Chichester City Centre and Shopping: BID Area, Markets and Where to Park

Chichester's shops are concentrated inside the city walls. This guide draws on the Business Improvement District (BID) and the district council. It does not rank or review any shop.

What is the BID area?

Chichester BID is a business-led, not-for-profit body that says it is independent of local authorities. It says its area lies primarily within the limits of the historic city walls, including Northgate, Southgate, St Pancras and The Hornet. Its homepage links to a shopping directory, eating out, events and a visitor map, and its guides page offers 48-hour guides for families, couples and culture seekers.

The BID also publishes pages for the Chichester Gift Card, which it says can be used across the city for shopping, dining and experiences, and the Alive After Five card for 40-plus nightlife venues. We found no centre-wide shop opening hours, so check each business.

Markets

The council's Farmers' Market page gives 9.00am to 2.00pm on the first and third Friday of each month, and its Cross Market & More page describes a quality mixed street market of designers, makers and producers in the city centre, with street food and entertainment. The date shown on that page when we read it was 16 March 2025, so confirm the next date elsewhere. For dates, see the markets and events guide. The BID says its free Canopy on Crane Street performance space runs from June to September in the city's Northern Quarter, so it is not available now.

Where to park

The council's car parks page says all its city car parks are open 24 hours a day, and lists charging times by tariff. The central short stay car parks, with spaces as listed:

• Little London, PO19 1PL: 81 spaces, eight disabled (short stay, central).
• Baffins Lane, PO19 9SB: 86 spaces, two disabled (short stay, central).
• Market Avenue, PO19 1UZ: 75 spaces (short stay, central).
• St John's, PO19 1SY: 29 spaces, one disabled (short stay, central).
• East Pallant, PO19 1UF: 165 spaces, nine disabled, two electric vehicle bays.

Long stay car parks on the edge of the centre include Northgate (907 spaces, charging 8am to 8pm), Cattle Market (836 spaces, 2.3-metre height limit) and Avenue de Chartres (890 spaces, 1.93-metre height limit). Charging times for the long stay car parks are 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday except Northgate, and Sundays 10am to 5pm. Published tariffs for up to four hours are £7.70 short stay, £10.00 short stay central and £4.60 long stay. These were the figures on the page at the time of writing, so check the table. Payment methods, permits and season tickets are in the parking guide, and EV bays in the EV charging guide.

Getting here and where to start

The council says Chichester has shopping, restaurants, a cinema, galleries and a cathedral, and runs the tourist information centre at The Novium on Tower Street, PO19 1QH, phone 01243 775888. Its tourism page lists Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4.30pm and Saturday 10am to 5pm, with Sunday hours that vary by season, and Monday closed. For trains and buses to the centre, see the train stations guide and buses guide. The council's Blue Badge page mentions allocated spaces next to the pedestrian centre; see our Blue Badge guide.