"Whether you know it as “East Anglia”, “The Plump Peninsula”, “Home of the Broads” – although that sounds like a refuge for fallen prostitutes “Albion’s Hind Quarters” – or quite simply “The Wales of the East”. This is Norfolk".
No, we haven't gone mad. It's not us talking but its most famous fictional native, Alan Partridge, and with the release of his new film, Alpha Papa, Visit Norwich are hosting unique "Partridge tours" throughout the city. The ninety-minute Alpha Norwich guided tour will be somewhat unconventional to say the least, but you will see unmissable sights such as the cloisters where Alan enjoys a spot of light jogging, the police station, and Norwich market, where Alan once had a go at flogging fruit. You can find out out more about the tour, including prices, here. But just in case Alan's recommendations don't live up to expectations (rather unlikely, we admit), here's a few of our own:
Stay
Norwich’s grooviest and perhaps friendliest B&B, in a beautifully maintained Georgian house with charming period furnishings.
Maybe the coolest place in town, in a nice location and with a stylist bar and restaurant. It's not that expensive either.
Eat & Drink
Smashing local pub in an ancient building, all wooden floors and low-beamed ceilings with an incredibly lively atmosphere. The home-cooked food is the best around too.
Rest assured, there's a good focus on local ales in this central Norwich pub. Food is served all day and powered by the "Baron of Beef" so you're guaranteed superb burgers.
In an age when a lot of pubs can look the same, the Birdcage is delightfully – and uniquely – eccentric, decorated with a stripped-back 1960s vibe, and staging regular cabaret events poetry readings and DJ slots.
See & Do
A first-rate amateur theatre with an outstanding pedigree, with a varied, year-round programme of performances, from the classics to the experimental.
The wonky wooden beams of this ancient cloth merchants’ house provides a shelter for all sorts of vintage fairs, markets and homemade food & drink stalls.
This gentle walk takes in the best of the city centre and Norwich's riverside - blink and you might almost be in Holland.
