BY AMELIA GRACE

As you may already know, Hull is this year’s City of Culture. But a lot of people who have never visited Hull before in their life may be wondering why should I visit Hull? What kind of tourist attractions and events are there for me to do there? As a matter of fact, Hull has a lot of interesting tourist attractions and events going on that will not only be lasting for this year but some that have run in Hull way before it became City Of Culture 2017. As a proud citizen of Hull, I hope to share just some of the many reasons why you should visit Hull:

The Deep

The Deep, which is one of the most amazing aquariums you’ll probably ever visit, is home to over 3,500 creatures which include penguins, shark, sting rays and a vast variety of fish!! It’s a great day out for people of all ages and as well as having loads of interesting marine life; it also has lots of cool activities going on as part of City of Culture. It has lots of other facilities such as a first rate restaurant and cafe and a massive gift shop with a range of things that you can purchase.

Hull Minster

Hull Minster is an Anglican Church Minster in the centre of Hull. It is a spectacular building on the outside and inside and it is host to many different events. It has recently become a Minster as it was formerly known as Holy Trinity and it had a whole day (‘Minster Making’ day) dedicated to celebrating that it had become a Minster. It’s definitely worth a visit if only to see its stunning outward and inward design.

Free Museums

There are lots of interesting and free museums around Hull which is a pleasurable way to spend a day in Hull if you decide you want to visit a few of them. There is the Street life Museum (all about means of transport that they had in the olden days), the Maritime Museum (which explores Hull’s fishing heritage), the Hands on History Museum (which takes you through lots of different history time periods) and the William Wilberforce Museum (which explores the life of William Wilberforce and his part in the abolishment of the Slave Trade) just to name a few.

Ferens Art Gallery

The Ferens Art Gallery is located near the centre of Hull and is named after Thomas Ferens who donated the site and money for the Art Gallery to the city. The Ferens Art Gallery has recently been fully refurbished so it could host the Turner Prize as part of City of Culture 2017 and it reopened on 13^th January. One of its most recent exhibits is the skin exhibition which includes pictures taken from ‘Sea of Hull’ last year. ‘Sea of Hull’ was an event in 2016 when lots of people came together and all painted themselves different shades of blue so they resembled the sea. When they all lay down together in different parts of the city, pictures were taken which resembled the sea creating some unique pieces of art work.

Humber Street

Humber Street is home to a variety of cafe bars, shops and also an Art Gallery. The Art Gallery has a variety of exhibits all linking to Hull in some way and is definitely a great place for anyone to visit even if you are not that much of an artist!! The cafe bars serve a variety of food and would be a great place to go if you want to go for a meal out in Hull after you’ve spent the day there. Humber Street is a nice little street packed full of individuality and culture and would be a great stop when you explore the city. Humber Street is also quite near to the Marina which is a nice to place to go for a walk around.

Humber Bridge

The Humber Bridge which connects East Yorkshire to Lincolnshire is a 2,220 metre suspension bridge which opened to traffic on 24^th June 1981. Construction of the Humber Bridge started in the early ‘70s and finished almost 10 years later where it was opened officially by the Queen. Prior to the bridge opening, there was a ferry to get from Lincolnshire to East Yorkshire however it was a lot easier for people to use the Humber Bridge in order to get across and that is the reason why it was built. The views from the bridge are breathtaking especially on a clear day. There are plans to build a glass elevator that goes all the way to the top of the bridge although it has not yet been formerly agreed.

City of Culture 2017

Since Hull is City of Culture 2017 this year, there have been lots of impressive events over the past 5 months such as Poppies: Weeping Window, Blade and the Light Show right at the beginning of the year. However there are lots more intriguing events coming up later on in the year including the Freedom Festival.

Freedom Festival

The Freedom Festival celebrates its 10^th birthday this year and is a major event in Hull which happens every year. It’s a large scale outdoor event lasting from 1^st September to 3^rd September and has lots of different events going on in the day and at night mainly in the Old Town of Hull. It’s a spectacular festival with a variety of fascinating and unique events and one that a lot of people from Hull look forward to year upon year.

Upcoming Events

There are lots of upcoming events in Hull for City of Culture and should you decide you do want to visit Hull and you want to tie your visit in with some of these great events coming up you can check out the City of Culture website for more information.

Guest Writer, Amelia Grace, is a teenager from Hull. Amelia blogs here.