Hereford Tourist Information
The cathedral city of Hereford attracts an international audience who flock to see the spectacular Norman architecture of Hereford Cathedral alongside the famous Mappa Mundi medieval map of the world on display within the cathedral's award winning Chained Library exhibition. Luxury historic hotels, award winning restaurants and fine traditional inns in Hereford city centre are numerous. The city is perfect for luxury weekend breaks featuring beautiful riverside walks and fine local produce shopping.
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Antique and art markets in Hereford are a regular event with further attractions including The Courtyard Centre for the Arts offering a packed programme of film, opera and concerts and Hereford Racecourse on the city centre outskirts. Hereford station offers direct train links to Birmingham Airport and city centre, Oxford and London Paddington. Hereford is perfectly placed for touring, located within easy driving distance of Worcester, Ludlow, the Wye Valley and Brecon Beacons in Wales.
Things to Do in Hereford
Centrally situated in the county, Herefordshire's only city Hereford sits alongside the River Wye and is home to one of our most beautiful Romanesque Norman cathedrals. Local produce and markets in Hereford feature strongly. The city is the county's centre for weekly livestock markets and a host of Hereford Markets take place around Hereford Buttermarket at High Town near the cathedral. Hereford general markets are weekly whilst antiques and collectables fairs in Hereford are monthly on the second Friday of each month and Hereford Farmers Markets are twice monthly. Fantastic Hereford Arts Markets also take place regularly around The Courtyard on Edgar Street.
Museums and galleries in Hereford are extensive and include The Cider Museum and King Offa Distillery where visitors can learn all about the history of cider making. The museum is situated within a former cider making factory and the on-site shop sells a range of locally produced Herefordshire ciders. Visit the Hereford Museum and Art Gallery within a striking Victorian Gothic building. Inside galleries dig deep into Herefordshire's history and the art gallery offers year round changing exhibitions. Hereford city centre contains spectacular historic buildings like the 17th century timber-framed Old House, a free entry museum furnished in the Jacobean style. Museum gem The Waterworks Museum in Hereford is housed within a Victorian water pumping station which supplied Hereford with water from 1895 to 1952.
Hub arts venue in Hereford is the The Courtyard Centre for the Arts housed within a dazzling glass-fronted contemporary building. Offering a packed programme of film, exhibitions, live music events and opera, The Courtyard has a chic award winning cafe bar. Close to The Courtyard on the northern city outskirts is Hereford Racecourse which hosts 14 National Hunt race meetings annually and features extensive on-site conference, hospitality and wedding facilities.
Hereford is perfect for luxury weekend breaks, boasting a choice of luxury city centre hotels, great shopping and riverside walks. Places to eat and drink in Hereford include award winning restaurants housed within Grade listed buildings and superb traditional inns and pubs serving the finest ciders, ales and local produce. Trains to Hereford station run direct from Birmingham International, Birmingham city centre, Abergavenny, Worcester and Ludlow. Cathedral city Hereford is perfectly place for touring, within easy reach of the Wye Valley, Brecon Beacons National Park, Worcester and Ludlow.
Hereford Cathedral, Mappa Mundi & The Chained Library
Hereford Cathedral nestles close to the River Wye in Hereford city centre and attracts an international audience. An architectural treasure, Hereford Cathedral contains a spectacular Romanesque Nave, magnificent stained glass and ancient shrines. Also attracting huge numbers of visitors alongside the stunning Norman architecture in Hereford Cathedral is the award-winning Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition which is open all year round. The Mappa Mundi, a national treasure, is a world famous medieval map of the world.
The Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Exhibition at Hereford Cathedral is housed within the cathedral's 15th century south west cloister and award-winning New Library Building. This outstanding interactive exhibition, which uses cutting edge computer technology, explores in-depth the secrets of the Mappa Mundi and includes access to the Chained Library which contains over 1,500 extremely rare books dating from the 8th to 19th centuries. Further treasures at Hereford Cathedral include one of only four copies in existence of Henry III's revision of Magna Carta issued in 1217. An extensive range of Mappa Mundi postcards, posters and gifts are on sale in there Hereford Cathedral Shop and the Cloister Cafe is on-site.
Photo Credits
Hereford Cathedral image contributed by 'Mattana'. Hereford Museum & Art Gallert image contributed by 'The Sly Gentleman'. The Old House Museum image contributed by Ruth Harris. All images are copyrighted but licensed for further reuse under the Creative Commons License.
