With its rich history, ancient and magnificent architecture, and fantastic surroundings the cathedral city of Exeter is the jewel of Devon. The capital of the South West offers great shopping facilities as well as a wide range of education opportunities and culture. The city has Roman origins and it once served as a strategic base on the banks of the river Exe. Parts of the original Roman walls are still to be seen today.

Exeter is regularly voted as one of the top 3 cities to live in the UK for its quality of life. Excellent transport links make this city a desired location for many businesses. Exeter is on the London Paddington to Cornwall line. Exeter St. David’s railway station as well as the M5 motorway and Exeter International Airport connect the city both nationally and internationally.

Exeter is home to Exeter Chiefs Rugby Union Club that currently plays in the top tier of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership.

 

Visitor Attractions

 

St. Peter’s Cathedral is the major historical landmark attracting visitors and tourists from all over the UK. The 900 year old city icon of hosts a variety of music events and regular services, as well as having many historical curiosities including the Exeter Book, one of the largest existing collections of Anglo-Saxon literature in the world

 

 

 

Exeter's Historic Quayside is popular with both the locals and tourists and it provides a great place for cycling, relaxation or just a quiet stroll along the canal. It boasts fashionable restaurants, bars and cafes as well as a series of waterside events in the summer.

 

 

 

Exeter’s Underground Passages are not for the faint hearted. Accessible from the Princesshay shopping district, these medieval passages were originally built to bring fresh water into the city in medieval times. Tours of the tunnels often sell out quickly during school holidays, so be sure to book in advance.

 

 

 

Northernhay Gardens are an English Heritage Grade II listed open space. Many cultural events take place here throughout the year including plays, open-air cinemas, and various small festivals. The gardens extend around the city's ancient castle ruins making it one of the most serene locations in the heart of the city, and considered by many as Exeter's best kept secret.

 

 

 

 

Princesshay shopping district is a successful new commercial retail development in Exeter. Opened in 2007, this shopping complex offers popular high street stores as well as fashionable restaurants such as Carluccios, Cafe Rouge and many others. Room-B's own Trinity Apartments and St Johns Place are located within this contemporary landmark. 

 

 

 

Exe Estuary is an internationally important wildlife centre housing manyprotected bird species and thousands of birds come down from Northern Europe to spend the winter here. Bird watching and wildlife observation are popular activities on the estuary.

 

 

 

Dartmoor is a protected natural park covering almost 400 square miles. This vast moorland is covered with granite hilltops known as ‘tors’. Dartmoor’s wildlife, rivers and climate attracts many tourists, hikers and wildlife enthusiasts especially during the summer months.

 

 

 

Devon’s coast is lined with seaside resorts such as Dawlish, Torquay, Paignton, Brixham, Exmouth and Sidmouth, where the locals and tourists love to enjoy the coastline, beaches and Devon ice-cream. With 2 seperate coastlines to choose from it is one of the best places in the country to enjoy Britains diverse coastline.

 

 

 

Recommended

 

Exeter Corn Exchange and Exeter Phoenix both hold regular cultural performances and serve as a venue for many concerts and city’s cultural events. For a more traditional theatre experience, The Northcott has a variety of touring performances, whilst the Bikeshed Theatre offers a more intimate, theatre experience.

Guided tours with the City’s volunteer Redcoat guides will introduce you to the history of Exeter. These fantastic tours leave the Cathedral Green or the Quay and last 1-2 hours.

Cycling is a great way to get around in Exeter. Bikes can be hired from Saddles and Paddles, No. 4 Kings Wharf, The Quay, Exeter, EX4 2AN, who offer the local bike route maps.

Check this fantastic website to easily find a musuem to visit in Devon

Events

 

Exeter food festival- 13-15 April 2012: Championed by multi-award winning chef Michael Caines MBE, this fantastic weekend event allows you to taste an incredible range of food and drink from the south-west. From world champion cheeses, to organic scrumpy!

Devon County Show- May 2012: Based on the outskirts of Exeter, the Devon County Show celebrates all things Devonshire. Whilst primarily being a livestock show, where local producers show off their oversized vegetables and livestock, it also has a large variety of other attractions making it particularly good for families.

Sidmouth Folk Festival- 29 July to 5 August: The oldest folk festival in the UK, it regularly attracts some of the biggest names in UK folk music for a week of fantastic music and traditional dancing. If you are visiting the regions at this time of the year it is certainly worth visiting.

Aeon Festival- 26-28 August: One of the UK’s more intimate music festivals. With a variety of acts which cross a range of genres, this laid back and affordable festival has developed a significant following both regionally and nationally.

 

Local Organisations

 

Exeter University is one of the largest employers in the South West and one of Europe’s fastest growing companies. University’s excellent academic reputation together with a wide array of social and sporting activities that Exeter has to offer makes it a very popular choice among students.

Met Office– In 2003, the Met Office, the UK's national and international weather service, moved to Exeter into their newly built state of the art building on the outskirts of Exeter.

Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust– The Trust was founded in 2004 and it successfully meets the healthcare needs of local people in Exeter, East Devon and Mid Devon. The Trust has more than 30 wards, 20 operating theatres, around 850 inpatient beds and 75 day case beds and it employed around 6,000 people in 2010.

Flybe- Flybe is Europe’s largest regional airline and it operates over 180 routes to various European destinations. The company is headquartered at Exeter International Airport. Flybe’s newly launched Training Academy is a great asset to the region  and it offers a wide range of pilot, cabin crew, customer service and aviation support courses to airlines across the world.

Locations Solutions South West- LSSW is an organisation that helps media creators find fantastic locations in the South West of England for a variety of different projects. Credits include features like Apocolypto, Doc Martin and Elizabeth: The Golden Age