Cheltenham Races: Where to Stay, Eat and Drink

For four days every March, Cheltenham stops being a quiet Regency spa town and turns into the loudest corner of British sport. The Cheltenham Races (officially the Cheltenham Festival) pulls in around 250,000 visitors, empties every hotel within a ten-mile radius, and gives the town its busiest, noisiest, most electric week of the year. If you're going for the first time, or the twentieth, knowing how to use the week properly makes all the difference.

This is a local's guide to the Cheltenham Races. What's happening each day, what to wear, how to get there, where to stay, and (most importantly for those of us who live here) where to eat, drink and escape the crowds when the town is running at full tilt. It's written for first-timers who want to do it properly, and for locals who want to make the most of Race Week rather than hide from it.

Let's get the basics out of the way first.

Cheltenham Festival 2026: Dates, Races and What Each Day Means

The Cheltenham Festival 2026 runs from Tuesday 10 March to Friday 13 March 2026. Four days of racing, 28 races in total, 13 of them Grade 1. Gates open at 10:30 each day. The first race goes off at 13:20, the last at around 17:20, with roughly 40 minutes between races. Each day has its own character, and locals will tell you the atmosphere changes noticeably as the week goes on.

Day 1: Champion Day (Tuesday)

The opener. Big nervous energy, a packed grandstand and the famous Cheltenham Roar as the tapes go up for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Day one has the highest concentration of serious racing fans, and the Champion Hurdle is the headline event.

Day 2: Style Wednesday / Ladies Day

The town dresses up. Ladies Day is more about atmosphere than any single race, though the Queen Mother Champion Chase is the main event. It's the friendliest day of the week, and usually the easiest for first-timers.

Day 3: St Patrick's Thursday

The rowdiest day, by some distance. Irish travellers fill the stands and the town centre takes on a proper festival feel. The Ryanair Chase and the Stayers' Hurdle are the day's headline races. If you want the big atmosphere, this is the day to pick.

Day 4: Gold Cup Day (Friday)

The main event. The Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup runs at 16:00 on Friday 13 March 2026, with £625,000 in prize money and the reputation of being the greatest steeplechase in the world. The whole week builds to this one race, and the noise when the field turns for home is something you don't forget.

What to Wear: the Cheltenham Races Dress Code Explained

There is no formal dress code at the Cheltenham Races, and that's official. The Jockey Club encourages guests to "dress to feel your best", which in practice means you'll see three-piece tweed suits standing next to jeans and jumpers without anyone raising an eyebrow. Cheltenham is proudly relaxed about this, especially compared to Royal Ascot.

That said, the weather in March will do what March weather does, and the racecourse involves a lot of walking on grass and uneven ground. A few practical tips from locals who've been going for years:

Avoid bare legs, floaty skirts and thin fabrics. March in Cheltenham can be cold, wet and windy inside the same half-hour.
Skip the heels. Go for flat boots or sturdy shoes you don't mind on grass.
Bring a proper coat, a hat and (if you're feeling it) a flask. Layer up. You'll thank yourself by 3pm.
Tweed and flat caps are always a good call. So is a well-chosen wax jacket.

The best-dressed racegoers at Cheltenham are the ones who look like they've planned for the weather rather than the photographer. Take the hint.

How to Get to Cheltenham Racecourse

The racecourse sits in Prestbury Park on the northern edge of town, postcode GL50 4SH. It's about a mile and a half from the Promenade, which is walkable in good weather and a quick taxi otherwise. During Race Week, traffic on the roads around the racecourse is heavy, so plan accordingly.

By train: Cheltenham Spa station is on the main line from London Paddington (just over two hours direct) and Birmingham. A dedicated race day shuttle bus runs from the station to the racecourse during the Festival.

By car: Car parking passes are no longer available to purchase online and on-site parking is limited. Most visitors park in town and use the shuttle buses, or park and ride from designated sites. Don't try to drive straight to the racecourse on the day.

By bus: Race day bus services run from the town centre and from Cheltenham Spa station. These are the easiest way for most people, and they drop you right at the gates.

Gates open at 10:30. Arriving early is worth it. You'll beat the queues at security, pick up a racecard, find your seat and get a feel for the place before the crowds build.

Where to Eat at the Racecourse

The food at Cheltenham has stepped up dramatically in recent years. You can still get a pint and a pie (and many people will), but the hospitality options now stretch to genuine Michelin-level cooking if that's what you want.

Fine dining options on course

Core on Course by Clare Smyth is the flagship for 2026, a seasonal menu from one of the UK's most decorated chefs served in the grandstand. Chez Roux, Michel Roux Jr's four-course menu with Moët champagne, is also back this year. The Panoramic Restaurant offers uninterrupted views across Cleeve Hill and the racecourse, with a classic racecourse fine-dining format. Book well in advance for any of these. They sell out weeks before the Festival begins.

Casual food and bites

The enclosures and public areas have a proper spread now. Fish and chips, handcrafted burgers, barbecue, stone-baked pizzas, mac and cheese, pies and pasties, coffees and light bites. The quality varies but the options are far better than the racecourse food of ten years ago. If you're pacing yourself for a long day, eat early.

The Horse and Groom

A proper racecourse pub that overlooks the final two fences of the track. Informal, fun and the right spot if you want a pint in sight of the action without committing to a full restaurant booking. Queues build, so get there between races rather than during the big ones.

Where to Stay for Cheltenham Races

Accommodation is the single biggest headache of Race Week. The whole town books up months in advance, sometimes years, and prices roughly double for the Festival period. Book early is the only real advice. Here's the local shortlist, roughly ordered by distance to the racecourse. For the full list, browse our guide to the best hotels in Cheltenham.

Close to the racecourse

Ellenborough Park is the stand-out. A 15th-century manor house with 61 rooms, a spa, a converted horsebox bar and grounds that back directly onto Cleeve Hill, it's the closest luxury option to the Festival gates and a short taxi ride (or brisk walk) to the stands. Guests tend to book a year in advance for Race Week.

No. 38 The Park is a smaller, sharper boutique stay around 15 minutes on foot from the racecourse. It's the right option if you want to walk to and from the track without dealing with taxis on busy evenings.

Town centre hotels

The Queens Hotel is the obvious town centre base. Opened in 1838, it sits at the head of the Promenade overlooking Imperial Square and Gardens, puts you right in the middle of the Race Week buzz and has its own in-house dining. No. 131 on the Promenade is the boutique option for those who want style and cocktail bars on tap. Malmaison is slicker and more contemporary. All three fill up fast.

Book early, and consider surrounding villages

If Cheltenham is full (and it will be), widen the net to the Cotswold villages within a 20-minute drive (Winchcombe, Broadway, Prestbury, Bishop's Cleeve). Plenty of people do exactly this, take taxis in and out, and find the villages a useful escape from the town centre noise in the evening.

Where to Drink and Eat in Town During Race Week

This is the part locals care about most. Cheltenham during the Festival is one long party, and knowing which bars buzz and which ones stay calm makes or breaks the week.

The loud end: The Brewery Quarter

The Brewery Quarter is the natural centre of gravity for Race Week nightlife. The Alchemist does theatrical cocktails and DJs, The Botanist and Brewhouse & Kitchen host live music, Flight Club serves social darts and Race Week cocktails. It's big, loud and full. Exactly what some people want, exactly what others are trying to avoid.

A quieter pint: Montpellier and The Suffolks

If you want a proper local pub during Race Week, head away from the High Street. The Rotunda Tavern on Montpellier Street is small, independently run and always a better bet than the chain pubs on the main drag. The Beehive in The Suffolks is tucked down a quiet street, has two pub gardens and a genuinely excellent selection of local real ales. Both are beloved by locals precisely because they feel like the town before the racegoers arrived.

Where to watch if you don't have tickets

The Bayshill on St George's Place shows every race live throughout Race Week, serves proper pub food (including their signature six-times-battered fish and chips) and hosts live music into the night. It's become the unofficial home of ticket-less racegoers and is as close to the real Festival atmosphere as you'll get off the course.

Where to eat

Cheltenham's restaurant scene has grown up considerably in the last decade. During Race Week, the best places book up seven to ten days in advance. Montpellier is the natural evening hunting ground, with a walkable cluster of independent restaurants, bistros and wine bars you can hop between. Our full guide to Cheltenham's best restaurants is the starting point, and booking ahead is non-negotiable.

If you're in town for the whole week and want a break from the racing, our guide to Cheltenham Festival things to do beyond the races covers the walks, museums and quieter corners of town worth finding.

What Should a First-Timer Know About the Cheltenham Races?

Three things, really. First, pace yourself. The day is long. Gates open at 10:30 and racing finishes at 17:20, then the evening starts. Drinking at a steady rather than heroic rate from 11am will serve you better than peaking at 1pm.

Second, learn the basics of the racecard. You don't need to be an expert, but knowing how to read the form, spot the favourite and place a simple each-way bet makes the racing itself far more engaging. Pick up a card at the gate and ask someone near you in the queue.

Third, plan the evening before you leave for the racecourse. Taxis are impossible to book at 7pm. Restaurants are fully booked. If you know where you're eating and drinking before you go, the end of the day runs itself. If you don't, you'll end up queuing for kebabs on the High Street.

A Week Worth Doing Properly

Cheltenham Race Week is genuinely one of the great British sporting weeks, and it deserves a proper plan. Book your accommodation early (seriously, like now), dress for the weather rather than the weather forecast, pick one day that suits your taste (Tuesday for the racing, Thursday for the atmosphere, Friday for the Gold Cup) and build your eating and drinking around the quiet corners of the town as well as the loud ones.

For visitors, it's the best possible introduction to Cheltenham. For locals, it's four days of chaos that ends with a clearer appreciation of how much character the town has the other 361 days of the year. Use it well, tip your taxi drivers, and save something for Gold Cup Friday. The rest of the year, the town is still here waiting.