Nottingham City Centre
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Nottingham City Centre is the central area of Nottingham, and the Greater Nottingham conurbation as a whole. The area has seen a great deal of investment and redevelopment in recent years and is consistently rated amongst the top five shopping districts in the United Kingdom (outside of London).
It is where the city's major railway station, Council House and main shopping centres are located. Nottingham Express Transit trams run through the area, terminating at Station Street.
The undisputed central feature of the city centre is the Old Market Square, right at the heart of the city. This is undergone a major redevelopment programme which was completed in March 2007. Most of the main shopping streets are based around the square which is dominated by The Council House, whose landmark dome can be seen for miles around. Much of the ground floor of the Council House is taken up by the Exchange Arcade, a shopping centre of boutique stores.
A thriving bohemian quarter of the city known as Hockley has arisen in recent years, situated close to the Lace Market area.
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[edit] Shopping
Nottingham City Centre is consistently ranked amongst the top five shopping destinations in the UK and is the premier shopping area in the East Midlands.
Although Birmingham is currently considered to hold the retail crown for the Midlands as a whole (mainly due to its recently completed Bullring shopping centre), Nottingham is expected to leapfrog England's ' Second City ' when the redevelopment and expansion of the £400 million Broadmarsh Shopping Centre is completed in 2010.
The city's largest shopping centre is the Victoria Centre which is located on Parliament Street and the exclusive boutique stores in the city's Exchange Arcade and Flying Horse Walk are treasure troves for the more discerning shopper.
The city centre's fashion core is centred around Bridlesmith Gate which is home to upmarket names such as Kurt Geiger,Ted Baker and Diesel. Home-grown Sir Paul Smith's flagship store is not far away on Middle Pavement and Hugo Boss is located on St. Peter's Gate.
[edit] Visitor Attractions
Nottingham Castle is an extremely popular attraction for visitors to the city due to its famous links with Nottingham's most famous son, Robin Hood along with The Tales of Robin Hood (based nearby on Maid Marian Way) which is an indoor attraction recreating medieval Nottingham. The Brewhouse Yard Museum (Museum of Nottingham Life) and the Museum of Costume and Textiles are close by along with The Lace Centre, housed in the medieval, timber-framed Severns building which documents Nottingham's illustrious lace-making heritage.
Part of Nottingham's vastly expansive cave network is open to the public in the shape of the City of Caves attraction and The Galleries of Justice museum on High Pavement was once a fully functioning Victorian courtroom. Nottingham's city centre is also home to reputedly the oldest pub in England, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem which has rooms carved out of Castle Rock, though Ye Olde Salutation Inn on Maid Marian Way is also a realistic contender for the title.
Notable churches within the city centre include the Roman Catholic St. Barnabas' Cathedral on Derby Road and the medieval St. Mary's Church at the heart of the Lace Market.
The National Ice Centre (which incorporates Nottingham Arena) is located close to the city's historic Lace Market quarter and is the first twin Olympic ice-pad facility in the UK. It is the home of the Nottingham Panthers ice-hockey team.
[edit] Entertainment
Nottingham is home to a wide variety of entertainment venues, the largest of which is the 9,500-seater Nottingham Arena (part of the National Ice Centre) which is the most prestigious contemporary music venue in the East Midlands, regularly attracting chart-topping bands and solo artists.
The Royal Centre incorporates the 2,500-seater Nottingham Royal Concert Hall and the Victorian Theatre Royal. The Royal Concert Hall is the region's top venue for classical music and regularly plays host to world-class orchestras and ballets and the Theatre Royal is considered to be one of the finest venues in the country for major touring West End musicals, plays and operas.
The city's other major theatre, the Nottingham Playhouse, has built up a national reputation for its exciting, innovative and contemporary new works.
The Corner House entertainment complex houses a multi-screen Cineworld cinema and is now an integral part of city life with its multitude of continental-style pavement cafes and restaurants.
[edit] Eastside City
Eastside City is the name of the redevelopment project that is set to transform an extensive former industrial brownfield area to the east of Nottingham City Centre's historic core. This area stretches from the Nottingham-Beeston Canal in the south towards the National Ice Centre. [1] At the heart of the regeneration zone will be The Island site which will be totally overhauled to become a thriving city quarter with pubic open spaces, restaurants and bars and a much-needed new park for the city's inhabitants. The development will consist of new homes, offices of the highest quality and brand new retail units. [2]
