Norwıch

Norwich – A Fine City, say the signs on every road into town, with the quiet confidence of a place that never needed to shout. There was once a church here for every week of the year and a pub for every day, and plenty of both still stand.

Norfolk’s unofficial motto is Do Different, and its capital has always lived up to it. When Dutch and Flemish weavers fled persecution in the 1500s, Norwich took in these “Strangers” in such numbers that they shaped its trade, its streets and even its football club, nicknamed the Canaries after the songbirds the weavers bred.

VoiceMap’s self-guided audio tours bring depth to the Norman cathedral and castle, but they also wander the lanes in between, where the city keeps its stories close. Walk the cobbles of Elm Hill, where Tudor houses have stood for five centuries, then follow the River Wensum to Cow Tower, built in 1398 to defend the city, and hear how Robert Kett led thousands of rebels against the landowners. When the striped roofs of the market tempt you, just hit pause.