Nottingham life

"A dynamic mix of medieval and modern"

Over the years Nottingham City has continued to attract increasing numbers of students and now boasts a large and diverse student population, integral to the city itself. It is not just a city with an impressive history and famous legends; it is cosmopolitan, vibrant and ideally suited towards student life.

Nottingham is enriched with a flourishing arts scene, with many different venues across the city offering all types of event: theatre, dance, music, comedy, art, film and poetry.

• The University of Nottingham’s own Lakeside Arts Centre holds a variety of performances, events, exhibitions and workshops.
• Nottingham is also home to two major theatres, Nottingham Playhouse and The Royal Centre.

There is a variety of art galleries in Nottingham, including:

• Nottingham Castle
• The Weston and Wallner galleries, located at Lakeside Arts Centre.

Nottingham is also soon to be home to the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Nottingham (CCAN), due to open in autumn 2009.

The city has many cinemas where you’ll find films suited to all types of filmgoer:

• the Broadway Media Centre offers independent and world-cinema
• the Screen Room is the world’s smallest cinema
• there are two multiplex cinemas, Cineworld and Showcase
• the independent Savoy cinema which is very popular with students.

Goose Fair

A highlight of Nottingham's events calendar is Goose Fair, the largest travelling fair in Europe with over 700 years of history.  The five-day event comes to town every October and features over 500 faiground attractions, including white-knuckle rides, family friendly fun and an amazing array of stalls and side shows.

Nottingham is famous for its colourful nightlife - no wonder considering the amount of bars, clubs and music venues that inhabit the compact city centre.

• In Hockley and the Lace Market you’ll find an assortment of stylish bars and dancing venues.
• The waterfront provides the perfect location for canalside drinking.
• Mansfield Road and Derby Road offer a wide variety of pubs catering for those with a taste for real ale and those with a pallet for fine wines.
• We even have the oldest inn in England - Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. 

The city has many live music venues which attract top artists to the city. These include:

• larger venues such as Trent FM Arena, Royal Centre, and Rock City
• smaller venues such as the Rescue Rooms, the Bodega Social Club and Bar Seven.

Nightclubs include Gatecrasher, Stealth, Oceana and the Cookie Club, offering everything from charts to indie, house to funk, and rock to drum’n’bass.

Nottingham is known as a major shopping destination. The Market Square is the centre of the city and home to major high street stores. In the surrounding area there are:

• two major shopping centres, the Victoria Centre and the Broadmarsh Centre
• a number of well-known department stores and high street shopping areas.

In the historical Hockley area of the city you’ll find independent retailers and boutiques selling retro and designer gear, and the Exchange Arcade and Flying Horse Walk house a variety of quality goods and designer clothing.  The following designers all have outlets in Nottingham:

• Vivienne Westwood
• Karen Millen
• Paul Smith.

As a city of many cultures the variety of eateries on offer is broad. In the city centre, Lace Market and Mansfield Road areas of the city you’ll find an array of places to grab a quick snack or eat a meal. These range from foreign foods such as Greek, Indian, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, French, Mexican, Thai, to seafood restaurants, pizza places, American diners and great quality pub dining. 

Nottinghamshire is perfect for those who like to get outdoors; the University Park Campus itself is surrounded with lush greenery of Highfields Park which also contains a boating lake. Whether it is relaxing in one of the county’s many parks or rambling in the nearby Peak District National Park, there is something for every kind of outdoor activity within the region. See the links below for a selection of the open spaces available to you.

• Parks in Nottingham
• Wollaton Hall Gardens and Deer Park
• Newstead Abbey Historic House and Gardens
• Country Parks: Rufford, Bestwood and Sherwood Forest
• Clumber Park
• Attenborough Nature Reserve
• Peak District National Park 
  

If you like sport – as a supporter or a participant - Nottingham has an impressive range of major sports teams and first-class facilities.  The University of Nottingham itself has excellent sport facilities and actively encourages and supports student participation in physical activity.

• Nottingham City Council
• Nottinghamshire County Council
• Nottingham City Council What’s On Guide
• Left Lion – Nottingham culture magazine
• Itchy Nottingham – guide on what’s on and where to go
• See what activities, events and opportunities are on offer to students at the University