The Newton Building, Nottingham (4) - geograph

Nottingham city centre is the cultural, commercial, financial and historical heart of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England. Nottingham's city centre represents the central area of the

Greater Nottingham The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban ...

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

. The centre of the city is usually defined as the

Old Market Square The Old Market Square (Slab Square) is an open, pedestrianised city square in Nottingham, England, forming the heart of the city, and covering an area of approximately , or about 3 acres. It is one of the largest paved squares in the United K ...

, one of the largest surviving

town squares A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Covering about 12,000 square metres, it is within the boundaries of the centuries-old Great Market Place, which covered about 22,000 square metres. A major redevelopment of the Old Market Square was completed in March 2007. Many of the main shopping streets abut the square, which is dominated by Nottingham's

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The building's landmark dome can be seen for miles around. Much of the ground floor of the building houses the

Exchange Arcade Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade ...

, a

boutique A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse". The term ''boutique'' and also ''d ...

shopping centre. A

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

quarter of the city known as

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 189 ...

has gained popularity in recent years, situated close to the

Lace Market The Lace Market is a historic quarter-mile square area of Nottingham, England. It was the centre of the world's lace industry during the British Empire and is now a protected heritage area. It was an area of salesrooms and warehouses for storin ...

area. The northwestern end of the city centre is home to the Nottingham Trent University city campus, which contains a mix of old and new buildings. The university's Newton building is one of the tallest buildings in Nottingham and has a prominent position on the city's skyline. Nottingham's central railway station is located in the city centre. Nottingham Express Transit trams also service the area.

Shopping

Nottingham city centre has been voted 5th in

Experian Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more t ...

's list of the top 15 UK retail areas. The city centre's fashion core is centred on Bridlesmith Gate, which is home to upmarket names such as

Kurt Geiger Kurt Geiger is a luxury British footwear and accessories brand. Kurt Geiger has around 70 stores, and approximately 170 concessions within department stores, including Harrods and Selfridges. Kurt Geiger owns three brands Kurt Geiger London, KG K ...

Ted Baker Ted Baker is a British high-street clothing retail company known for suits, shirts, and dresses. It was founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland. The company is owned by Authentic Brands Group, after its £211 million acquisition in October 2022. T ...

and

Diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

. Sir Paul Smith's flagship store is located on Middle Pavement, and

Hugo Boss Hugo Boss AG, often styled as BOSS, is a luxury fashion house headquartered in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The company sells clothing, accessories, footwear, and fragrances. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing companies, ...

is located on St. Peter's Gate. London-based

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

now have plans to open a store in the Broadmarsh area but it depends on the development that is due to take place over the year.

Zones

Nottingham city centre is split into five "zones", which were introduced with the

Nottingham Parksmart Nottingham Parksmart is a parking scheme which divides Nottingham city centre into five distinctive zones to aid parking in the city, and to help tourists find attractions. Plans The plan first appeared in early 2004, and integration began i ...

scheme in 2009 to signpost visitors to parking facilities and tourist attractions. The zones are named: *Lace Market *Broadmarsh *Castle *Royal *Victoria There is also an area within the city known as the Creative Quarter.

Visitor attractions

Nottingham Castle Nottingham Castle is a Stuart Restoration-era ducal mansion in Nottingham, England, built on the site of a Norman castle built starting in 1068, and added to extensively through the medieval period, when it was an important royal fortress and o ...

is a popular attraction for visitors to the city due to its links with

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

. The Brewhouse Yard Museum (Museum of Nottingham Life) and the Museum of Costume and Textiles are close by. Part of Nottingham's expansive cave network is open to the public through the

City of Caves City of Caves is a visitor attraction in Nottingham based on a network of caves, carved out of sandstone that have been variously used over the years as a tannery, public house cellars, and as an air raid shelter. The caves are listed as a sched ...

attraction, and the Galleries of Justice on

High Pavement High Pavement is a street in Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is one of the earliest streets in the city, and most of its buildings are listed. History It runs from the east end of St Mary's Churchyard to Weekday Cross. Around 1681 a ...

were once a fully functioning Victorian

courtroom A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

. Notable churches within the city centre include the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Nottingham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St. Barnabas is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the city of Nottingham in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Nottingham and seat of the Bishop of Nottingham. The cathedral is a ...

, and the medieval St. Mary's Church at the heart of the Lace Market. The

National Ice Centre The National Ice Centre (NIC) is located in Nottingham, England. It is situated just east of the city centre, close to the historic Lace Market area. The NIC was the first twin Olympic-sized (60m x 30m) ice pad facility in the UK, "heralding ...

(adjoined to Motorpoint Arena Nottingham) is located close to the city's Lace Market quarter and is the first twin Olympic ice-pad facility in the UK. It is the home of the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

, a professional

ice-hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ho ...

team. Rock City is a mid-sized music venue that draws many popular bands from across the world, and so is an important part of Nottingham's music tourism scene. Every summer the Market Square hosts the annual Nottingham Beach, funded by Mellor Events. It includes an artificial beach, beach bar and rides.

Entertainment

Nottingham, is home to a wide variety of entertainment venues, the largest of which is the 10,000-seater

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Motorpoint Arena (originally the Nottingham Arena) is a multi-use indoor arena joined with the National Ice Centre in the Lace Market district of Nottingham, England. The National Ice Centre and Nottingham Arena were opened by Olympic gold m ...

(part of the National Ice Centre), where many big-name acts perform regularly. The city's major producing theatre, the Nottingham Playhouse, has built up a national reputation for its exciting, innovative and contemporary new works. The Nottingham Royal Centre incorporates the 2,500-seater 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, while the Theatre Royal is considered one of the finest venues in the country for major touring West End musicals and plays. Nottingham is an important centre in the

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

scene in

the Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...

; MissImp (Mission Improbable) is a growing force in the comedy community in Nottingham. A student group also runs at the University of Nottingham. Nottingham's branch of

The Glee Club The Glee Club is a chain of independent live stand-up comedy and live music venues in the UK. The first Glee Club was opened by Mark Tughan in Birmingham's Chinese Quarter in 1994,

situated along the

Nottingham Canal The Nottingham Canal is a canal in the English counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. As built, it comprised a long main line between the River Trent just downstream of Trent Bridge in Nottingham and Langley Mill in Derbyshire. At the sam ...

. The Cornerhouse entertainment complex houses a multi-screen

Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...

cinema, a multitude of continental pavement-cafés and restaurants, a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

, a

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

and an indoor

crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

18-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

Eastside City

Eastside City is the name of the redevelopment project that is set to transform an extensive former industrial

brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

area to the east of Nottingham city centre's historic core. This area stretches from the Nottingham-Beeston Canal in the south towards the

. At the heart of the

regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

zone will be The Island site which will be overhauled to become a city quarter with public open spaces, restaurants and bars and a new park for the city's inhabitants. The development will consist of new homes, offices and retail units.

Notable buildings

* Arkwright Building, Nottingham Trent University * Newton Building, Nottingham Trent University *

Nottingham Council House Nottingham Council House is the city hall of Nottingham, England. The high dome that rises above the city is the centrepiece of the skyline and presides over the Old Market Square which is also referred to as the "City Centre". It is a Grade ...

* Nottingham Playhouse *

* St. Mary's Church *

Nottingham railway station Nottingham station, briefly known as Nottingham City and for rather longer as Nottingham Midland, is a railway station and tram stop in the city of Nottingham. It is the principal railway station of Nottingham. It is also a nodal point on the ...

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road complex created in the early 1970s cut-t ...

Victoria Shopping Centre Victoria Centre is a shopping centre in Nottingham, England, constructed between 1967 and 1972. It contains fashion and high street chain stores as well as cafes, restaurants, a health and fitness centre, and the Nottingham Victoria bus station. ...

* Victoria Shopping Centre apartments * The Corner House *

* Theatre Royal * Marco Island * iQ Nottingham

References

External links

Nottingham City CouncilImages of Nottingham
{{coord, 52.953, -1.149, region:GB, display=title Nottingham Areas of Nottingham Central business districts in the United Kingdom