Chester

The Romans founded Deva here around AD 79 as a legionary base on the Dee, and the grid they laid out is still the street plan. Chester's walls run about two miles in a near-complete circuit, the most intact in Britain, and walking them takes an hour and shows you the city from above: the racecourse on the old harbour silt, the river bend, the cathedral roofs. Inside, the Rows are the oddity. From the thirteenth century, buildings here were raised with a second tier of shops along a covered walkway at first-floor level, reached by steps from the street, and they still trade. Much of the black-and-white timbering is Victorian revival rather than Tudor.

What you actually see

• The city walls - a two-mile circuit walked at parapet level.
• The Rows - covered first-floor shopping galleries dating from the thirteenth century.
• Chester Cathedral - medieval choir stalls and carved misericords under a sandstone tower.
• The Roman amphitheatre - the largest known in Britain, half excavated beside the walls.

When to go

Spring to autumn for the walls walk and the river. Race days fill the city and the hotels, so check the fixture list before booking. December brings a busy market and the Rows at their most crowded. Weekday mornings are the calm window. The walls are exposed, so wind and rain are felt up there.

Honest expectations

The centre is a working shopping district with chain stores behind historic frontages, and some visitors find it more retail than heritage. Much of the celebrated timbering is nineteenth century, which disappoints purists. The walls have steps and no handrail in places. Parking is expensive and the ring road is slow at rush hour.

Nearby

The Dee riverside walk, the Roman gardens and the Welsh border villages twenty minutes west.