike any other. 

With a long history of innovation and modernisation, the city is an exciting and dynamic place to live with a host of museums, art galleries, music venues and sports facilities. 

Perfectly restored medieval churches and houses, bright and airy shopping centres, converted factories and nature reserves sit side-by-side around the city’s focal point – the iconic ruins of a 14th century cathedral.

Being one of the UK’s most central cities, Coventry is also well connected to the rest of the country, by road and rail, making it a perfect location to explore all that the UK has to offer.

Music | Museums and Galleries | Theatre | Shopping | Sport | Transport

Music
The city’s music scene is characteristically diverse. Each summer, The Coventry Jazz Festival (one of the UK’s foremost international jazz events) hosts exclusive performances in a range of city centre venues. 

Additionally, the Godiva festival and parade, named after the city’s most famous resident, attracts 85,000 visitors every July to enjoy the free music and entertainment. 

The 32,000 seat Ricoh Arena brings some of the world’s biggest musicians to the city, including Oasis, Pink, Bon Jovi and Take That.

Coventry also has a wide range of smaller venues offering life music of every genre. Favourites include: 

• The Kasbah on Primrose Hill Street, hosting a variety of signed and unsigned bands three nights a week.
• Escape Bar on Hales Street, priding itself on showcasing the widest range of music from across the city and beyond.
• Dogma in Priory Place, a mix of club, restaurant and bar, featuring acid jazz-inspired music.
  Arts and Culture

Museums and Galleries
The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery is the main focus of the city’s cultural offering. Having recently undergone a £20 million refurbishment, the centre contains 8 permanent galleries and several temporary exhibition spaces covering every aspect of the history of the city, grouped under the themes of Archaeology, Natural History, Social and Industrial History and Visual Arts.

Coventry’s indelible link with the British car industry made it the perfect location for the Transport Museum, housing the world’s most extensive collection of British-made road transport – many of which were made in the city.

Based within the University of Coventry itself, the Lanchester Gallery exhibits the work of established and emerging artists related to the School of Art and Design.  Located on the ground floor of The Graham Sutherland Building, the gallery contains some of the most exciting and unique artwork in the city.

Theatre
Refurbished in 2007, the Belgrade Theatre (named after the Yugoslav city from where the building’s timber was sourced) is made up of two auditoriums and prides itself on supporting new and innovative work. Over the theatre’s 52 year history, it has welcomed a total audience of over 4 million, making it one of the largest regional producing theatres in the UK. 

The city college theatre is a 650-seat theatre with an original 1930’s interior, maintaining some of the best traditions of the music hall, with musicals, dancing shows, variety and concerts alongside more traditional theatre productions.  

Theatre-goers seeking a more intimate experience may prefer the smaller Criterion Theatre, staging a range of amateur theatre productions and live dramas with high production values since 1955.

Shopping
Despite its proximity to London and Birmingham, two of the UK’s best shopping destinations; Coventry has a huge selection of shops and stores for all tastes and budgets. 

Based around the two main shopping centres – West Orchards and the Lower Precinct – the city contains hundreds of shops, from smaller independent boutiques to large department stores, including the UK’s first city centre IKEA, spread over 7 floors. 

The indoor market is one of Europe’s largest, with 170 stalls open 6 days a week, perfect for shoppers looking for something different or a bit special or those on a limited budget.

Sport
The facilities for sports fans in Coventry are superb. Whether looking to participate or just be a spectator, there is a vast array of different activities and sports to choose from. 

Coventry City Football Club (currently in the Championship league) plays at the 32,000 seat Ricoh Arena, 3km from the city centre.  The city also has a top flight Speedway, Rugby and Ice Hockey teams. Residents can take advantage of the ice hockey stadium’s facilities for ice skating. 

The city also has a wide range of gyms, parks and golf clubs, as well as swimming pools and ten pin bowling centres.  Just outside of the city is the 200-acre Brandon Marsh nature reserve on the banks of the River Avon, perfect for walkers and nature enthusiasts.

Transport 
Coventry is the UK’s most central city, placing it in the perfect location to access other parts of the country and exploring everything it has to offer. 

Sitting on the West Coast Mainline, Coventry train station has four trains per hour running to London Euston (journey time 40 minutes) and 7 per hour to Birmingham New Street (journey time 20 minutes) as well as regular connecting services to Scotland, Wales and all major cities in England.

Coventry also connects to four major motorways resulting in excellent connections to the UK road network. The city is also well served by local, regional and national bus services.

Birmingham International Airport, 11 miles from Coventry, has scheduled services across Europe. The city is also in easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick Airports by coach or by train (via London).