Across the River Dee from the remains of Chester’s motte-and-bailey castle lies a house called Nowhere.

According to legend, the name came from its days as a late-night drinking den – when wives asked drunken husbands where they had been, they’d answer ‘nowhere’.

The white house is said to be the inspiration for the Beatles’ song Nowhere Man. It’s not Chester’s only link to the Fab Four; John and Cynthia Lennon spent their wedding night there – the Beatles played at the city’s Riverpark Ballroom the same night – and John’s grandmother was born in the Bear and Billet, a 17th century inn regarded as a particularly fine example of Chester’s distinctive black-and-white half-timbered buildings.

Founded 2,000 years ago as a Roman fort, Chester is surrounded by Britain’s most-complete city walls and dominated by medieval buildings and Victorian ‘black-and-white revival’ replicas.

A visit to Chester isn’t complete without a walk along the ancient city walls. It was a grey, drizzly morning when we set off, but we took in landmarks such as the castle, built by William the Conqueror to dominate the nearby Welsh border; the remains of a Roman ampitheatre, thought to have been the location of King Arthur’s legendary Round Table; the Roodee Racecourse – once the site of a massive Roman harbour – and Eastgate Clock, the most-photographed clock in England after Big Ben.

Chester is the only place in Britain to maintain the Middle Ages tradition of regular midday proclamations – Tuesday to Saturday, May to August. Chester’s David and Julie Mitchell are the world’s first husband-and-wife town crier partnership and we’d hoped to see them, but only David was on duty at the High Cross that day.

Cheshire is one of England’s wealthiest counties, home to premiership footballers and their WAGs, and one of Chester’s biggest attractions is its vibrant shops, blending high street chains, designer boutiques and England’s oldest shop front, the 13th century Three Arches. Many shops are along The Rows – two-tiered medieval walkways running through the city’s four main streets – and the ornate Grosvenor Shopping Centre. Enjoying a girls’ weekend away, my sister-in-law and I trawled the shops, stopping for a cream tea at the Mad Hatter, a charming teashop in The Rows.

We discovered The Cheese Shop, stocking a wonderful range of regional British cheeses, (not just Cheshire), then wandered around Chester’s splendid cathedral and tranquil cloister gardens. Made from red sandstone, the cathedral has beautifully-detailed medieval woodcarvings and a complex of monastic buildings.

Weary from walking, we boarded a ‘hop-on-hop-off’ CitySighteeing bus – I can’t resist an open-topped bus tour – taking us around winding streets and across the river on the 13th century Old Dee Bridge, past the 900-year-old weir to an intriguing area known as the Roodee, full of nooks and crannies between the river and city walls, where the Shropshire Union Canal criss-crosses with the railway. With the Welsh hills rising in the distance, past Chester’s trademark ‘sugar-twist’ chimney stacks, we trundled past the childhood home of actor Daniel Craig and a Victorian cocoa house with a striking tiled facade.

Returning to the Holiday Inn Chester South, five minutes from the city centre, we enjoyed a leisurely evening meal. We ate in both the bar and restaurant during our two-night stay, and I recommend the vegetable curry, sizzling fajitas and baked vanilla cheesecake. Ideally-placed for Chester attractions, the hotel has a pool, gym, sauna and various spa treatments.

On Sunday morning, we made our way to the Groves, a riverside area with a pretty Edwardian bandstand, for a River Dee cruise with Mark Twain Boats. Viewers of Hollyoaks may recognise the Groves, which is popular for location filming.

The river cruise was a lovely way to soak up a different view of Chester, not least the huge houses and hotels with gorgeous gardens rolling down to the water. There were plenty of rowers on the water; we discovered that Chester is home to the world’s oldest rowing competition.

Chester is a striking city blending history with contemporary style. There’s plenty to do and see, both in the city centre and further afield, where attractions include Chester Zoo, Tatton Park Hall and Gardens and the Blue Planet Aquarium at Cheshire Oaks.

I’ll be back, to explore more of the area.