Northampton has a number of attractions:

Guildhall: A classic neo-gothic styled building built in 1861 by Edward William Godwin. It now houses the Northampton Borough Council offices. The Guildhall is located opposite the Tourist Information office on St Giles Street.

Northampton Museum and Art Gallery: A collection of artifacts from Northamptons past with particular homage to the shoe industry that caused the town to first boom. The museum is open from 10:00 - 17:00 on Monday to Saturday and 2:00 - 17:00 on Sunday.

The Express Lifts Tower in St James.

There are numerous routes into Northampton.

By plane

The nearest airports to Northampton are Birmingham, East Midlands, and London Luton Aiport in Luton. There are rail and bus links from London, home of Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted Airports.

By train

Northampton Castle Station offers frequent links from Birmingham and London every 30 minutes most times of the day with trains operated by London Midland. The railway station is located approximately 15 minutes walk from the town centre and has frequent buses passing the site. Taxis are also available from outside the station.

By car

Northampton is well connected by road with many distribution companies being based in and around the town. The M1 motorway passes right through South Northamptonshire, and from here it is about 15 minutes to the town centre. Junctions 15, 15A, and 16 all serve the town.

By bus

National Express offer coach services across the country from Greyfriars bus station in the town centre.

By boat

A branch of Grand Union Canal passes directly through Northampton.

Most common way of getting around is by car, but on Saturdays expect queues because of the football and rugby games that go on.

Northampton also offers a comprehensive bus service. The two main operators in the town are Stagecoach Northampton and First Northampton. Service tends to be more patchy on Sundays; however, Monday to Saturday the bus is a viable method of transportation around the town.

Stagecoach Northampton also offer a number of regional bus routes to the outlying villages and towns in Northamptonshire making exploring small towns like Bugbrooke possible.

For its size, Northampton has a good range of restaurants to suit any budget.

Budget

Academy Coffee Haus offers cheap meals from around £7 a head.

Mid-range

The Fox and Hounds pub in Harlestone offers good pub fare at a reasonable price of around £18 a head.

La Tasca offers Spanish styled cuisine for a reasonable average price of £14 a head

Splurge

The New French Partridge offers fine, French styled cuisine for around £54 a head.

• Caffe D'Italia, 5 Fish Street, Northampton, NN1 2AA. Great little Italian cafe with friendly staff. Lovely Italian-style sandwiches and cakes too.  edit

Clubs and pubs are located all around Northampton town centre and the night life is pretty lively most of the time.

For alternative music, pubs along the Wellingborough Road cater for grunge, punk and rock with local acts performing on Friday nights.