City guides: Coventry

Coventry is the eighth biggest city in England, offering all the joys of the big city at a fraction of the cost and at a much slower pace. Caught in the throes of modernity with relics of its Tudor ancestry embedded on every street corner, Coventry is both forward thinking and conscious of its past.

Bars and clubs

There are plenty of bars in the centre of town to keep you entertained outside school hours. Medieval Spon Street is home to several cafes and bars where you can envisage Lady Godiva riding horseback through the streets. The Tin Angel is a great independent bar as is the live music venue Taylor John’s, which is located in the Canal Basin. Both of these offer alternative hangouts, acoustic nights and interesting beers.

If flashing dance floors and cheap drinks are your thing then head over to the SkyDome for karaoke at Jumpin’ Jak’s and superclub Lava and Ignite. The SkyDome has a ‘student night’ most weekdays with drinks offers and reduced entry. Dogma is effortlessly cool with a great outdoor area whilst Browns Bar may be the pick of the bunch with its retro interior stealing the show. The new state-of-the-art students’ union is set in a £36million building and hosts their Flirt! School Disco!! night every Friday, which is popular.

Shopping

The farmers’ market is held in Spon Street once a month for some organic, quality produce and the indoor market, one of the largest in Europe, is still going strong after many years of trading. The Precinct and West Orchards shopping centers present the usual high-street stores, and Coventry can boast of the UK’s only city centre Ikea store.

Eating

Situated on Gosford Street, The Phoenix offers great pub lunch deals with their beer and a burger a speciality. In Spon Street, the Tudorian architecture is still very much apparent and various old world pubs serve traditional English grub such as pies and roast dinners. Earl Street is home to Browns, which offers ever-changing but always-delicious home-cooked food. The upmarket Priory Place serves finer food and drink for the more sophisticated, leaving Gosford Street as the place to be after hours for fast food shops.

 Courtesy of CV One ltd

Entertainment

Coombe Abbey Country Park boasts 500 acres of historical land just 20 minutes outside the centre and the birth place of William Shakespeare is a little further down the road in Stratford-upon-Avon. The SkyDome is home to Coventry Blaze, the city’s very own ice hockey team and also houses one of Coventry’s two cinemas. The Kasbah is a cool gig venue and club, regularly holding nights and playing host to acts such as The Enemy, Kate Nash, Doves and Ms Dynamite, with Coventry Transport Museum on Hales Street providing aficionados free entrance into a world of cycle and motoring history.

Accommodation

Most accommodation is a 10 minute walk to lectures such as Callice Court, Priory Halls, Trinity Point and Singer Halls. After first year, many students tend to live in shared accommodation in the areas of Stoke, Hillfields and Earlsdon. Prices for halls are around £100 a week with bills included and house prices can range from £40-80 a week without bills. 

Top 3 places to see

• The Godiva Festival in Memorial Park
• St Michael’s Cathedral
• Coombe Abbey Country park

Coventry is a city of varied pursuits offering plenty of diversity. Whether you’re a fan of culture and history, of socialising in bars and clubs or of relaxing in peaceful and pleasant scenery, Coventry has a slice of everything.