If the villages are where the Cotswolds look their prettiest, the towns are where they come to life. Market squares, antiques shops, independent cafes and centuries of trade. They also make the most practical bases for a visit, with the shops, restaurants and railway stations the villages lack.
Here are the Cotswold market towns worth building a trip around. For where each one sits and how the region fits together, see our complete Cotswolds visitor guide.
The classic market towns
- Stow-on-the-Wold is the highest town in the Cotswolds, built around a large market square and famous for its antiques shops and the yew-flanked north door of St Edward’s church.
- Cirencester is often called the capital of the Cotswolds. It was Corinium, the second-largest town in Roman Britain, and still has a fine church, a Monday and Friday market and the parkland of Cirencester Park.
- Moreton-in-Marsh is flat, walkable and on the main rail line, with one of the largest street markets in the region every Tuesday. A good no-car base.
- Tetbury is a handsome wool town known for antiques, the steep Chipping Steps and its links to nearby Highgrove.
- Winchcombe sits below the escarpment near Sudeley Castle and bills itself as the walking capital of the Cotswolds, on both the Cotswold Way and other trails.
- Northleach is a small, unspoiled wool town with one of the finest wool churches in England and a museum of mechanical music.
- Witney sits on the Oxfordshire edge, a former blanket-making town with a long green and a fine church.
More towns worth a stop
- Burford is the gateway to the Cotswolds from the east, with a long high street sloping down to the Windrush.
- Chipping Norton is the highest town in Oxfordshire, with Bliss Mill on its edge.
- Cheltenham is the elegant Regency spa town on the western edge, home to the racecourse and several festivals.
Where to stay and what to do
Most of these towns make excellent bases. See places to stay in the Cotswolds for accommodation, and places to visit in the Cotswolds for attractions nearby.