Essential Hotels > England > Hertfordshire > St Albans

The history and attractiveness of the town, together with excellent road and rail links, makes St Albans a highly popular town to live in, as well as being popular with tourists and visitors. St Albans is situated between the M25, M1 and A1(M) motorways. It is surrounded by countryside while nearby towns include Harpenden to the north, Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City to the east, Hemel Hempstead to the west and Watford to the south. St Albans has two train stations with St Albans City Station on the Thameslink line giving commuters just a 20 minute journey to London Kings Cross. The second, smaller train station is St Albans Abbey Station which connects to Watford.

In Roman Britain, St Albans was called Verulamium and was Britain's third largest Roman city. The small river that runs through the city is called the River Ver and it passes through Verulamium Park which is a popular park for walks and recreation. St Albans is named after Britain's first Christian martyr. Alban, a Roman soldier executed outside Verulamium AD303, was the first Christian martyr in Britain; the Saxons built an abbey on the supposed site of his martyrdom. The abbey was rebuilt by the Normans and was later enlarged in the 13th century. It was this that became a cathedral in 1877. The 18th century clock tower, at 77 feet high, offers a fine view over the city.

The settlement is full of historic buildings with St Albans Cathedral being particularly impressive. The buildings along Fishpool Street, near the Cathedral, are full of character, as are those on Holywell Hill. There are several museums dotted around the town: the Roman Town Museum, the Museum of St Albans, the Verulamium Museum, the Sopwell Nunnery and the Clock Tower. Together, the museums tell something of the story of St Albans over the years, from its Roman heritage through to the present day. Remains of the old Roman walls still stand today, albeit in ruins, but they serve to offer further insight into the town’s past.

St Albans is home to several cultural centres, with theatre productions and choir performances being held in a number of different venues. Among the locations used are the Maltings Art Theatre, St Albans Abbey, the Abbey Theatre and the Alban Arena.