Location: Leicester
Top Things to do in Leicester
The 10 Best Hidden Gems Things to do in Leicester, England
Coordinates: 52°38′N 1°8′W / 52.633°N 1.133°W / 52.633; -1.133
Restaurants in Leicester
1. Cocoa Amore
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 218 reviews
Fully Licensed Chocolate Shop based in the Heart of Leicester City Centre. Hand made Chocolates, Desserts, Hot Chocolate & Chocolate making workshops. Hen parties, Birthday parties, corporate team building. Wedding favours Custom chocolate flavours
Reviewed By BakeWithAishah - Leicester, United Kingdom
I love coming here with my friends and family for a hot chocolate; it’s truly the best in Leicester ???? Lovely warm atmosphere, splendid decor and the most divine smell throughout the whole store. I also use their chocolate chips in my baking and I have received many compliments x
2. Stoneywell
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 454 reviews
Reviewed By E3648BSlizs
Lovely garden, knowledgeable garden tour guide, pretty cottage full of arts and crafts furniture and artifacts, with friendly knowledgeable room guides, ad a great tea room...a lovely way to spend a sunny ag=fternoon witha group of friends
3. 45 Gin School - The Distillers Kitchen
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 425 reviews
Located in the oldest retail building in Leicester, close to both 45 bars and overlooking Market Place, our stunning new venue offers you a unique insight into how to make gin and the magical world of distilling. Your 45 Gin School Experience lasts for 3 hours and includes – Cocktail & Gin infused Masterclass, Questions & Answers by our Distiller, complimentary Burleighs Gin & FeverTree tonic, choosing and blending botanicals to create your own unique recipe before distilling, bottling and labelling your craft gin creation ready to take home and drink at your leisure.
Reviewed By jennahU1316GI - Rutland, United Kingdom
We had an absolutely fantastic time distilling our own gin. The team were so knowledgable and guided us through the process - with lots of G+Ts along the way! Cocktail making was great fun, with an added twist ;) I really enjoyed selecting my own botanicals to make a completely bespoke gin. Would 100% recommend this - it's worth every penny for a gin-lover.
4. Escape Asylum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 435 reviews
Leicester's first live escape games! ASYLUM: You have been caught trespassing on an abandoned asylum and the spirit of Evelyn has trapped you in. She will not let you out until you have solved her murder. Solve or perish, the choice is yours.. CIRQUE DU SLAY: The circus is back in town... However all is not what it seems... It's prize act? An evil clown with a thirst for blood! Can you escape before you star in his line-up? CABIN: Cabin is home to an eyeless monster by the name of Eyeball Bill! After losing his eyes in freak game of poker, The legend was created! Curiosity makes you enter, can you escape before he returns to claim your eyes?!
Reviewed By sarahe832 - Lincoln, United Kingdom
A day out in Leicester took us to Escape Asylum today, where we tried all 3 of their rooms. Asylum...well...not a good idea if you’re sensitive to flashing lights or have heart problems! ????❤️ The first part of the room doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the theme but is good fun if you can overcome the frustration! Once we got past that the scares commenced & Games Master Olivia manipulated the atmosphere brilliantly to prey upon our natural nervousness at being locked in an asylum with the ghost of Edith, who wasn’t going to let us out alive unless we solved her murder. ????????????????⚗️????⚰️????This game is geared towards mental conundrums & centres upon solving one central puzzle. By the time we’d figured that out (with a lot of confusion & feeling a bit stupid along the way) we were just a bit too confused & slow at grasping how to complete the very final task & ran out of time. ⌛️????Whilst I didn’t enjoy his game as much as some, just because it doesn’t have as much puzzle type variety as we really like, it’s a well staged room which will certainly raise your pulse rate & the hour will fly by. ????⏰???? Having been killed by Edith in the Asylum our spirits went on to try their luck at Cirque du Slay’s circus. ???????????? Finding ourselves in Momo’s circus lair some of the tasks in there were quite straightforward, others a little trickier to figure out. Evil Clown Momo made us squirm to ask for help, but Kind Clown Momo repaid our efforts when we asked nicely enough & aptly named Games Master Mo played both parts brilliantly. ????????This game is a bit more practical than Asylum- if compared to the Crystal Maze tv programme it’d feature a little bit each of skill, mental & physical. ????????♀️⏰ This was by far my favourite room of the day with a great blend of things to do, a cool quirky ending & a few giggles & squeals along the way! Having enjoyed the first two rooms we decided on the spur of the moment to go & have some dinner before coming back & taking on Eyeball Bill in his cabin. ????????????This was scare free, a welcome relief after the other two rooms! As with Asylum there’s one skill type puzzle near the beginning which doesn’t seem to have much to do with the rest of the theming but other than that it’s largely well thought out & immersive. It’ll have you scooting backwards & forwards and there are a wider variety of puzzle types in this room than Asylum, but it still has it’s challenges & similarly there were a couple of puzzles we just felt baffled by. ????????????????️???? Thankfully the Sheriff, well played by Olivia, was kind in rewarding our funky chicken dancing with some tips when we really needed them which meant we just about escaped with our eyeballs intact! ???????? This is the only room I’d say is potentially family friendly, depending entirely on how resilient your child is. Compared to many escape room venues this is a very professional & slick operation, themed from the moment you enter & well located within the city centre. The GM’s were really friendly, clearly enjoy their work & made our visit a great experience. The games here aren’t for the feint hearted, not overly suitable for young children & I wouldn’t say they’d be the best choice for your first ever escape room experience as they’re not as straight forward as some, but for a challenging & fun day out with some scary thrills & a few laughs as well they’re definitely worth the trip. ????⏱ Apparently they’re opening a new venue in Leicester this summer with 6 rooms. I really hope they’re not all scare/horror based as I’m not really a fan of the scary or really spooky, but either way I’m already looking forward to coming back & giving them a try. ☀️????????????????
5. Retro Computer Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By martindA1512BX
We took the 38th Leicester Cubs and Scouts with a few parents to look at and play with some of the old style computers and the Guys that run it helped the youngsters to earn their Digital Maker badges and some of the parents knew far more than they were letting on about older computer games etc. a great evening for all cubs scouts and adults the guys helped make the evening great and one to remember
6. Escape Reality
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 580 reviews
Escape Reality is the ultimate real-life gaming experience. We have 6 immersive escape experiences where teams of 2-6 players must solve a series of challenging puzzles to escape in 60 minutes! We can accommodate large groups of up to 36 people comfortably inside our rooms and we have a large social area with an exclusive bar.
Reviewed By marcnsarahn - Rothesay, United Kingdom
Visited for 1st time on Monday and done enigmista room, really enjoyed the puzzles and we managed to escape, we loved it so much we booked again for Alcatraz for Tuesday! Great customer service from Matteo and Tariq who explained everything carefully and made our first experiences of Escape rooms extremely enjoyable. Highly recommended. £3 all day car park just opposite too.
7. Tropical Birdland
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,049 reviews
Tropical Birdland is a unique visitor attraction which is home to over 250 birds with a variety of stunning free-flying parrots from all around the world. We are set in 6.5 acres of English countryside which houses aviaries, woodlands and a restaurant, to name a few.
Reviewed By soulsister61 - Derby, United Kingdom
Visited here for my grandson birthday what a fantastic day we had at a great price ,think I enjoyed it just as much as the kids ,lots of birds to see and you can buy food to feed them , good play area, there is a cafeteria but we took our own picnic lots of seating ,we did buy coffee it was very nice , best part was holding the birds they were very friendly and did not bite I would recommend this as a great family day out .
8. Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 263 reviews
Phoenix is a friendly independent cinema and art centre based in Leicester's vibrant cultural quarter - a haven for world cinema, independent movies, film festivals, digital art and short courses. The Phoenix Cafe Bar serves home-cooked food using local produce, and has a specially selected choice of regional ales and wines from around the world. The Cube gallery shows exciting digital art exhibitions. Phoenix is a charity - publicly funded to bring great film and art to all.
Reviewed By Navigator17199215174
Great film well worth a view, lovely comfortable venue great view of screen in comfortable seats, friendly, helpful staff, well worth a visit. Ice reasonably priced coffee
9. Wistow Maze
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 280 reviews
TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO COVID-19. Winner of Leicestershire's "Best Visitor Attraction" A giant 8 acre maize maze with a fun quiz trail hidden amongst 3 miles of paths, with high level bridges and viewing towers giving stunning panoramic views. Each year the Wistow Maze has a new design and theme. Includes an Activity Funyard full of mini mazes and games for all the family. Situated opposite is the Wistow Rural Centre with a cafe/bistro, garden centre, model village, art gallery and numerous shops. A great day out for all ages. Open July - September.
Reviewed By Road660699
Ten out of ten and many gold stars. The maize maze is a gigantic masterpiece of field art (this year in the form of an astronaut). The map to follow is 100% accurate and if you get lost there are frequent numbered points that allow you to relocate. There is an accompanying themed quiz. The entrance fee is very good value. There is a fantastic playground with highly original activities adjacent. The maze and the activities are just across the road from a great complex of shops, including a garden centre with an excellent model village, a deli, a cafe, craft shops and loos. Brilliant day out with the grandchildren - fun, active and educational. Plenty of parking. Wear wellies if recent rain but aim to go on a dry day. Obviously only open during the latter stages of the maize-growing season. A perfect example of agricultural diversification - income from visitors and then from harvesting the crop. Genius!
10. The Blue Boar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 50 reviews
The Blue Boar is a freehouse specialising in cask ale. Also available are carefully chosen ciders, wines and bottled beers. Pub snacks served all day.
Reviewed By robinwG8486ZN - Leicester, United Kingdom
Visit Leicester's best micro pub for top class CAMRA beers in a unique atmosphere with artefacts from the Battle of Bosworth hence the pub's name after Henry Tudor's emblem. This is one of my favourite places in my city as a real ale fan I enjoy beer from the cask, plus tasty filled rolls and pork pie. This pub is a favourite with football and rugby fans so can get busy match days and during beer festivals. Handy for Richard III centre and cathedral, Leicester Town Hall,shops and market. Highly recommended.
