Preston misses out on Time Out's world's best cities list - 9 reasons why we love it

Time Out surveyed some 20,000 city-dwellers across the world, alongside its network of global writers and editors, to compile its latest round-up of the best cities in the globe.

Factors including cities’ food scenes, architecture and cultural happenings were taken into account.

The goal, says Time Out, is to provide "inspiration for travel" but also a "global snapshot of city living."

New York was crowned the winner for 2024, but Preston was nowhere to be seen.

But we know that Preston is full of great people, amazing places and plenty of things to do.

Here are nine reasons why we love the city of Preston:

Egg Rolling

Egg Rolling is a big Easter tradition, going back more than 150 years, that takes place on Avenham and Miller Parks in Preston every Easter Monday.

Each year brings an eclectic mix of workshops, street theatre and live music.

No visit to Preston's Egg Rolling is complete without bringing your own Easter egg and rolling it down the hill with hundreds of other people.

You can find a quiet spot and roll with the family or join in with the official egg rolls on the hour.

UCLan

UCLan has achieved a silver award in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), a national scheme which encourages improvement in teaching, learning, and achieving positive outcomes for students from their studies.

Achieving a Teaching Excellence Framework Silver Award means the university’s student experience and outcomes have been formally assessed as typically very high quality, and there may be some outstanding features.

In recent years, the university’s regeneration in Preston has seen investment up to £200 million to transform the centre of the campus, including the creation of the university square and student centre

Hot Potato Tram

The Hot Potato Tram has been serving up hot potatoes and parched peas to customers in Preston since 1955.

Jake Nelson, 28, and Harley Nelson, 21, aka The Spud Brothers, have taken over The Hot Potato Tram on Flag Market and launched a TikTok account to boot.

The brothers' TikTok page is also growing fast, they film videos about working on the van, how to keep happy customers and even give away free food sometimes – one of their most popular videos has almost 20 million views.

Preston Bus Station

Utopian or dystopian, love it, or hate it, Preston's bus station is Grade II listed, meaning it is of special architectural or historic interest, and officially worth protecting.

It was once the largest in Europe, only to be taken over by Kamppi Centre in Helsinki, Finland in 2006.

It has also won several awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects, including both the RIBA North West Award 2019 and the RIBA North West Conservation Award 2019.

The awards followed a renovation to the building, which was originally built in the 1960s in brutalist style consistent with that era.

Preston North End

Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston.

Preston North End can be traced back to 1863, but at that time it was linked with cricket and the first game of football was 15 years away.

Preston Docks

Once Europe's largest inland dock, Preston Docklands makes a peaceful stroll and day out.

Discover what Preston Docks have to offer for yourself by walking around and taking in the Marina, along with its variety of backdrops and rich history.

With plenty of places to visit and a selection of nearby eateries, the docks make a great day out for visitors of all ages.

The People

Are we the friendliest folk in the UK? We like to think so. Talk to someone on a bus and they actually speak back to you!

Preston Market

Combining long-established and traditional traders with new and contemporary stalls and cafés, Preston Market is a one-stop location for fresh local food, quirky independent shops and inviting places to eat in or grab and go all wrapped up with a friendly Northern hello.

The location

Less than an hour’s drive from the beautiful countryside of The Lakes District and a similar distance from Manchester and Liverpool, Preston could be considered an ideal hub to base yourself.

London can be reached in just over two hours and with more than 17,000 homes being built across the city, Preston is only getting bigger and a more popular place to be.