A city (and county) for students

So we know that Leicester is a great city to visit and explore, but it’s also a fantastic place to study, and every September more than 60,000 students return to Leicester and Loughborough to study at one of our three great universities, the University of Leicester, Loughborough University and De Montfort University.

The University of Leicester is known for its fantastic medical school, archaeology and space research. It is the University behind some of the greatest discoveries in our city’s history, including the discovery and identification of King Richard III ten years ago, which you can read about here. The University has just been shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2024. 

Of course we can’t forget the amazing Loughborough University, who are consistently ranked in the top ten universities in the UK and were named University of the Year for Sport by the Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022. In fact, if Loughborough University was a country its athletes would have finished sixth in the overall 2022 Commonwealth Games medal table – ahead of South Africa, Jamaica, and Nigeria, and 20th in the 2024 Olympics!

De Montfort University has an amazing reputation for teaching in the creative industries alongside practical courses in the health sciences, business and fashion design. The university is renowned for its close links with business and was recognised in the National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2021 for their Careers Service. 

Leicester is one of the most affordable student cities and has been named in the top ten ‘student cities’ based on the cost of food, rent and fun, and there are plenty of places to have fun! Once you’ve finished shopping until you drop, as befits a student city, Leicester is packed full of fantastic pubs, bars and clubs.

Whether it’s a student-focused pub like The Loaded Dog, a real ale paradise like The Blue Boar or something a little more highbrow like 45 West, there’s something to suit every taste and budget. Dance the night away at Club Republic or Mosh, or grab late night cocktails at Revolution. Pretty much every student night out will end up with a late night at Firebug at some point, and with live music, comedy and food served until 4am, you can make sure you’re ready for the morning.

With tons of great music venues Leicester is the place to enjoy live entertainment. Larger venues include the O2 where you can see Skindred, Stereo MCs and Nile Rogers or De Montfort Hall where you can see musicians including 10cc and Squeeze and top comedians such as Sarah Millican and Milton Jones. Smaller venues like the Soundhouse, Musician and Firebug are where you can catch your next favourite band, and smaller tours by household names including Wheatus, Sleeper and Dr Feelgood.

With the largest comedy festival outside of Edinburgh coming to the city every February, if you like to laugh then Leicester is the place to be. But the comedy isn’t restricted to that month, a range of great venues put on comedy most nights of the week including small venues across the city and the Big Difference venue on High Street.

And of course the theatre. Curve is where you can see full West End productions and the very best home-grown plays from the Curve team. There’s also the Little Theatre and the Y showing smaller (but no less impressive) productions. Leicester has a long and impressive theatrical tradition, which you can read more about here.

You would expect a diverse city to have loads of places to eat and in Leicester you are spoiled for choice. You can eat a different cuisine every night, from Japanese and Mexican to Thai and Czech, Argentinian steakhouse to Italian and a huge range of Indian restaurants there’s something for every taste and every budget. Great places to find a restaurant are down London Road, around Highcross and the old town of Leicester, and of course all the way along the Golden Mile. Take a look at our Taste the Place campaign to discover more, including our amazing local delicacies and why Leicester is the home of veganism.

We hope that you know Leicester is the home of the National Space Centre, the UK’s largest attraction dedicated to space exploration, and the King Richard III Visitor Centre, marking the discovery of one of our only missing monarchs in 2012.

But there are loads of other places to explore for free – from the dinosaurs, artworks and mummies of Leicester Museum, the social history of the city at Newarke Houses museum and just across from the King Richard III Visitor Centre, the historic Leicester Guildhall and Cathedral (where you can find Richard III’s tomb).

The University of Leicester is right next to Victoria Park, but this beautiful park is just one of the amazing places you can go and relax in the open air. Just across the city is Abbey Park, where you can feed the ducks and swans, go out on the boating lake and explore the ruins of Leicester’s historic abbey.

It’s often said that Leicester gives you the best of both worlds as the countryside is only a short bus ride or car journey away and from the beauty of Bradgate Park, the lakes of Watermead or the relaxing atmosphere of Aylestone Meadows, there’s so many places to explore. Take a look at our guide to green spaces for much more.

Of course our students out in Loughborough may be a little further from the city, but this town continues to pull in the crowds, whether it’s at the art venue and theatre, at the twice weekly street market, or November’s Loughborough Fair. The town is only a short ride away from the National Forest, some incredible small villages and of course, Leicester itself. It’s the perfect base to start exploring our wonderful county.

We hope this post has given you an idea of places to go and things to do, but there is so much to do in Leicester and Leicestershire that we couldn’t possibly list it all. So check out our Uncover the Story pages for loads more ideas of places to go from Belvoir Castle to Twycross Zoo. One thing’s for sure, you’re unlikely to be bored here.