One of the best things about Chester is the fantastic selection of shops all located in a fairly compact city centre. There are so many beautiful historic buildings here and exploring the shops inside them makes browsing the shops a delight. There’s also an indoor shopping centre next to the Grosvenor Hotel. Chester is packed with independent shops too – many more than we’ve seen in most other city centres.
Many of these smaller independent shops are part of ‘The Rows’ which offer a shopping experience over 2 levels on many of Chester’s shopping streets. At ground level you will often find the bigger chains, but take the stairs at the end of each row and there’s a whole other level of shops above them (pictured below). Whilst some of these are an upstairs area for the shop below, many are totally new stores. The combination of these two levels creates the kind of experience you’d get in a modern indoor shopping complex, but outdoor and in lovely historic buildings.
The main shopping streets in Chester are Eastgate (where the historic clock is located), Northgate, Bridge Street and Watergate Street. They all come together at Chester Cross. There are further shops on Foregate Street, St Werburgh Street and Frodsham Street. The best way to enjoy the shops of Chester is simply to wander around. They’re all connected to each other and that great combination of historic buildings and interesting shops is evident in all of the streets.
LOCATION & MAP
The map below shows the location of the Eastgate clock on top of the Chester City Walls on Eastgate Street. You can move it around to see the surrounding shopping streets. The Chester Hop-on, Hop-off Bus Tour has a number of stops near the shopping areas.
MORE ON SHOPPING IN CHESTER
Chester Shopping – Visit Cheshire
Chester Rows – Wikipedia
Hotels In Chester – Booking.com