Serviced Apartments in Colchester

Discover the best activities and attractions Colchester has to offer, and find out what makes this city a vibrant and exciting place to live or visit.

Colchester Castle Museum
Colchester Castle, built on the foundations of the Roman Temple of Claudius, houses an extensive local archaeology and history collection, including Roman exhibits that draw school groups, researchers, and tourists. As a major heritage attraction it supports the local economy through ticketed visits, museum shop and café spending, and by anchoring heritage-led regeneration in the town centre; its educational programmes and temporary exhibitions foster community identity and lifelong learning while providing seasonal and permanent jobs.

Colchester Zoo
Colchester Zoo is one of the region’s largest wildlife attractions, renowned for its conservation projects, animal-encounter experiences and varied species collections. The zoo generates substantial local economic impact through visitor admissions, hospitality and retail spend, and by attracting overnight stays; its conservation and outreach work engages schools and volunteers, raises awareness of biodiversity, and supports local employment in animal care, education and tourism services.

Castle Park
Castle Park, set around the castle mound with formal gardens, a boating lake and a bandstand, is a focal green space for leisure, festivals and community gatherings. It boosts community wellbeing by providing free recreational space, hosting large events such as music festivals and the annual arts/food events that drive footfall into the town centre, and supporting nearby businesses through increased customer flows during park events and peak seasons.

Firstsite
Firstsite is Colchester’s contemporary art gallery and cultural hub, presenting exhibitions, film, workshops and community programmes that bring national and international art to the town. It plays a key role in cultural regeneration by attracting creative tourism, commissioning local artists, running outreach and education initiatives, and stimulating the evening economy through events that increase visitor dwell time and spending at local cafés, bars and shops.

High Street & Culver Square (shopping and dining)
Colchester’s High Street and Culver Square combine national retailers with a growing independent dining and boutique scene, offering a mix of shopping, cafés and restaurants that cater to residents and visitors alike. This retail and hospitality corridor underpins the town centre economy by creating jobs, drawing spending from surrounding areas, and providing venues for local food producers and entrepreneurs; regular markets and seasonal promotions further strengthen community engagement and support small-business growth.

Explore the diverse transport options available in Colchester, from efficient public transportation systems to convenient road networks. Whether you're commuting to work or exploring the city, this section will give you an overall look at the available transportation systems.

Public Transit System
- Rail (Greater Anglia services and local stations) - Colchester is served by the Great Eastern Main Line at Colchester station with frequent services to London Liverpool Street, Ipswich and Norwich, plus branch-line services on local lines; the town also has Colchester Town and several nearby suburban stations providing local and regional rail links.
- Local and regional buses - A comprehensive bus network links the town centre with suburbs, surrounding villages and nearby towns; services are a mix of commercial and council-contracted routes, with frequent corridors into and out of the town.
- Coach and intercity services - Scheduled coach services call at Colchester for longer-distance regional travel and connections to national coach networks.
- Taxis and private hire - Licensed taxi and private-hire vehicles operate across the borough, providing on-demand point-to-point travel and airport transfer options.
- Community and demand-responsive transport - Community transport schemes and dial‑a‑ride services support access for elderly and mobility‑impaired residents and serve rural areas with lower-frequency public transport.

Major Highways
- A12 - Primary dual-carriageway route running south-west toward London and north-east toward East Anglia, forming the main strategic road link for Colchester.
- A120 - East–west trunk route providing access to the port of Harwich to the east and linking to the A12 and routes toward Stansted and the Midlands.
- A133 - Radial route from the town centre toward the Tendring peninsula and coastal towns, acting as a key local arterial road.
- A1124 and other A/B roads - Local arterial routes (including the A1124 and a network of A/B roads) connect the town centre with residential suburbs, business parks and the surrounding rural area.

Cycling Infrastructure
- Dedicated and signed cycle network - Colchester has a mix of on‑road cycle lanes, signed local and leisure routes, shared‑use paths and traffic‑calmed streets in parts of the town centre and suburbs, together with cycle parking at key locations and station cycle facilities; the council has been developing and prioritising active‑travel corridors to improve safe cycling and walking links.

Recent and Upcoming Improvements
- Rail service and station upgrades - Operators have introduced newer rolling stock and timetable improvements on regional routes; ongoing station accessibility and platform enhancement projects have been delivered or are planned to improve step‑free access and passenger facilities.
- Road and junction schemes on A12/A120 corridors - Targeted carriageway resurfacing, junction improvements and safety works on the A12/A120 corridors and feeder routes aim to reduce congestion and improve reliability for freight and commuter traffic.
- Active travel and walking/cycling projects - Local authority investments and national active‑travel funding have supported new cycle lanes, improved pedestrian crossings, and low‑traffic or modal‑filter schemes to encourage walking and cycling.
- Bus network modernisation and passenger information - Upgrades include newer low‑emission buses on some routes, expanded real‑time information displays, and wider acceptance of contactless and smart ticketing to simplify multi‑modal journeys.
- Town centre access and parking management - Recent measures have focused on reorganising town‑centre access, pedestrian improvements, targeted parking management and event‑time traffic arrangements to improve journey times and the public realm.

In Colchester, finding the right furnished rental apartment for short term or long term rental can be challenging - especially with affordable rates all year round in Colchester. That is where we help companies find the right serviced apartment to stay when working away from home. Our accommodation offers you the perfect self-catering, furnished rental properties in central Colchester and easy-access locations nearby. Whether it be one week, one month or one year, we have flexible terms to suit you.