You may not know this, but Leicester has one of the most vibrant and thriving street art scenes in the country. So, move over Banksy, and forget Bristol, come and explore our city’s urban art. 

The best place to start is at the Visit Leicester Information Centre in the King Richard III Visitor Centre, where you can pick up the Leicester Street Art and Graffiti Guide. This gives you all the information you need on exploring our city’s artistic hotspots. Then find a café and plan your route! 

We recommend Grays Coffee Shop and Kitchen on Rutland Street, this is in the LCB Depot, right in the heart of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter, which is where much of the city’s street art is centred. The Depot is also home to loads of creative businesses, so you’ll be bumping elbows with some of our best designers, musicians and thinkers as you sup your coffee and tuck in surrounded by street art and sculptures. On the outside of the LCB Depot is a stunning art piece by Australian artist Smug, and you can find another of his works just round the corner on Yeoman Street, where it towers over a car park.  

Take a wander towards the Phoenix cinema and you’ll find loads more examples of this fantastic modern art form, with plenty of Instagram-friendly sprayed walls to get that perfect selfie. There are other street art zones in the city including underpass and overpass street murals so depending on how far you want to wander, you could take in the area around De Montfort University and Welford Road where you can find a Leicester Tigers mural plus another Smug piece celebrating Leicester City’s 2021 FA Cup win! They’re worth the walk. 

Once you’ve filled your camera roll, then head back into the city and into St Martin’s Square, where you can grab a meal from any of the amazing restaurants there. Buddha Bowls at Kai, Thai at Giggling Squid, Mexican at Bodega or Indian Street Food at Mowgli.