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Courtesy of Multimap
Quality of Life - Leisure
Cinemas, restaurants and places to meet
The city, the surrounding countryside and market towns offer an incredible range of places to wine, dine and socialise. There is a huge choice of restaurants offering fresh food and excellent nouvelle cuisine in attractive settings. The city also provides a lively atmosphere of brasseries and bistros with live entertainment and a diversity of ethnic eating opportunities.
Delicious local food in historical country pubs within the villages of Derbyshire compliments the reputation of Derby as the ‘real ale’ capital of the UK. The city is home to a great selection of traditional pubs, and hosts the annual CAMRA summer and winter Beer 
Festivals at the Assembly Rooms.
Derby has gained a regional reputation as an exciting and vibrant area for night-time entertainment with clubs and casinos and stylish wine bars with live music in the Friar Gate quarter. At the edge of the city, there are two multi screen Cinema complexes complete with restaurants, ten-pin bowling and roller-blading centres.
Unique shopping experience
Derby is one of the few cities, which benefits from a wide variety of retail destinations across a compact pedestrianised commercial area. Besides its major indoor shopping centre, with national retail names, it has a modern indoor market, an elegant Victorian market hall and an area of unique historical character around the cathedral, where you can find established, specialist retailers.
Derby’s modern indoor shopping facility, the Eagle Centre, will have a major extension completed by autumn 2007, providing 100 additional retail outlets, two more quality department stores and an international fresh food court. There will also be a stylish 
£83 million retail and commercial development, ‘Riverlights’, on the banks of the river, creating piazza type areas and terraces to relax, enjoy a meal and socialise.
There is no shortage of retail choice both in Derby and within easy travelling distance. Nottingham just 30 minutes away, is classified as the most important retail fashion centre outside London, and Birmingham only 50 minutes away offers the latest in retail design at the ‘Bullring’ with the iconic Selfridge's building and Debenham's new concept store.
Sports clubs in the city - rock climbs in the Peak
Derby and Derbyshire provide excellent sports facilities and environments with which few counties can compete for you, your family and friends to enjoy. The city provides the latest in sports amenities and hosts leading national leisure clubs with top national tennis coaches and outdoor swimming pools.
Although we might not persuade you to support the ‘Rams’ football club immediately you can enjoy Derby County’s matches in the new 34,000 seater stadium, which is also an important venue for seminars and conferences. The Derbyshire County Cricket club is involved in the National Academy Network for young people, encouraging and developing the next generation of cricket professionals.
The Derbyshire Peak District is the second most visited national park in the world behind Mount Fuji in Japan, providing opportunities for a great range of sports from rock climbing to cave diving, horse riding to hill walking, canoeing to hang gliding. Less adventurous activity includes cycling on country trails and walking in limestone dales. Alternatively you can simply lie on a wooded hillside, enjoy the sunshine and the views and share a picnic with your friends and family!
Chatsworth, the Dales and the ‘World Heritage’ valley of the mills
Derby is surrounded by beautiful open countryside with unspoilt villages, historic houses and adventurous attractions which you can reach within minutes from the city centre.
The diversity of the Derbyshire countryside is seldom found within one county. It ranges from the National Forest and flood plains of the River Trent in the south, through the limestone dales and up to the Gritstone ‘edges’, peat bogs and moors of the north.
Chatsworth House in its magnificent setting is the jewel of the Peak. It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire and regarded as the ‘best’ stately home in the country being one of UK’s top ten most visited attractions.
The power of the rivers flowing through this landscape gave birth to the industrial revolution, a time, which was to change the world forever.
The mills of the 18th century, along the banks of the River Derwent remain to tell the story, from the Silk Mill in Derby (the first ‘factory’ in the world) to Arkwright’s Cotton Mill between the limestone cliffs of Matlock. This area and it’s story is so important that it now has ‘World Heritage’ status.
Arts and culture, rock to classical and a regional media centre
Derby boasts a vibrant cultural scene offering events and activities to suit all tastes. It is home to the regions’ orchestra, VIVA and venue for the top UK metal festival ‘Bloodstock’ featuring bands such as ‘Saxon’ and ‘Dragonforce’.
The Media Archive for Central England (MACE), which collects and preserves the moving image heritage of the English Midlands, will be moving into QUAD the stunning new £13.5 million visual arts and media centre to be opened in 2007. This 21st century arts building will also become the new home for ‘Q Arts’, one of the region’s leading contemporary visual arts organisations and the ‘Metro’ arts cinema, which offers choice beyond the commercial mainstream from Hollywood classics to the cutting edge of independent film.
VIVA, the orchestra for the East Midlands has its home here, with forty of the finest musicians drawn from across the region and beyond, lead by Nicholas Kok as Principal Conductor. Under Nicholas’ leadership VIVA has gained national recognition for its integrated approach to concert giving, outreach and 
audience development.
There is a great tradition of cultural celebrations in the county from community carnivals and the world renowned Tissington well-dressings to festivals of literature, photography and music featuring international artists and performers. The ‘creative’ market towns of Wirksworth and Buxton attract thousands of visitors from around the UK and abroad with their arts festivals.
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