• Guided tour of Guildford, Tours start from under the Tunsgate arch (opposite the Guildhall clock in the High Street), ☎ 01483 444333 (tic@guildford.gov.uk), [14]. Mondays 11.00am, Wednesdays 2.30pm, Sundays 2.30pm, Thursdays 7.00pm. Walks last 70 to 90 minutes and cover about half a mile, and there are a choice of tours to do from Ghosts and legends to tours looking at historic buildings in the town. Booked through the Tourist Information centre.  edit

• Odeon Cinema. Multi screen cinema showing all the usual Hollywood offerings.  edit

• Spectrum. Leisure centre with swimming, bowling, ice skating, fitness suites...  edit

• Guildford Lido. Closed in Winter. Attractive 1930s outdoor swimming pool. Can be a bit cold.  edit

River trips

See http://www.riverweytrips.co.uk/ and http://www.guildfordboats.co.uk

Alternatively, hire a rowing boat (£7) or a canoe (£5) and travel along the river at your own pace. Boats can be hired from the Guildford Boathouse, located at the back of Millmead short stay car park off the Shalford Road. The boats tend to be in good condition and the river is not too crowded!

Walks

There are many walks around the North Downs surrounding Guildford including the North Downs Way which runs from Farnham (8miles West Guildford) to Folkstone some 80miles away. There are also pleasant walks to be had along the River Wey to Godalming or Woking. Pewly down and the chantries SE of the town centre offer a change of scenery.

Festivals

• Guilfest [15] - annual summer 3-day rock and pop festival taking place on 4th, 5th and 6th July 2008 at Stoke Park. Confirmed acts include Blondie, Levellers, Australian Pink Floyd Show, Dodgy, The Damned, Dreadzone, Kula Shaker, Cerys Matthews and Freakpower.

• Guildford Book Festival [16] - annual festival of literature held on 16th - 25th October 2008 and featuring signings, readings, plays etc.

• Guildford International Music Festival - A biennial festival (2005, 2007, 2009 etc.) featuring many concerts across 2-3 weeks. Genres are mixed, and the festival brings high quality professional acts to the town.

• Ambient Green Picnic - Annual free festival at Shalford Park, featuring local bands, children's activities, environmental and artistic displays. No event happening in 2008 and until further notice.

• Farnborough International Airshow - not technically in Guildford (10 miles away in Farnborough), but well worth a visit to this biennial airshow.

Central Guildford

• Abbot's Hospital, High Street, Guildford. [3] Built in 1619 by Guildfordian Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot as a retirement home for the local elderly.

• Lewis Carroll, author, mathematician and photographer, Lewis Carroll (b1832) lived in Guildford until his death in 1898. Visit Lewis Carolls house 'Chestnuts', on Castle Hill in the centre. See Guided Tours of Guildford.

• The Guildhall, High Street, Guildford. A marvellous Tudor/Stuart building with its overhanging 1683 clock.

• Guildford Museum, Quarry Street, Guildford.

• The Spike, Charlotteville, Guildford. 19th Century workhouse used to house vagrants until 1960. This site has now been fully restored and is one of two similar sites in the UK.

• Guildford Castle and Grounds, Castle Street, Guildford, GU1 3TU, (museum@guildford.gov.uk), [4]. Gardens open all year dawn - dusk, castle closed in winter, summer: daily 10AM-5PM. Medieval castle built to protect the town in the 1400s and one of Henry III's most luxurious residences. Recent conservation work revealed a 12th century first floor chamber which is now open to the public. Free entry into gardens, castle Adult £2.50 Student £1.20.  edit

• Guildford Cathedral, Stag Hill, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7UP, [5]. Open daily, all year round, 8:30AM-5:30PM; Guided tours daily 9:40AM-4PM. A 1930s brick built cathedral which was the first to be built on a new site in the south of England since the Reformation. The inside is more impressive than the outside. The cathedral was started in the 1930s, but it wasn't until 1961 that it was consecrated due to an interruption in construction due to World War II.  edit

• St Catherine's Chapel ruined abbey a short walk along the river wey from Guildford town centre.

• The Wey Navigation [6] is the canal that winds its way through Guildford until it reaches the River Thames in Weybridge. Of particular interest is the HQ at Dapdune Wharf, but just sitting down by the locks near the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre watching canal boats is very peaceful and gives one an insight into what the Wey once was - a busy industrial thoroughfare connecting Guildford and Surrey's industries with the rest of the country - and you might even get to help open the locks for the boat!

Surrounding Area

There are also many interesting things to see around Guildford:

• Clandon Park (national trust), [7].

• Denbies Vineyard, [8] Very good wine.

• Hatchlands Park (national trust), [9].

• Leith Hill and its folly (national trust), [10].

• Loseley House, [11].

• Newlands Corner, [12]. Situated on the southern facing side of the North Downs, there are fantastic views over Surrey and also plenty of walks to be done. 10 min drive from the centre of Guildford.

• Painshill Landscape Gardens

• RHS Wisley gardens, [13]. One of the top Royal Horticultural Society gardens in the country. 15 min drive up the A3.

• Surrey Hills

• Waverley Abbey

• Watts Gallery and the exceptional Watts Chapel located just off the A3, south of Guildiford, near Compton, well worth a visit to see the fine Arts and Crafts buildings.

By bus

Guildford is served by many bus routes from Woking, Aldershot, Godalming and other local places. Prices can be fairly expensive and buses can be unreliable particularly after 6.30pm.

The main bus station, which is the terminus for all routes heading into Guildford, is on Commercial Road (off the bottom of North Street). From here, one can pick up details about bus services and buy cheaper long term tickets.

Park and Ride

Guildford has several park and ride carparks, and at the weekend they are the easiest way to get into the town centre. They are situated at Artington (on the Portsmouth Rd heading out towards Godalming, approx 3 miles south of Guildford), Ladymead Retail Park (round the back of the Cornhill Insurance building) and at the Spectrum Leisure Complex. At all three sites, the car parking is free and you just pay for the bus fare to get into the town centre, which is £1.20 for a return.

Ladymead - buses run every 10 mins on Saturday only from 8:30AM-6PM

Spectrum Leisure Complex - buses run every 12 mins M-F from 7:27AM-11:10PM, (although every 20mins after 7:30PM.)

Artington - buses run every 12 mins from Monday to Saturday from 7:30AM-7:30PM.
For more information National Park and Ride Directory

By plane

Guildford is well served by London's collection of airports. For travellers coming directly to Guildford, the most convenient (in reducing order of convenience) are:

• Heathrow Airport [1] is about 40 minutes drive along the M25 motorway and the A3 trunk road. Alternatively it is linked directly to Woking rail station by the RailAir express bus service.
• Gatwick Airport is about a hour's drive away via the M23 (northbound), M25 (clockwise) and A3 (southtbound) roads. There is a through train service to Guildford from a rail station in the airport terminal complex, running twice an hour and taking less than an hour.

By train

Guildford main line station is served by commuter and regional train services from many different directions, including two routes to London (one fast via Woking, the other slow via Cobham). The fast services continue southwards to Portsmouth. Guildford also lies on the the line from Reading to Gatwick Airport; beyond Reading, services to Oxford and Birmingham may be accessed, and via Gatwick, connections to Brighton and Kent.

From London, you should travel from London Waterloo station and catch a train whose first stop after Woking is Guildford (there are several of these an hour), the travel time will be about 35 minutes. There are also a limited amount of Portsmouth bound trains that go non stop to Guildford. There are other stopping services from Waterloo via Cobham, but these take so much longer it isn't normally worth considering them.

There is a smaller station called London Road (Guildford), which is the penultimate stop on the line from London via Cobham.

Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.

By coach

National Express serve Guildford with express bus (UK English:coach) services from around the country; advanced ticketing is necessary. Note that they serve a stop called Guildford Park Barn, which is a slightly out-of-town location near a Tesco supermarket. You will need to catch a local bus or taxi (if you can find one) to take you into Guildford.

By car

Guildford is served by the A3 trunk road which runs from London to Portsmouth. It is about an hour's drive from central London.

If you are visiting for the day by car, consider using the Park & Ride site at the Spectrum leisure complex just off the A3 southbound, or the site on the Old Portsmouth Road at Artington (on the way to Godalming) and catching the dedicated express bus from these locations.

By foot

The central area of Guildford is easily walkable, but hilly. From the railway station you must cross the river Wey in order to reach the town centre and the bus station.

By bus

Buses not only provide a good way of getting around the central district of Guildford itself, but are adequate for the local community. Although there is a free bus which circles the town centre three times an hour, it is often snarled in the traffic and usually, if you are able, quicker to walk.

• Traveline, telephone 087-608-2-608 from within the UK, provide an impartial online travel planner and telephone query service for local bus services.

By taxi

Taxis are by far the most expensive way to get around Guildford. If you do wish to travel by taxi, there are taxi ranks at the front of the Railway Station, and at the bottom of North Street on the other side of the road from the Electric Theatre[2].

Alternatively taxis can be booked by phone and will usually pick up from most locations within a 5 mile radius of the town centre.

Popular operators include:

• Beeline Cars 01483 566666
• City Cabs 01483 888666
• 5 & 6's 01483 565656
• GTA Taxis 0800 502250
• A-Line Cars 01483 564656

By car

Whilst not as bad as either London or Oxford, Guildford's roads can get very congested at peak periods. Especially if you aren't used to driving on the left, central Guildford is probably best avoided.

On the other hand, a car is the one (possibly along with cycling) of the only really practical ways of seeing a lot of the local countryside and villages. Out here the roads are a lot quieter.

By map

If you are planning to do any visiting or exploring beyond central Guildford, you will probably want to obtain a decent map of the area. You should ensure that any map you buy clearly shows the national grid reference lines, and explains how to use them, as grid references are frequently used to indicate out of town locations. The best maps for this purpose are those published by the Ordnance Survey (Britain's national mapping agency) and the following maps cover all the locations mentioned below:

• Ordnance Survey Landranger 186. This map covers the area around and between Guildford and Aldershot at a scale of 1:50000 and is best for exploration by car or cycle.
• Ordnance Survey Explorer 145. This map covers the area around Guildford at a scale of 1:25000 and is best for walking.

These maps can be found in any good bookshop in Guildford (see 'Buy' section below), or can be bought online from the Ordnance Survey's web site.

• Online Maps of Guildford city centre

Shopping

Guildford is the major shopping centre of West Surrey, with most of its shops clustered in a fairly compact area on and around the High Street, and the parrallel North Street.

There are three shopping centres,

• The Friary Shopping Centre at the bottom of North Street and Onslow Street
• The White Lion Walk between the bottom of North Street and the bottom of the High Street
• The Tunsgate Shopping Centre halfway up the High Street

There are two major department stores,

• House of Fraser (A&N), [20].
• Debenhams, [21].

Although there are several shopping malls, unlike many modern towns in England, the attractive cobbled High Street has remained the focus of Guildford's shopping district. It is here, on the High Street and on North Street that you will find the best shops, and have the nicest shopping experience.

In general stores open M-Sa 9:30AM-5:30PM and Su 10AM-4PM although many stay open longer on some days and some do not open on a Sunday.

In addition to the shops and malls scattered around North Street and the High Street there is also a regular market each Friday and Saturday which stretches along North Street which offers a variety of goods including traditional fresh meat, fish, fruit, fresh ground coffee, cheese, olives, vegetables, flowers, pet food, luggage, linen, rugs, bags, towels, jewellery, clothes, cards, wooden carvings, CDs and picture frames.

The market operates during normal shopping hours on Fridays and Saturdays on North Street in Guildford, and is very close to Leapale Road and Castle multi-storey car parks.

There is also a Farmers Market on the High Street generally on the first Tuesday of every month. These times can vary during the summer season and during Guilford Summer festival, where markets, including crafts and handicrafts markets can be seen lining the high street for several weeks.

Money

All main British banks and building societies have branches in Guildford, and most of them are situated around the eastern end of the High Street. These branches normally open M-Fr 9AM-4PM and Sa 9AM-noon.

Most bank and building society branches have 'through the wall' type ATMs that are open 24x7.

For changing money there are many Bureaux De Change services throughout the town, with some such as the post office offering commission free exchanges.

Central Guildford

• Auberge Restaurant Ltd, 274 High St, ph: 01483 506202

• Magnifico's Restaurant, 144 High St, ph: 01483 300999

• Mandarin Restaurant, 13 Epsom Rd, ph: 01483 572293

• Matahari, 10 Chapel Street, ph: 01483 457886. [22] Thoughtfully prepared Fusion. The restaurant is small and intimate.

• Old Orleans, Bedford Rd, ph: 01483 567882 Good quality Tex Mex, has a nice bar with seats out on the plaza infront.

• Pews Bar & Restaurant, 21 Chapel St, ph: 01483 535012 [23]

• Planet Spice [[[CLOSED]]] 20 Tunsgate, ph: 01483 306222. Good curry house, smaller and quieter than Rose Valley. Meals cost about £10. Beers about £2.50.

• Rose Valley Curry House, 50-52 Chertsey St, ph: 01483 572572. Best curry house in town. Prince Harry and his mates have been known to dine here in the past.

• Rumwong, 16-18 London Road, ☎ 01483 536092, [24]. Well presented Thai Restaurant with a decent menu. There is normal seating, and for the brave, more traditional Kan Tok (much lower!) seating. Mains from around £8.  edit

• Sir & Madam Thai Restaurant, 8-9 Jeffries Passage, ph:01483 535025

• Strada Restaurant, 222 High St, ph: 01483 454455

• The Thai Terrace-Rooftop Restaurant, 7th Floor Castle Car Park, ph: 01483 503350 Offers a superb view of the town

• Yvonne Arnaud Riverview Restaurant, Millbrook, ph: 01483 569334

• Zinfandel Restaurant, 4 Chapel St, ph: 01483 455155 [25]

Surrounding Villages

• Worplesdon Place Hotel - very good food, but a bit expensive, and service can be slow.

Pubs and bars

In the town centre, Bridge Street (between The Friary shopping centre and the railway station) has a cluster of formulaic wine bars and cafe bars. Cheap prices and themed nights are fun, and popular with locals, as such the area gets extremely busy around closing time.

• Bar Mambo Onslow Street. Brilliant location.... Drink prices now very reasonable. Shows a lot of sport - football, rugby, etc. Staff are very friendly, food is fantastic. It's the place to be...

• Bar Med Bridge St. A (loosely) Mediterranean themed bar that shows a lot of Sky football matches. Reasonably priced beer, and pretty good food aswell.

• Rodborough Buildings Bridge St. huge bar on two floors. Cheap beer and serves good food during the day. Pints cost £2-£3 although there are often drinks promotions. JD Wetherspoons bar. Closes at 11PM.

• Tickled Ivory Woodbridge Road. Piano Bar playing live music on Thursay, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Offers a slightly more relaxing atmosphere than the other mob of Bridge Street bars - Saturday night should be avoided!

On or near the High Street:

• Auberge 274 High Street, ph: 01483 506202. Very cool wine bar and French restaurant. One you try it you'll been hooked!

• Joe Clarks 176 High Street, ph: 01483 563846. Cafe/ Wine bar with a Mediterranean feel.

• Fahrenheit 55 3 Milkhouse Gate (just off the High Street, near Sainsburys), ph: 01483 579111, [26] Very cool tapas bar with live bands playing from time to time. The food can be quite expensive, and it's not all tapas, but it's still very nice! Pints of beer cost around £3, and cocktails £4. Fahrenheit is one of the last bars to close in town: it is open until 2AM most nights.

• Five & Lime, Leapale Road (Opposite Leapale Road Car Park). An excellent bar in the centre of Guildford, A good selection of tap & bottled beers plus some amazing spirits. The food is excellent & served from 12PM-7PM. Open later on Friday & Saturday.

• The King's Head 52 Quarry Street, ph: 01483 575004. Inside, a traditional English pub, outside a very chic rooftop terrace. Very nice sitting outside in the summer.

• Pews Bar 21 Chapel St, ph: 01483 535012. Large outdoor German style beer garden and bar.

• The Robin Hood Sydenham Road, 01483 888307. Just behind the High Street, a 'proper' pub, good beer, great friendly atmosphere, food lunchtimes and evenings with new menu and famous Sunday Roast which takes some beating! Live music Friday and Saturday evenings with acoustic Sunday night entertainment starting mid-August. Need to book for Sunday lunch.

• The Royal Oak 15 Trinity Churchyard, ph: 01483 566637. Hidden just behind the top of the high street, a traditional English pub, serving a range of real ales and imported drinks. Also known to host a few live music events from time to time.

• The Star Inn, 2 Quarry St, ph: 01483 532887. Quite a lively pub with a young crowd. Good live local bands on some nights.

• The Guildford Tup, 46 Chertsey St, ph: 01483 562441. close to York Road Car Park. Expensive beer, but very good beer garden with BBQ and frequent bands

• Ha Ha Bar and Canteen, 16-17 North Street, ph: 01483 573534. Nice central location, close to the Bus Station and Taxi rank, opens till 1PM F/Sa.

Close to the River Wey

• The White House, 8 High Street, ph: 01483 302006. Nice outside terrace close to the river, very nice to relax an a summers day or night

• The George Abbot, 7-11 High Street, ph: 01483 302006. Large Pub with big screens with live sports. Good selection of beers and real ales. Nice selection of food.

• The Britannia, 9 Millmead, 01483 572160. previously called Scruffy Murphys, there is a deck on the front of the pub which overlooks the river.

• Weyside Inn, Millbrook, Guildford, ph: 01483 568024. Located a short walk out of town close to the Yvonne Arnold Theatre, nice outside deck which stretches right out next to the river (railings are now placed at the edge for safety).

More traditional English pubs

• Ye Olde Ship Inn, St. Catherines, Portsmouth Road. Next to the College of Law, is the oldest pub in Guildford.

• The Angel, on the High Street. A very pleasant pub, with a fine selection of locally brewed ales. It is expensive to drink here but this keeps the youth out, making it one of very few pubs in Guildford town centre where you can enjoy a quiet drink!

• The White Hart, White Hart Lane, Wood Street (3 miles outside of Guildford) is a nice traditional English pub serving good quality local ales in a very attractive setting.

Nightclubs

• Harper's, Onslow St. Guildford's main event night club.
• The Voodoo Lounge, Onslow St. The ground floor part of Harpers, playing more cheesy style music.
• Dusk (formerly known as Cinderellas). This is a smaller club than Harper's, attracting a younger crowd.
• The Legion , Millbrook. On 3 floors, with 2 bars and a dance floor.
• Flares , Bridge Street. 70's/ 80's themed bar.
• Bar D'or, 36-40 London Road. Part of the Mandolay hotel, this bar is slighly out of the town centre and has a free entry disco/club before 10.30pm