Leicester
Leicester lies in beautiful surroundings on the River Soar and at the edge of the National ForestMilton Keynes. The city is wonderful mix of the old and the new, the striking Ancient Roman pavements and baths serve as a reminder that Leicester was once a Roman military outpost in a region inhabited by the Celts.
Leicester is located on the Midland Main Line and close to the M1 motorway. The city has a large ethnic minority population, particularly of South Asian origin, a product of immigration to the United Kingdom since the Second World War. To cater for the South Asian community, there are many Hindu, Sikh and Muslim places of worship and the Melton Road district serves as a focus, containing large numbers of Asian restaurants and other small businesses.
There are two main shopping centres in Leicester – the Haymarket Shopping Centre and Highcross Leicester. The Haymarket Shopping Centre has for up to 500 cars on several levels, two levels of shopping with a bus station, and is also the site of the former Haymarket Theatre. Highcross Leicester contains 120 stores, 15 restaurants, a cinema, and over 110,000 m2 of shopping space. Smaller shopping centres include St Martin's Square. The Leicester Lanes area has numerous designer and specialist shops. Also not to be missed is Leicester Market; the largest outdoor covered market in Europe selling a wide variety of goods. The Golden Mile is the name given to a stretch of Belgrave Road renowned for its authentic Indian restaurants, sari shops, and jewellers, The Diwali celebrations in Leicester are focused on this area and are the largest outside India.
http://www.goleicestershire.com/
