Chester second only to Bath for best 'medium-sized' UK city break

Chester has been narrowly pipped to top spot when it comes to the best 'medium-sized' city break in the UK, new research has revealed. Bath just came out on top in a survey carried out by consumer champion Which?

In terms of 'big cities', Liverpool was the number one staycation destination in the UK, scoring higher than the likes of York and Edinburgh. The most popular 'small city' was Wells.

Although Chester came second to Bath with an overall customer score of 80 per cent compared to 82, it was only in the 'cultural sights' category that it received less marks. Bath, achieving the top score of five stars, was described by one customer as "one of the top sites in the UK, indeed Europe".

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Chester scored four stars for food and drink, accommodation, cultural sights, shopping, ease of getting around, crowds and value for money. Its lowest mark was for parking, with the city receiving three stars.

Bath's lowest marks were one star for parking and two for crowds. The Which? survey states: "Liverpool is the top-rated big city in the UK for a holiday. It got a higher score than other popular cities, York and Edinburgh, and beat local rival Manchester for cultural sights, accommodation, crowds and parking. It was rated better than London, too.

"Bath and Chester were the most popular medium-sized cities or towns, while tiny Wells in Somerset was far and away the most popular small city." Explaining how the research was carried out, it adds: "In April 2024, we asked 3,967 Which? members to rate UK cities and towns they’d visited for leisure purposes and stayed in for at least one night in the past two years (since April 2022). We received reports of 7,187 experiences."

The top ten best 'medium-sized' city breaks in the UK

1. Bath - 82 per cent

2. Chester - 80 per cent

3. Lincoln - 78 per cent

4. Worcester - 77 per cent

5. Canterbury - 76 per cent

6. Shrewsbury - 75 per cent

7. Harrogate - 74 per cent

8. Oxford - 74 per cent

9. Norwich - 73 per cent

10. Cambridge - 72 per cent

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