The Norwich Lanes is the name given to the network of medieval streets and passages in the north part of the old city centre, roughly between the market and St Benedict's Street. It is the most interesting part of Norwich for wandering — independent shops, vintage clothing, small cafes, record shops, bookshops, and independent restaurants fill the old flint and timber-framed buildings.
The streets are genuinely narrow in places, the buildings genuinely old, and the absence of chain shops is striking. Pottergate, St Benedict's Street, and Upper St Giles Street are the main arteries; the lanes between them are where the discoveries happen. On a weekend afternoon it fills with locals — the Lanes have resisted the homogenisation that has overtaken many British city centres.