Chester is the county town of Cheshire. It is one of the best-preserved walled cities in the United Kingdom. The city is renowned as the Walled City because surrounding this centre are the famous city walls, it is a two mile pedestrian walk way. It is the most southerly part of England's North west region.



A large amount of land in Chester is owned by Duke of Westminster who owns an estate called Eaton Hall near the village of Eccleston,

Today the main industries in Chester are retail and tourism. The Shipbuilding industry in Chester ended in the 1930s and the last docks closed in the 1960s.

Chester was voted one of the best shopping centres in the country. The city's shopping environment is enjoyed by nearly all of its 8.5m visitors who come each year. The Rows is a unique character in its two-tiered gallery of shops which date from the 13th century.

The earliest mention of Chester market was in 1139 and has been established in Chester ever since.

Grosvenor Shopping Centre is a shopping paradise. The shops are set in Tudor style houses with upper balcony row shops and designer shopping malls.

Chester has a range of traditional pubs, many of which are half-timbered Inns steeped in history serving real ales and great pub grub. The city has a diverse music scene with rock, funk, reggae, jazz, soul and hip hop bands performing in venues, and live DJ sets from up and coming artists.

Chester Cathedral has been rebuilt three times the cathedral has remained essentially unaltered. It was founded as a Benedictine Monastery in 1092 and was rededicated as the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1542. The present building contains material from every century since the tenth.

Chester Zoo is the largest zoo in the United Kingdom Not only is Chester Zoo a home to some 500 different species of amazing animals, but there are fantastic gardens. The perfect way to get an overview of Chester Zoo is to ride The Monorail.

The University of Chester was founded in 1839. It has over 11,000 students across two campuses.

Chester Football Club were founded in 1885. It was relegation in 1982 was followed by a name change, to Chester City, in 1983 and three years later Harry McNally led the club back into Division Three.

Chester race-goers spent 3 to 4 million on champagne in 2006 more than any other racecourse in Britain.