Hilton lists hotel parking at £10 per day in Car Park A, with no in/out privileges — so leave the car there all day and use taxis. Check on arrival that the rate applies on a gig day and from a morning arrival.
After arena events the car parks lock down for about an hour, which doesn't matter as you're staying.
Queen Guest Room, Sat 20 → Sun 21 March. Hilton Honors Semi-Flex rate, £167, pay at the hotel. Free cancellation until 15 March 2027. Booked through TopCashback, so expect about £11 cashback to track after the stay.
Booked ✓Check-in 15:00Check-out 11:00Cancel by 15 MarArriving ~10:00 is well before check-in, so ask at the desk to drop your bags (the hotel lists luggage storage) and whether an early room is possible. After the gig it's a short walk inside the building to bed — no taxi queue.
DoubleTree on Hilton ↗ TopCashback Hilton ↗Park up, taxi into town, wander the old city east to west with three proper pubs on the way, and be back at the hotel for 4.
Drop the bags, then take a taxi into town: about 4 miles, 10–15 minutes, roughly £10–15. Ask to be dropped at the Cathedral on Priory Street / Cuckoo Lane. While you're on the phone, pre-book the 15:35 pick-up from Corporation Street back to the hotel.
Allens Taxis 024 7655 5555The must-see: the bombed-out shell of the medieval cathedral, left standing since the 1940 Blitz, with the 1962 cathedral joined right on. Enter the ruins from Cuckoo Lane, then go round the outside of the new one for Epstein's huge St Michael sculpture and the glass screen.
FreeOutdoorsRight next door: the city's other great medieval church and its spire, the Georgian houses of Priory Row, and the little gardens laid out over the ruins of St Mary's Priory. A quiet ten-minute loop.
FreeOutdoorsThe 1949 statue of Coventry's most famous rider, in the main square. Be there for 12:00: on the hour Godiva rides out of the clock above Hertford Street and Peeping Tom pops out to look. The clock has been temperamental lately, so treat it as a bonus.
FreeOn the hourYour pick, and lunch too. Coventry's oldest pub, built around 1583, with Tudor beams and a dragon beam. It serves home-made British pub food from a fully gluten-free kitchen, and real ales. Rated 4.4 on Tripadvisor from 323 reviews. Service can be slow when it's busy, so book a table for noon.
To bookLunch for 2, 12:00Spon Street is Coventry's medieval street, lined with 14th–17th century timber-framed houses. The Old Windmill on it has been a pub since 1451 and has won local CAMRA Pub of the Year twice. Seven real ales, five ciders, open fires and a pork pie with your pint.
Real aleWalk-inA Tudor almshouse founded in 1506, with close-studded timbers and carved gables. It's still sheltered housing, so you see it from the street. It's a two-minute look on the way to the last pub.
FreeFrom the streetA family-run micropub in an old Singer sewing shop. It's been local CAMRA Pub of the Year four years running and is rated 4.8 on Google from about 440 reviews. Six cask and four keg beers that change all the time, plus ciders. There's no food, just snacks.
MicropubWalk-inUse the pick-up you booked this morning, and you're back for about 15:50. Check in, freshen up and put your feet up.
Allens Taxis 024 7655 5555An independent Punjabi-style pub serving sizzling mixed grills and curries, with a full bar. Mains are about £9–12 and the Horseshoe Grill is £22.90. Rated 4.2–4.4 on Google from over 1,000 reviews and 4.3 on OpenTable. It sells itself as a pre-arena stop, so book 16:45 on OpenTable, order at once and set off back by 17:45. Some diners report slow food at busy times.
To bookTable for 2, 16:45Or, staying in: The Anecdote is the hotel's own bar and restaurant, serving burgers and street food. It's mixed reviews (about 3.7 on Google) and will be rammed before doors. The Mill Bar & Brasserie is in the arena, open 11:00–23:00, and does British food. Worth the taxi: Jhoom, 457 Foleshill Rd, is a 4.7-rated grill (about 2,000 Google reviews), halal, and opens at 16:00. It's a 5-min taxi.
The 20th-anniversary homecoming show for We'll Live and Die in These Towns, with The Twang as special guests. Doors open at 18:00 and the event runs until about 23:00. Set times TBC. They're expected about 7 days before (around 13 March), and if The Twang are on early, move dinner earlier. Tickets are released about 7 days before too.
The main eventSet times TBCThe best bit of staying at the arena: no taxi queue and no car park lockdown.
Breakfast for the two of you is added to your hotel booking, so there's no need to go anywhere. Check breakfast times at check-in.
Booked ✓Check times at check-inCheck out by 11:00, then it's about 120 miles, 2h15–2h30 home.