Never heard of Norwich? Neither had I until I started researching less popular day trips from London. I’m a sucker for half timber houses, so Norwich was added to my itinerary… but was it worth visiting?

I visited Norwich as part of this itinerary: 4 Week Paris and London Itinerary (plus thoughts from my first time trying slow travel)

Where is Norwich?

Norwich is located 2 hours north-east of London. There aren’t any well known touristy places nearby, and it’s not a place you visit on the way to somewhere else. As such, you won’t find any guided day trips on Viator or Get Your Guide.

I found Norwich by seeing photos of cute English villages on the A Lady In London blog (I found many day trip ideas and London walking routes on that blog).

How to get there

I purchased my train ticket 1 month in advance via Go Omio. There is no first class on the train, a standard class ticket (sit wherever you want) cost $40.80 AUD / €24.90 (as of 2023).

The ticket in the Go Omio app just said ‘London Terminals’ however the Go Omio website said the train departed from London Liverpool Street, so that is where I took the train from.

You could take the bus but it takes longer and most aren’t direct. The shortest route I could find was 2 hours 35 min via Flixbus. The bus times aren’t very frequent either. So just get the train!

1 Day in Norwich

Whenever I’m travelling, I want to maximize my days, so if I’m doing a day trip I like to arrive at my destination around 9am.

Norwich is just under 2 hours from London, so this meant a train departing 7:30am (remember you need to get from your accommodation to the departing train station, which meant I needed to be on a train from Queensway tube station at 6:30am). I am not a morning person (except when on holidays) but I do think this was a bit too early. There isn’t a lot in Norwich so you could get a later train arriving at 10:30am.

Example schedule for 1 day in Norwich

• 7:30am train departing London Liverpool Street, arrive Norwich at 9:24am (1hr 54 min)
• 20 min walk from Norwich train station into town
• 10am – 11am – Wander the lanes while there’s no people around (I’ve included some photo spots later in this post)
• 11am – Climb the Tower at St John the Baptist Cathedral as part of a Tower Tour
• 12pm – Lunch at the Market stalls
• 1pm – Visit Norwich cathedral
• 2pm – 3:30pm – Norwich Castle
• 3:30pm – Gelato stop (a gelato a day for a happy holiday…)
• 4pm – 6pm – wander along any of the streets you haven’t already seen, the riverbank and visit Pulls ferry, on your way back to the train station
• Train departing Norwich 6:32pm, arrive London Liverpool Street Station at 8:20pm (1hr 48 min)

This schedule is based on a very relaxed pace. If you’re not interested in doing all of the above things or want to go at a faster pace, you could easily get a train heading back to London at 5pm, or a train departing later in the morning.

Things to see and do in Norwich

Viewpoints

If you like viewpoints there is one a short walk outside of the town. I walked up via Gurney Road (as it was quicker) but I don’t recommend this, there was only footpath on one side of the road. Instead, in Google enter ‘Norwich Viewing Point’ (it’s on Brittania Road).

If you’re short on time you could skip this, as there really needs to be a platform or something to boost you up a few metres higher, as you can only see a little bit of Norwich from the viewpoint.

If you’re looking for another viewpoint, there is the tower at St John the Baptist Cathedral (unfortunately this was closed for repairs at the time of my visit).

Food

There are market stalls in Market Place for snacks.

I also visited (and recommend) Cafe Gelato.

Norwich Photo spots

You’ll probably stumble across most of these as you wander around Norwich

• • Tombland bookshop
  • Princes Street & Elm Hill (my favorite streets in the town)
  • The Wensum riverfront near Elm Hill (has a nice cluster of colorful houses)
  • Houses on the corner of Pottergate street and Cow Hill
  • Royal Arcade (go for the building, not the shops)
  • Erpingham Gate
  • The Book Hive bookstore
  • Marble Hall (I only popped my head in to have a quick peek. The place was deserted and it didn’t feel like I should be there!)
  • Briton’s Arms coffee house (one of very few remaining thatched buildings in the town)
  • The Norwich Lanes – alleyways and courtyards near Market Place
  • Norwich Cathedral – free entry
  • Visit the terrace in front of the town hall for a view over the Market stalls

Princes Street was one of my favorite streets in Norwich

You can find this courtyard with the wonky buildings a short walk from the Tombland bookstore

Norwich cathedral – free entry!

Norwich Castle

Unfortunately this was closed for restoration at the time of my visit.

If you want to visit the castle try and go early in the morning as the last entry is at 4:30pm and it closes at 5pm.

Shopping

There is a department store (Jarrolds) – be sure to go down to the basement where you will find some local food (and drink) specialties.

There are also two shopping malls in Norwich (Chantry Place and Castle Quarter).

Tips for visiting Norwich

• Visit Monday to Saturday, apparently not many market stalls are open on Sundays
• I visited on a Friday – it was very quiet. I was easily able to get photos of the main streets with no one in them!
• Opening hours are short, so plan your day accordingly

A walk along the river is a relaxing way to end your day in Norwich

Do I recommend visiting Norwich?

It’s not a must see and I don’t think it needs to make it onto a London itinerary unless you like slow travel, half timbered houses and quaint UK villages, or live in the UK and are looking for a day trip to escape the London crowds. The architecture was similar to York which I think is a better day trip option (albeit a bit farther by train).

I don’t regret going to Norwich. It was a relaxing day trip away from the crowds and as you can see from my photos, it was easy to get pictures without anyone photo bombing me, even in the middle of the day.

I often wonder if I’m ‘missing out’ by focusing on the tourist hotspots when I travel. But as I confirmed after this trip, places are tourist hot spots for a reason – there’s plenty to see and do. Norwich was a bit too quiet for me but I think I would have enjoyed it more if the viewpoint at St John the Baptist Cathedral and Norwich castle had been open.

More London day trips

• Day Trip from London: Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour
• Day trip from London: Visiting the Cotswolds!
• London Day Trip to Windsor Castle
• London Day trip to Blenheim Palace (via public transport)
• Easy day trip from London via train to the British seaside (Brighton)
• London Day Trip to Bath and Stonehenge (plus is Stonehenge overrated?)

Get a copy of my super detailed London and Paris itinerary here

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