Living in Coventry

In Coventry you will find everything you would expect from a vibrant ultra-modern city and because of CU Coventry’s city centre location, everything is within walking distance.

There are cinemas, theatres, art galleries and an ice-rink, tenpin bowling, restaurants, cafés and bars to suit all tastes and cultures. There is an excellent shopping centre and a traditional indoor market.

A short bus ride away is the Ricoh Arena, home to the Sky Blues – Coventry City Football Club – which was one of the 2012 Olympic venues. The Ricoh Arena is also one of the UK’s foremost concert venues, recently hosting among others Take That, Coldplay, Kings of Leon and of course Coventry’s own band The Enemy.

Arts and Culture

In the city centre the Belgrade Theatre and Herbert Art Gallery and Museum are cultural gems for art, drama, dance and music. The Coventry Transport Museum has world's largest collection of British road transport located in the its birthplace, and offering everything from 'bone shaking' cycles to land speed record cars. Coventry’s glorious 20th century cathedral, with stunning 1950s art and architecture, rising above the stark ruins of the medieval Cathedral destroyed by German air raids in 1940, provides a unique backdrop to the University campus.

Music

Coventry has a well-established and diverse music scene. As well as the Ricoh Arena, the Kasbah nightclub regularly hosts top acts including local band The Enemy as well as artists such as Athlete, Dirty Pretty Things, Supergrass and Kate Nash. Smaller venues include The Tin Music and Arts (previously Taylor Johns) which feature new, up-and-coming bands. The Godiva Festival is the Midlands' biggest family music festival – and it's free! The Coventry Jazz Festival takes place in May in venues across the city, including the Belgrade Theatre and Warwick Arts Centre. The festival has featured international jazz stars Hugh Masekela and Randy Brecker and Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

Sport

Whether you like taking part in or watching sport Coventry has something for everyone. You can watch Coventry City Football Club play at the Ricoh Arena, or head to the Sky Dome Arena to see a Coventry Blaze Ice Hockey Match.  The nearby Brandon Stadium plays host to the world’s top speedway riders and also regular greyhound racing.  If Rugby is your game you can go to the Butts Arena home of Coventry Rugby Club.  The open spaces and good air quality make the city good for running and the city’s main running club the Godiva Harriers is one of the oldest in the world.  Coventry is also one of the few cities in the UK that can boast an Olympic size swimming pool, which is right next to the campus.

Nearby Attractions

Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon is only 30 minutes away, with regular bus services linking Coventry to Stratford, Royal Leamington Spa and the castles of Warwick and Kenilworth, there are many places of interest to visit while you are a student here.

Coventry’s central location means that London is only an hour’s journey by train and Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city and another thriving centre for the arts, entertainment, sport and culture, is only 20 minutes away.