There are plenty of things to do, whether it’s keeping the children entertained, playing at our excellent golf courses or enjoying brilliant cuisine, making it an excellent location to live and visit! This includes:
Nightlife
The town centre is the perfect place to let your hair down, with everything from bars and pubs, to nightclubs and comedy venues. There is also wide choice of restaurants, particularly in the town centre. Watford has also achieved the prestigious Purple Flag status for its evening and night-time economy (ENTE). Areas awarded the Purple Flag are recognised for providing a vibrant and diverse mix of dining, entertainment and culture while promoting the safety and wellbeing of visitors and local residents.
Leisure and shopping
Thanks to the £180million extension to the intu shopping centre, which includes a IMAX cinema and a Hollywood Bowl, Watford is now ranked in the top 20 of CACI’s national retail rankings.
Our thriving town centre also hosts the acclaimed annual Imagine Festival filled with performances by international artists and the Watford Borough Council’s Watford Big Events programme, a series of big outdoor events for all the family.
There are also two leisure facilities in the area, including Watford Central Leisure Centre and Woodside Leisure Centre, offering a wide variety of classes, from Zumba to Pilates.
West Herts Golf Club, boasting 100 years of golfing tradition, offers 18 holes surrounded by stunning woodland. And with tree-lined fairways and well-bunkered greens, it has always been a golfer’s course.
Watford Football Club
Watford FC is much more than a football club. Heavily supported by former Chairman Sir Elton John, the stadium has also seen concerts played on the pitch.
They are strongly linked to the local community through the Watford FC Community Sports & Education Trust who work with local children and young people, as well as supporting other local charities.
Local theatres
Watford Palace Theatre, a beautiful 600-seat Edwardian theatre, there locally produced shows and home-grown talent have toured nationally and internationally, been seen on BBC iPlayer, won awards and transferred to the West End.
The Pump House, is a thriving arts centre in the Lower High Street area of Watford that has been providing high quality artistic events for over 45 years and is a hub for emerging talent.
Watford Colosseum – famous for having some of the best acoustics in the country, where the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings (amongst others) soundtracks were recorded – is one of Watford’s major assets, featuring a main auditorium as well as a cafe, restaurant and a number of bars.
Green spaces
Watford’s green spaces have been granted more Green Flag awards than anywhere else in Hertfordshire for the third year running. Once again, Watford Borough Council and Veolia broke the record, with 12 parks and open spaces in Watford now recognised by the Green Flag Award Scheme as some of the very best in the country. The 2018 Green Flag status parks in Watford are: Cassiobury Park, Woodside Playing Fields, Cheslyn House and Gardens, Waterfields Recreation Ground, Callowland Recreation Ground, North Watford Playing Fields, Oxhey Park, St Mary’s Churchyard, Goodwood Recreation Ground, Paddock Road Allotments, North Watford Cemetery, and for the first time – Harwoods Recreation Ground.
