Sheffield, United Kingdom

Sheffield has a great deal to offer both locals and visitors. Not all of its activity is relegated to the city centre: some of the best restaurants and entertainments are situated in the lively central suburbs and on the roads which radiate out from the city centre, such as the fashionable Ecclesall and Abbeydale roads.

CITY CENTRE

The most popular areas of the city centre include:

The Moor and Fargate

Much of the city centre's shopping is located in the pedestrian areas of The Moor and Fargate. The Moor's mixture of shops include department stores, discount shops and a permanent open air market, whilst Fargate boasts many high street fashion stores. Orchard Square and Chapel Walk have smaller specialist and independent outlets.

Barker's Pool

Both the City Hall music venue and the popular Cole Brothers' Department Store are located in Barker's Pool. To the rear of the store is Henry's Cafe Bar. The Sheffield branch of this national chain was one of the first in the country to be established and is still popular as a meeting place both during the day and in the evening.

Devonshire Quarter

West of Barker's Pool, along Division Street, is the well-known Devonshire Quarter. The Quarter is home to the alternative shopping centre, The Forum, and to many independent fashion, music and design shops, such as the independent shoe shop, Pseudo Podia and the record shop Noise Annoys.

A good selection of cafes and restaurants are available in this area, most of which are busy with business people and shoppers during the day and become even livelier at night. Among the most popular are the Forum Cafe, Bar Coast and Halcyon cafe-bars, the Havana Internet Cafe and Pizza Express restaurant.

West Street

West Street runs parallel to Division Street and is a popular drinking area, with many large theme pubs such as Flares and the Cavendish. This is also a good place to find something to eat.

Town Hall

Pinstone Street, between the Moor and Fargate is the location of the Town Hall and the newly developed Peace Gardens, with their spectacular fountain.

Tudor Square

Just beyond the Town Hall is Tudor Square, which is the cultural heart of the city, surrounded by the Lyceum and Crucible Theatres, and Graves Art Gallery. The impressive Millennium Galleries, are just across the road in Surrey Street. Four galleries host major temporary exhibitions (some in conjunction with London's Tate Gallery), house the city's Ruskin collection, and provide a home for Sheffield's impressive metalware collection.

A small cluster of excellent eating and drinking establishments in this area include Mama and Leonie's pizzeria, the Olive Garden Café, and the Brown Bear pub. All make ideal pre- and post-theatre stops.

Cultural Industries Quarter

Across Arundel Gate is Sheffield Hallam University's large city centre campus, with its many new buildings. Below the campus is the Railway Station and the Bus Station. A short walk away, around Brown Street and Paternoster Row, is the Cultural Industries Quarter. This district is home to many industries involved in the media and other cultural areas. Here you will also find the Showroom Cinema, the Site Gallery and the National Centre for Popular Music. The famous Republic nightclub and the Leadmill night club and live music venue are also in this area, and the Globe pub is nearby.

Park Square Roundabout

The large Park Square roundabout is the location of the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, which hosts many competitive swimming and diving events and also offers a leisure pool, fitness suite and sports halls.

Across the road you will see the big indoor Castle Market complex, so called because it was built on the site of the 12th century castle. It is still possible to view the original Castle Foundations.

Victoria Quays

Victoria Quays is a development around the canal basin. Warehouses have been refurbished into luxury apartments and new office developments overlook the moored boats, including the A Thirty Nine Restaurant boat and the luxurious Ruby hotel boat. The original arches are now occupied by unusual shops and restaurants. The popular Sheaf Quays Pub and Restaurant is also housed in one of the canal's original buildings.

Many of Sheffield's luxury hotels are to be found close by. The cluster includes the Sheffield Hilton, the Holiday Inn and the luxurious Novotol and Bristol hotels.

Kelham Island

Sheffield may not be blessed with many beautiful historic buildings, but you are never far from reminders of its great industrial past. The Kelham Island Museum, which celebrates Sheffield's industrial heritage, is to be found on Alma Street. Next door are the Kelham Island Pub and Brewery. This is an up-and-coming district; Sheffield's first loft-style apartments were recently developed in the old Cornish Works.

NORTH SHEFFIELD

The industrial Don Valley, to the north of the city centre, has seen many of its large steelworks disappear. In their place are new industrial and office developments and large leisure and shopping attractions.

Don Valley

The Don Valley Stadium and Hallam FM Arena are legacies of the World Student Games. The Stadium hosts athletics events and has fitness suites, which are available for public use, whilst the nearby Arena is home to the local ice hockey and basketball teams. Both are used as venues for large concerts.

This is also the location of the Entertainment complex of the UCG multi-screen cinema, restaurants, nightclubs and the Hollywood Bowl.

Meadowhall Shopping Centre

With 270 shops the prestigious Meadowhall indoor shopping centre, situated two miles north of the City Cente, hosts a large collection of major high street chains and department stores. Smaller independent stores and the Warner Village Cinema are located around the Oasis foodhall.

Sheffield Ski Village

Sheffield's Ski Village is visible from much of the city, on the hillside at Parkwood Springs. It is Europe's largest artificial ski resort and offers skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing.

Hillsborough

Hillsborough is famous as the home of Sheffield Wednesday, one of the city's two football clubs (the other is Sheffield United whose Bramall Lane Ground is in the south of the city). This self-contained town within a city has a good shopping centre and other attractions, such as Hillsborough Leisure Centre and the Cupola Gallery.

SOUTH SHEFFIELD

The leafy residential suburbs to the south west of Sheffield are home to some of the city's finest restaurants and specialist shopping areas.

Ecclesall Road and Hunter's Bar

The tree-lined section of Ecclesall Road, running from just past the old Ward's brewery to Hunter's Bar roundabout, is known as Sheffield's "golden mile" of shopping for its mix of designer and specialty shops. There is also a good selection of bars, cafes and pubs, including Coffee Revolution, Nonnas Cafe and Restaurant, Champs Bar and Restaurant and the Porter Brook Pub.

Nearby Sharrow Vale Road has a similar mixture, including Café Ceres, the Mediterranean Restaurant and the Lescar Pub.

This is also the location of two of Sheffield's best-known green spaces; Endcliffe Park and the Botanical Gardens.

Abbeydale Road and Nether Edge

The leafy Victorian suburb of Nether Edge is home to many hotels: of particular note is the luxurious Swallow Hotel.

Abbeydale Road is known as the antique district of Sheffield; although it is slightly down at heel, it has an interesting mix of secondhand, antique and reproduction outlets.

Further out, on Abbeydale Road South, is the Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, Ecclesall Woods, and the adjoining Ladies Spring Wood.

Broomhill and Crookesmoor

Leaving the City Centre along Glossop Road and Western Bank, you come in to Crookesmoor, where the main hospital and Sheffield University (with its landmark Arts Tower) are situated. The City Museum and Mappin Art Gallery are also here.

Continuing into Broomhill, you come across a good shopping centre, with independent and charity shops and pubs such as O'Neill's Irish Bar and the South Seas. This beautiful Victorian district has some good hotels such as the modern Posthouse.

Peak District

Finally, the beautiful Peak District National Park lies immediately to the west and south west of the city. Continue through Broomhill along Glossop Road and the A57 for dramatic hills and moorland scenery, which gives way further south to high limestone country and wooded river dales. Outdoor activities, picturesque towns and villages, the historic houses of Chatsworth and Haddon Hall, and the Peak Cavern show caves at Castleton are amongst its many attractions.