Christmas Crown Trail
This year VisitNorwich celebrates its 20th anniversary promoting tourism and so, for Christmas 2025, we’re inviting local businesses to participate (at no cost) in a new magical seasonal event as part of the annual VisitNorwich Christmas campaign…
Inspired by the re-opening of Norwich Castle Keep and Henry I celebrating Christmas 1121 at Norwich Castle, The Christmas Crown Trail will be a free family-friendly festive treasure hunt across Norwich.
Launching on 20 November and running until 5 January, the Christmas Crown Trail will guide visitors across the city centre locating festive displays, searching out crowns and clues within creative shop window designs. This fun and festive trail is a treasure hunt adventure designed to boost footfall and showcase our city’s businesses. People on the trail will be able to collect clues located in windows from 30 locations, solve a puzzle, and then enter our competition for the chance to win some incredible prizes donated by Norwich Castle.
Christmas can be expensive and keeping everyone happy at this exciting time can be stressful. Which is why we want people to have fun. We want to encourage families to pause the everyday and get out enjoying our historic creative city. Whether that’s with pre-school or school age children along with parents, carers, friends or grandparents. Whether it’s mid-week or weekend.
This is Christmas for the curious.
Local Business? Here’s How YOU Can Get Involved in the Christmas Crown Trail…
Getting involved is simple and cost and time effective. Simply fill out our Expression of Interest form.
- There are just 30 crowns available so please confirm your participation by 15th October.
- Place a crown in your shop window supplied by Norwich BID 30 x 30cm. Window dressing around the crown is encouraged. Have your crown on display by 20th November and keep it on display until the trail ends on 5 January 2026.
- Share photos of your window display on social channels tagging @VisitNorwich (Instagram) and using #CityOfStories while VisitNorwich and Norwich BID amplify your posts to a wider audience.
- Please let us know if you have any particularly attractive light displays or shop fronts which photograph well for us to use in the trail map and PR.
What You’ll Gain by Joining:
- Visibility: Your business featured on the official Crown Trail map, distributed widely by friendly Norwich City Hosts.
- Promotion of the trail: Inclusion on VisitNorwich.co.uk through dedicated content about the trail including festive blogs (our website will be promoted in our digital seasonal campaign) and VisitNorwich owned social channels (70k followers). As well as exposure through VisitNorwich partnerships such as Greater Anglia.
- Footfall: More families and shoppers visiting the city centre and your business during the season.
- Community spirit: Be part of a city-wide collaborative celebration of Norwich’s rich Christmas heritage.
Where along the way families can see twinkling festive scenes, find places off their beaten track, stop for tasty seasonal treats, discover places to shop for later and enjoy time together, away from all the usual distractions.
The Crown Trail is part of a wider campaign to:
- Encourage residents and visitors to shop in person in Norwich
- Showcase local fabulous festive shopping destinations, businesses of every size
- Share the story of Norwich’s royal Christmas past in an engaging, creative family-friendly way whilst celebrating the opening of Norwich Castle – the jewel in the crown!
- Generate local PR and an online buzz for Norwich
- Create awareness locally and regionally for Norwich as must-visit festive city for shopping, eating, and entertainment.
Our target audiences include:
- Local families and residents
- Visitors staying with friends and family
- Former residents, students, and alumni returning to the city
- VisitNorwich followers on Facebook and Instagram
- Users of visitnorwich.co.uk
And through a special print map featuring the trail as well as plotting the Christmas light displays, visitors to Norwich will be made aware of our activity with maps placed in hotels, shopping centres and attractions and given out by Norwich City Hosts. Reaching thousands of visitors who are not familiar with Norwich.