Welcome To the e-travelguide to Hotels, restaurants and attractions in Salisbury

Make the most of your time in Salisbury, use the information provided on this web site by clicking on the links above to plan your visit.

Salisbury is an historic cathedral city in Wiltshire in the South West of England. The city and its surroundings are steeped in history, with the earliest evidence of habitation of the Salisbury area – a hill fort named Old Sarum just two miles from the present day city centre – dating from the Iron Age. Yet look a few miles further and the iconic figure of Stonehenge, believed to have been built over a 1000-year period starting at least 3000 years ago, is the centrepiece of one of England’s richest areas of prehistoric archaeology. It is the diverse and wide-ranging nature of Salisbury’s past which is its great charm; there is so much to capture the imagination.

Old Sarum lived a chequered existence over the centuries; after its establishment in the Iron Age the site was successively occupied by the Romans, the Saxons and finally the Normans – it was under the regime of the latter that a castle and cathedral were built on the site. In 1220 however, the bishopric was moved from Old Sarum two miles to the south near to the banks of the River Avon. It was here that the Salisbury Cathedral that we recognise today was built. Salisbury Cathedral is one of England’s best loved and most iconic buildings, its towering spire at 404 feet is the tallest spire in the country. While the new city of Salisbury flourished as a market town, Old Sarum fell into disrepair, yet this did not stop the old constituency electing two members of parliament to the House of Commons in the 17 th Century, despite being uninhabited! The ‘Rotten Borough’ was one of the most notorious in the land, until the Reform Act of 1832 put an end to such practice.

Salisbury is fortunate to have retained much of its delightful architecture; apart from the magnificent Cathedral there are many other buildings dating from the 13 th Century, one of which – The Medieval Hall – charts the history of this remarkable and charming old town. Salisbury’s atmospheric winding lanes and narrow streets are a delight to explore, and the city offers several excellent hotels in addition to a good selection of cafes, restaurants and traditional inns. The city also makes an excellent base from which to explore the beautiful New Forest and the bleak and intriguing Salisbury Plain.

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