Milton Keynes Hotels

Visiting Milton Keynes – A City Guide
Milton Keynes is a buzzing 1960s ‘new town’ brimming with nightlife, arts and culture. Its well-designed grid layout makes it easy to navigate and incorporates wide leafy boulevards, modern shopping and leisure centres and plenty of lakes and parkland. It’s an ideal stopping point if you’re travelling along the M1 motorway.

Milton Keynes: city layout
In central Milton Keynes you’ll find major businesses and shopping centres, the Xscape centre and the vibrant theatre district. The urban centre and outlying residential areas are surrounded by farms and parkland. The M1 motorway passes to the north-east, providing a fast and convenient link to London and the North.

The concierge recommends…

• Try skydiving, skiing and climbing at Xscape Milton Keynes, which brings outdoor adventure indoors.
• Check out the Sunday Market or watch live bands at open-air amphitheatre The National Bowl.
• Visit Bletchley Park, where the German secret codes were cracked during WWII.

Hotels in Milton Keynes
In Central Milton Keynes you’ll have shops, bars and entertainment right on your doorstep. But it’s not all hustle and bustle – in Campbell Park you can find wide-open spaces, rolling hills and even grazing sheep. Tranquil Milton Keynes Village is close to Willen Lake, where you can try waterskiing and sailing. Hotels near here benefit from easy access to the M1.

Eating Out in Milton Keynes
You can enjoy international cuisine and sip cocktails at restaurants and bars in The Hub. The central piazza of this vibrant modern precinct also has live entertainment during the summer. The Theatre District has plenty of places to grab a pre-show bite. If you’re looking for a hearty meal, there are more than 300 pubs to choose from.

The chef recommends...

• Try the delicious steaks at Aqua – aged for 28 days and served with triple-cooked chips.
• For something more spicy, try the Murghi Masala at The Don – tandoori chicken served with lime leaves and onion-tomato sauce.
• In the mood for fish and chips? The Barn serve them with traditional mushy peas and tartare sauce.

Shopping in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes’ air-conditioned malls are packed with popular high-street stores. Next door to each other, thecentre:mk and Intu Milton Keynes have around 300 outlets to explore. Across town, close to the M1 in the Kingston Centre, you’ll find supermarkets and department stores, a gym and a tennis centre. You can pick up fresh produce at the farmers’ markets in Newport Pagnell, Olney, Stony Stratford, Woburn and Wolverton.

Unique shopping days in Milton Keynes

• Do you feel like a Milton Keynes makeover? Thecentre:mk has a day spa, a nail and beauty salon and hairdressers, all under one roof. Why not top it off with a new outfit?
• Shopping with the kids? They’ll love the Disney Store in thecentre:mk. You can pop next door to Intu Milton Keynes to pick up the latest action figure from the Lego Store.

Culture & Nightlife in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes’ culture and nightlife centres around a few key zones. The Hub is a buzzing place with a central piazza and numerous bars. If you want to hit the dancefloor, Wonderworld at Xscape is a stylish late-night club with DJs every weekend. In the Theatre District you’ll find Cineworld Cinemas and the Milton Keynes Theatre, which hosts touring musicals, drama, opera and ballet.

Get your dose of MK culture

• The Stables is the city’s premier venue for live jazz, blues, classical and world music.
• MK Gallery, the city’s main art space, presents an international programme of contemporary visual art, and admission is free.
• Grab some popcorn and enjoy a movie at Cineworld or the Odeon Milton Keynes Stadium.

Visiting Milton Keynes with a Family
With theme parks, museums and fun activities indoors and out, Milton Keynes is ideal for families. Teenagers can burn off some energy with snow skiing, bowling, indoor skydiving and climbing walls at the Xscape centre. For younger children, Gulliver’s is a quaint theme park with water rides and live shows.

A fun day out with the family

• Willen Lake is a scenic park where you can learn how to wakeboard or waterski at Wake MK. Look out for the free ping pong tables near the bandstand too.
• Visit Thrift Farm to pet rabbits and guinea pigs, and see colourful budgies and cockatiels in the aviary.
• Test your agility at Aerial Extreme, a high-rope adventure course with ziplines and scrambling nets.

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