Seventeen Chester days out with prices checked this month, from the free two-mile walls circuit to £9.50 Dee cruises, plus the 2026 closure to avoid.

Chester’s days out split neatly into the city itself, walkable end to end inside the walls, and the borough around it: Ellesmere Port’s big-ticket attractions, the gardens at Ness and the forest at Delamere. Every venue below was checked against its own website this month, with current opening times and prices, including one closure worth knowing about before you set off. If you are driving in, the £2.50 park and ride day ticket in our travel guide is the cheapest way to do any of the city entries.

In the city

1. The city walls and the Eastgate Clock

Start with the thing no other English city has: a complete two-mile circuit of city walls, free, open all year, taking in the Eastgate Clock, the castle, the river and the cathedral from above (council walls page). One heads-up: the section that collapsed near the Eastgate Clock in 2020 has a further repair stage planned for summer 2026, so expect a localised diversion around it.

2. Chester Zoo

One of Britain’s biggest zoos, open daily from 10am (the main entrance opens 9.30am), with tickets priced by date: adults £22.72 to £34.54, children 3 to 15 from £22.72, toddlers £2.50, and a family-of-four online ticket at £99 (chesterzoo.org). This month the after-hours Afterglow evenings run until 16 August (from £14, 3pm to 8pm, not Mondays), and the Lanterns and Light trail returns from 13 November (plan your visit).

3. Chester Cathedral

A thousand years of building on one site, open Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 6pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm. Entry is free most of the year, but note the summer entry charge of £4.50 for adults from 8 to 31 August (under-18s free). The Tower Tour, 216 steps to the best view in Chester, is £14 (£10 under-18s), generally 11am Monday to Thursday with an extra 1pm slot Friday and Saturday, age 8 and up. Until 30 September the nave hosts “Tyndale 1526: 500 Years of the English Bible”, alongside a giant marble run for children until 31 August (chestercathedral.com).

4. Grosvenor Museum

The city’s museum of Roman tombstones, silver and Cheshire art, and despite what you may have heard it is open and free: Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 5pm, Sunday 1pm to 4pm, closed Mondays except bank holidays. Current shows: Cheshire Artists Network in Gallery One and “Echoes of Ancient Lands and Seas”, Cheshire fossils, until 20 September (westcheshiremuseums.co.uk).

5. Storyhouse

The Northgate Street charity that folds a library, two theatres, an independent cinema and a restaurant into one building. Coming in 2026: The Choir of Man (18 to 22 August), Blood Brothers (13 to 17 October), Jane Eyre (10 to 21 November) and the Christmas show Rapunzel from 4 December (storyhouse.com).

6. Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre

Storyhouse also runs Britain’s longest-standing open-air rep season in Grosvenor Park each summer. The 2026 season runs to 6 September: Let The Sun Shine and Outlaws: A Robin Hood Story to 23 August, Nell Gwynn from 21 August, and a Peter Pan walkabout show for under-10s that has already sold out its 8 to 15 August run (storyhouse.com/whats-on).

7. A boat on the Dee

ChesterBoat’s half-hour City Cruise leaves The Groves hourly from 11am (every 30 minutes when busy), daily until mid-December, no booking needed: adults £9.50 online or £10 on the quay, children 5 to 15 £4.50/£5, family of five £26/£28 (chesterboat.co.uk).

8. Deva Roman Centre

The hands-on Roman attraction formerly known as the Dewa Roman Experience, now at devaromancentre.co.uk: open daily 10am to 6pm through the summer holidays until 31 August (weekends only in term time, when weekdays are for school groups). Adults £8, children 5 to 15 £5, card only, with a discounted dual ticket for Sick to Death.

9. A wall tour with a Roman soldier

Roman Tours’ armoured legionaries march from the Visitor Information Centre by the Town Hall Monday to Saturday at 12pm and 2.30pm for a 90-minute patrol of the walls: adults £12.72, ages 6 to 12 £5.84, family of four £31.80 including booking fees (romantoursuk.com).

10. Sick to Death

The plague-and-physic museum for anyone whose favourite bit of history is the gruesome bit: open daily 10am to 6pm (last entry 5pm), adults £9, children 5 to 15 £5, card only, no booking required (sicktodeath.org).

11. Chester Market

The food-hall-and-traders market on Exchange Square by the Town Hall, free to wander: Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 10pm, Sunday 10am to 9pm, and open summer-holiday Mondays until 31 August. Produce stalls run to about 6pm and the food hall from 11am to 10pm (newchester.market).

12. Chester Racecourse

Racing on the Roodee, Britain’s oldest racecourse still in use, finishes its 2026 season this autumn: 14 August (racing plus a Tom Jones and Nile Rodgers & CHIC concert), Ladies Day on 22 August, the Autumn Festival on 11 and 12 September and the Season Finale on 19 September, with tickets from £18 in The Roodee enclosure (chester-races.com).

Around the borough

13. Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, Ellesmere Port

The McArthurGlen outlet village, 140-plus brands at up to 60% off, free to visit: Monday to Friday 10am to 9pm, Saturday from 9am, Sunday 10am to 7pm (mcarthurglen.com).

14. Blue Planet Aquarium, Cheshire Oaks

Sharks, an underwater tunnel and daily dive shows, open daily 10am to 5pm. Summer online prices to 1 September: adults £26.01, children 3 to 12 £18.81, family of four £85.15, plus £3 parking (blueplanetaquarium.com).

15. National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port

The historic boat collection at the canal-and-Mersey junction: open seven days over the summer holidays (Tuesday to Sunday in term time), 10am to 4pm. Adults £13.25, children 6 to 15 £9.95, 10% off online (canalrivertrust.org.uk).

16. Ness Botanic Gardens, Neston

The University of Liverpool’s 64-acre gardens above the Dee estuary: adults £8.50, children 5 to 16 £4.50, family £21.50, open from 10am with last entry 4.30pm through October (liverpool.ac.uk/ness-gardens).

17. Delamere Forest

The borough’s big free-range day out: waymarked trails, the Old Pale summit, Go Ape and Segway on site. Entry is free; parking at the visitor centre is £4 for an hour up to £12.50 for over three (slightly less at Whitefield), cashless ANPR, car parks open 8am to 8pm in summer (forestryengland.uk).

Know before you go: the Anderton Boat Lift near Northwich is closed to the public for the whole of 2026 while its caisson gates are replaced, reopening for 2027. The free visitor centre, grounds and the Edwin Clark river trips still run (closed Thursdays) (canalrivertrust.org.uk).

What a day out costs

Adult prices for Chester area attractions, August 2026 Horizontal bar chart of adult prices. Chester Cathedral summer entry 4 pounds 50. Deva Roman Centre 8 pounds. Ness Botanic Gardens 8 pounds 50. Sick to Death 9 pounds. ChesterBoat city cruise 9 pounds 50 online. Roman Tours wall tour 12 pounds 72. National Waterways Museum 13 pounds 25. Chester Zoo from 22 pounds 72. Blue Planet Aquarium 26 pounds 01. Free: city walls, Grosvenor Museum, Chester Market, Cheshire Oaks, Delamere Forest entry. Sources: each venue's own website, checked August 2026. What a Chester day out costs (adult, August 2026) Each venue's own published price, checked this month Cathedral (summer) £4.50 Deva Roman Centre £8.00 Ness Gardens £8.50 Sick to Death £9.00 ChesterBoat cruise £9.50 Roman Tours £12.72 Waterways Museum £13.25 Chester Zoo from £22.72 Blue Planet £26.01 Free: the two-mile walls circuit, Grosvenor Museum, Chester Market, Cheshire Oaks, Delamere Forest entry Zoo prices vary by date (£22.72 to £34.54); Blue Planet price is the summer online rate; Delamere charges for parking Sources: each venue's own website, checked 8 August 2026. Child and family rates in the entries above.
Half of Chester's best days out cost under £10, and five of the seventeen are free to enter.

Frequently asked questions

What can you do in Chester for free?

Walk the complete two-mile city walls circuit, visit the Grosvenor Museum (closed Mondays), browse Chester Market and the Rows, wander Cheshire Oaks, and walk Delamere Forest (you pay only for parking there).

Is Chester Cathedral free to enter?

Most of the year, yes. From 8 to 31 August 2026 a summer entry charge of £4.50 applies for adults, with under-18s free. The 216-step Tower Tour is £14 year-round schedules permitting.

How much is Chester Zoo in 2026?

Prices vary by date: adults £22.72 to £34.54 and children 3 to 15 from £22.72 on the zoo’s own webstore, with a £99 online family-of-four ticket. Toddlers aged 1 to 2 pay £2.50.

Is the Anderton Boat Lift open?

Not in 2026: the lift is closed all year while its caisson gates are replaced, reopening for the 2027 season. The visitor centre, grounds and Edwin Clark river trips still operate, every day except Thursdays.

What is on at Chester Racecourse this year?

Four more dates in 2026: 14 August with a Tom Jones and Nile Rodgers & CHIC concert, Ladies Day on 22 August, the Autumn Festival on 11 and 12 September, and the Season Finale on 19 September. Tickets start at £18.

What can you do in Chester with kids?

The zoo, Blue Planet Aquarium, the Deva Roman Centre (open daily until 31 August), a £4.50 child ticket on a ChesterBoat cruise, the marble run at the cathedral until 31 August, and the boat collection at the National Waterways Museum.

Sources

Opening times and prices change with the seasons, and summer holiday hours end in early September. Everything above was checked against each venue’s own website on 8 August 2026; check before you travel.