Things to do in Chichester.
Find free and family things to do in Chichester: cathedral, Novium Museum, canal boat trips, Priory Park, and days out to West Wittering and Goodwood.
What's on, this week.
Where to go in Chichester.
Chichester is a compact cathedral city with a free Norman cathedral, the Festival Theatre, Pallant House Gallery, and the Novium Museum built over Roman baths. The city walls form a walkable circuit around the centre, and the canal towpath runs flat all the way to Chichester Harbour. Families have the Novium (free), Priory Park playground, and canal boat trips. West Wittering beach is 20 minutes south. Fishbourne Roman Palace is 5 minutes west.
Chichester Canal
A restored stretch of the old Portsmouth & Arundel Canal. The 75-minute Kingfisher cruise is unhurried and genuinely pleasant; the flat towpath south to the harbour at Birdham is four miles of proper Sussex calm.
Priory Park
A park inside the city walls with a cricket ground, adventure playground and the remains of a medieval Greyfriars chapel. Hosts the Chichester Gala each June.
Chichester Cathedral
Norman in origin and rebuilt over nine centuries, which makes it more interesting than any single-period building. Inside: a Piper tapestry, Chagall stained glass, and Graham Sutherland paintings — one of the best contemporary art commissions inside a working cathedral anywhere in the country.
Chichester Festival Theatre
A flagship producing theatre since 1962, with productions that regularly transfer to the West End. The festival season — April to October — is the one to plan a trip around. The Minerva stages year-round.
Pallant House Gallery
Award-winning Modern British collection — Moore, Hepworth, Paolozzi, Peter Blake — in a Queen Anne townhouse. The ground-floor shows are always free.
The Novium Museum
Built over a Roman bathhouse exposed across the ground-floor gallery. An easy add-on to any city visit — free, and the kind of place that makes an instant impression on children.
Goodwood Art Foundation
Outdoor sculpture park on the Goodwood estate — works by Kusama, Lee Ufan and Hélio Oiticica in the current programme, with rotating summer shows. Book in advance.
Fishbourne Roman Palace
The largest known Roman domestic building in Britain, 1.5 miles west of the city. The Cupid on a Dolphin mosaic is exceptional. Paired well with a morning in the city.
Plan it like a local.
The practical stuff locals know — where to take the kids, what is free, where to go when it rains, and what to pair the city with.
Best for Families
The Novium Museum on Tower Street is free for all visitors and the Roman bathhouse exposed across the ground floor holds younger children's attention well. Priory Park has a free playground inside the city walls with a sand area for toddlers and a cafe on site. Chichester Canal runs 75-minute boat trips from the canal basin (from £7 for children, £10 for adults, spring to autumn; book at chichestercanal.org.uk or call 01243 771363). Flip Out at Chichester Gate (PO19 7BJ) has indoor trampolining, a Ninja obstacle course, and soft play; trampoline sessions from £10.50, soft play from £5.50. The cathedral runs free family trails during school holidays. For teenagers, Chichester Westgate Skatepark sits behind the leisure centre on Via Ravenna (PO19 1RJ) and is free, concrete, and open all day.
Free Things to Do
The cathedral is free and runs lunchtime concerts every Tuesday at 1:10pm during term time; no tickets, no reserved seats, just turn up. The Novium Museum is free for all visitors. Walking the city walls takes around 40 minutes on a self-guided 1.5-mile circuit with interpretation panels at regular intervals. Priory Park and the canal towpath are both free. The farmers market runs on the first and third Friday of each month (9am to 2pm in East Street and North Street). For a longer free day, the flat canal towpath runs four miles from the basin to Chichester Harbour at Birdham.
Rainy Day Chichester
The Novium Museum is free and dry, with enough Roman history to fill a wet hour or two. Pallant House Gallery on North Pallant holds one of the best Modern British art collections outside London; adult admission £17, free for under-18s and jobseekers, open Tuesday to Sunday. Chichester Cinema at New Park (PO19 7XY) shows independent films from mid-morning; children from £3, adults from £11, with a cafe bar in the building. Flip Out at Chichester Gate is fully indoors; sessions from £10.50. The Festival Theatre box office is worth checking for matinees during the April-to-October season.
Combine Your Visit
Fishbourne Roman Palace is 5 minutes west (PO19 3QR), the largest Roman domestic building in Britain, with mosaic floors and a replanted Roman garden. Goodwood Estate is 10 minutes north (PO18 0PX) and worth timing around horse racing, the Festival of Speed, or the Goodwood Art Foundation. West Wittering beach is around 20 minutes south on a quiet day; the car park fills by 10am on summer weekends. Bosham village is 10 minutes west and has a working harbour, Saxon church, and a waterfront pub. Petworth and the Weald and Downland Museum are each around 25 minutes.
The Chichester Pallant Quarter
The streets south of East Street form the Pallant quarter, the oldest residential area in Chichester. Georgian townhouses now house Pallant House Gallery, independent restaurants, wine bars, and some of the city's best food. North Pallant, South Pallant, East Pallant and West Pallant radiate from a central cross, echoing the larger city street plan. It is the best area for an evening meal or a leisurely weekend brunch.
Chichester Harbour and the Coast
Chichester Harbour is a National Landscape (formerly an AONB) stretching south from the city to the Solent. The harbour villages of Bosham, Itchenor and Dell Quay offer waterfront pubs and sailing, with seal-spotting boat trips departing from Itchenor. West Wittering beach, 7 miles south of the city centre, is one of the best sandy beaches on the south coast. The Salterns Way cycle path runs from the city centre to West Wittering via Apuldram and Dell Quay, mostly on traffic-free paths and quiet lanes.
Where locals eat between the sights.
A cloister café, the gallery favourite, a pre-theatre pub, and two independents worth crossing town for. All walkable.
Cloisters Kitchen & Garden
The cathedral's own café in the cloisters — soups, sandwiches and cakes, with a walled garden that earns its name on a sunny day.
Pallant Café
The gallery café is genuinely one of the better lunch options in this part of the city. Walk in for coffee and cake; book for lunch on busy days. Proper garden for sun.
The Park Tavern
A short walk from the Festival Theatre and perfect for pre-show. Well-kept ales, a small but honest menu, garden for summer.
Common Grounds
A tight independent café doing proper speciality coffee and pastries. Small, busy, and worth the squeeze.
Farmyard
Natural and biodynamic wines with farm-to-table small plates, upstairs at The Ghost at the Feast. Book ahead for Friday nights.
Getting here.
The station is a ten-minute walk from the Market Cross. Drivers should aim for Avenue de Chartres multi-storey, then forget the car for the day.
By trainRecommended
1h 40 from London Victoria
50 min from Brighton
30 min from Worthing
20 min from Portsmouth
By carA27
Avenue de Chartres · PO19 8DJ
Northgate · PO19 6AA
Cattle Market · PO19 1JW
On-street · max 1 hour
By busStagecoach
Direct from Bognor Regis
Direct from Littlehampton
Direct from Midhurst
Direct from Petersfield
The Chichester year.
The fixtures worth planning around — the festivals, markets and fairs that come round every year.
Chichester Festival Theatre Season
The annual festival season runs from April to October, with a programme of plays, musicals and family shows across the Festival and Minerva theatres. Many productions transfer to the West End.
Chichester Farmers Market
Held on the first and third Friday of every month in East Street and North Street. Local producers sell Sussex cheese, bread, meat, fish, seasonal fruit and vegetables.
Festival of Chichester
A five-week summer festival running from mid-June to late July, with around 125 independently organised events including jazz, folk, theatre, comedy and visual art across venues throughout the city.
Chichester Festive Market
A festive market takes over East Street and North Street on weekends in early December, with stalls selling gifts, food and crafts. Cathedral carol services and the Minerva Theatre Christmas show run alongside.
Sloe Fair
A traditional funfair held under a charter granted in 1107, on 20 October each year in the car park between Northgate and the city walls. Chichester's oldest surviving fair.
What to know before you go
Honest answers to what people ask us most about a day in the city.
Chichester has a free Norman cathedral, Pallant House Gallery, the Novium Museum built over Roman baths, and the Festival Theatre. The Pallant quarter has independent restaurants and wine bars. West Wittering beach and Fishbourne Roman Palace are both within 20 minutes by car.
The Novium Museum is free for all visitors and displays a Roman bathhouse across its ground floor. Priory Park has a free playground inside the city walls. Canal boat trips run from £7 for children. Flip Out at Chichester Gate has indoor trampolining from £10.50 and soft play from £5.50.
Chichester Cathedral is free and hosts Tuesday lunchtime concerts at 1:10pm during term time. The Novium Museum is free for all. The city walls circuit takes 40 minutes. Priory Park and the canal towpath are free. The farmers market is free to browse on the first and third Friday each month.
The Novium Museum (free, built over a Roman bathhouse) and Pallant House Gallery (£17 adults, free under-18s) are both central and fully indoor. Chichester Cinema at New Park shows independent films from £3 for children. Flip Out at Chichester Gate has indoor trampolining from £10.50.
Avenue de Chartres multi-storey (PO19 8DJ) is the largest car park close to the centre. Northgate (PO19 6AA) and Cattle Market (PO19 1JW) are also central. On-street pay-and-display is short stay only, up to 1 hour. A free park-and-ride runs from Chichester College on the weekends before Christmas.
Chichester is on the West Coastway line with Southern trains from London Victoria (1 hour 40 minutes), Brighton (50 minutes), Worthing (30 minutes), and Portsmouth (around 25 minutes). The station is a 10-minute flat walk from the Market Cross at the city centre.
The Chichester Farmers Market runs on the first and third Friday of each month, 9am to 2pm in East Street and North Street, with Sussex cheese, fish, bread, and seasonal vegetables. A general market runs on Wednesdays. A festive market takes over East and North Street on weekends in early December.
Fishbourne Roman Palace is 5 minutes west. West Wittering beach is 20 minutes south. Goodwood Estate is 10 minutes north. Bosham village is 10 minutes west. Petworth, Arundel Castle, and the Weald and Downland Museum are each under 30 minutes.
Dogs are welcome in city centre streets and along the canal towpath, but are not allowed in Priory Park or Bishop's Palace Gardens under a public spaces order. The cathedral welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads. Chichester Harbour foreshore and South Downs paths are generally dog-friendly, though seasonal livestock restrictions apply on some downland routes in spring.
The Festival of Chichester runs for around five weeks from mid-June each year, with around 125 events including jazz, theatre, folk music, comedy, and visual art across the city. Most events are ticketed individually; see festivalofchichester.co.uk for the current programme.
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Nearby, and related.
More of West Sussex worth your time — neighbouring towns and the guides that go deeper.
- Population
- ~29,000
- Roman origins
- Noviomagus, c. AD 70
- Setting
- By Chichester Harbour National Landscape
Chichester Canal © Colin Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Chichester Cathedral © David Iliff (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Chichester Festival Theatre © Paul Gillett (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Pallant House Gallery © Tim Sheerman-Chase (CC BY 2.0) · The Novium Museum © ACT124 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Goodwood Art Foundation © Ed Wilde (CC BY 3.0) · Fishbourne Roman Palace © Michael Garlick (CC BY-SA 2.0). Images cropped.