Thomas Cook

The birthplace of package holidays sits quietly in Leicester, a fact that makes Thomas Cook's legacy rather more significant than the modest setting suggests. This is where the man himself - a cabinet maker turned visionary - created the concept that transformed how ordinary people travel. You're looking at the original printing works and office from the 1840s, the place where Cook plotted excursion trains and printed the first ever travel guides. It's straightforward stuff: a small museum space with period furnishings, documents, and exhibits charting how a Leicester lad basically invented the holiday industry. History buffs will find it genuinely fascinating. Families with younger kids might find it a touch dry - there's not much interactive theatre here, just solid Victorian enterprise and fascinating correspondence. Allow yourself an hour, maybe ninety minutes if you're the type to read everything. Free entry, though opening hours can be patchy so ring ahead. The real value lies in understanding how revolutionary Cook was: he democratised travel when it was entirely the preserve of the wealthy. Pair this with a wander around central Leicester itself - the cathedral, the market - and you've got a proper morning sorted. If you're based at one of the nearby parks like Bradgate Park or Cossiwild Camping, it's an easy fifteen-minute drive into the city. Not essential, but for anyone interested in how modern tourism began, it's absolutely worth the detour.