Winchester City

Once the ancient capital of England and former seat of King Alfred the Great, Winchester is the quintessential English city with a rich heritage and vibrant contemporary culture.

Crowned by The Sunday Times as ‘The Best Place to Live 2016’ and topping the 2019 Royal Mail Happiness Index, this friendly and highly walkable city of about 50,000 people has an easy-going vibe, fabulous local food, a lively music scene and a wonderful street performance festival – The Hat Fair – to rival Edinburgh.

The backdrop to all this buzzing life could not be more beguiling. It forms a lesson in English period architecture, from the imposing cathedral at the green heart of the city to the handsome Georgian townhouses that you half expect to be still inhabited by characters from a Jane Austen novel. As well as kings and much loved novelists, the city has charmed A-list celebrities, too – its hushed backstreets and generous share of medieval buildings have lent themselves to scenes in films such as The Da Vinci Code, Les Misérables and Wolf Hall, which were all shot here.