Holiday rentals and lettings in Exeter

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a holiday letting in Exeter?
• Holiday lettings in Exeter: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Exeter: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Exeter?

• Choice of city lettings: Self-catering flats near the high street, cottages with gardens and roomier houses sit within walking distance of the cathedral, the quay and the university.
• Where to base yourself: The cathedral quarter suits first-timers, while the Quayside, St Leonard's and nearby Topsham offer quieter, greener streets.
• Guest-rated favourites: Our best-reviewed Exeter lettings score 9.8+ and are praised for parking, spotless kitchens and easy walks into the centre.
• Best time to visit: May to September brings festivals and long evenings; autumn and winter mean quieter museums and lower prices.
• Things to do: Exeter Cathedral, the underground passages, the RAMM, the Roman wall trail and a canal walk fill an easy long weekend.

Exeter's accommodation reflects the city itself: red sandstone terraces, converted Georgian townhouses and modern flats above the high street. Guests can pick city-centre apartments a few minutes from the cathedral green, cottages with walled gardens on the quieter western streets, self-catering apartments near the university, or log cabins on the leafy edge of the city. For shorter breaks, choose from a wide range of bed and breakfast options. Most amenities favour longer, slower stays.

• Wi-Fi fast enough for remote working
• Private garden or courtyard for summer evenings
• Allocated parking or a permit for the city centre
• Pet-friendly rules for walks along the Exe
• Well-equipped kitchens and washing machines

Book early for the graduation weekends and the summer festival season, when supply tightens.

What are the best areas to stay in Exeter?

The cathedral quarter is the easiest base, putting the Roman wall, museums and restaurants on your doorstep, with the rest of Devon an easy drive away. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Travellers consistently rate Exeter lettings for how walkable they are: a stay scoring 9.8+ usually means you can reach the cathedral, a good pub and a supermarket without touching the car. Reviewers also single out hosts who share parking advice and tips on the quieter museum hours.

Here are our top-rated holiday lettings from the past year:

1. Holiday apartment for 4 people, with garden - 9.9+: Guests highlight the private garden and the short walk into the centre of Exeter, Devon.
2. Cottage for 4 people, with garden - 9.8+: With 176 reviews, this Exeter cottage is praised for its garden and comfortable, well-stocked kitchen.
3. Holiday apartment for 4 people - 9.8+: A tidy Exeter flat that reviewers recommend for its central location and easy check-in.

Exeter is Devon's county town, a compact Roman and medieval city on the River Exe, roughly ten miles inland from the sea.

✈️What is the best way to get to Exeter?

For most British travellers the train is the simplest option, though the M5 makes driving straightforward. Here are the most common ways to get to the city:

• Train: Exeter has direct services from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids, taking a little over two hours, and a slower but scenic route from London Waterloo to Exeter Central via Salisbury. St Davids also connects to Bristol, Birmingham and the Midlands, while Exeter Central sits a few minutes' walk from the cathedral. Local branch lines run out to Exmouth and Topsham, so a car is genuinely optional for a city break.
• Car: The M5 ends just north of the city, joining the A30 and A38, which makes Exeter one of the easiest cities in the South West to reach by road. From Bristol allow around ninety minutes, from Birmingham roughly three hours. Park and ride sites at Honiton Road, Sowton and Matford save you circling the centre, where car parks fill quickly on Saturdays and during the summer holidays.
• Plane: Exeter Airport lies about five miles east of the centre and handles domestic and seasonal European routes, with a bus link into the city in around half an hour.

🥗Where to eat in Exeter?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Stage is the best rated restaurant in Exeter. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the Rendezvous Wine Bar in Exeter: a cellar hidden off the high street, where the wine list is long and the cheese boards are best shared after a slow afternoon on the quay.

☀️When is the best time to visit?

Exeter works year-round because so much of it is indoors, but May to September is the sweet spot: the cathedral green fills up, the quay comes alive and the evenings stay light. Visit in spring or autumn for quieter museums and better value, and in December for the Christmas market beneath the cathedral's west front.

Spring

• Best for: Walkers pairing the city with a first trip onto Dartmoor.
• Weather: Mild and changeable, with sunny spells from April onwards.
• Atmosphere: Calm, with students in term time and gardens coming into colour.

Summer

• Best for: Families combining the city with beach days on the Jurassic Coast.
• Weather: Warm and generally dry, with long light evenings by the river.
• Atmosphere: Busy and festive, with open-air concerts and packed quayside terraces.

Autumn and winter

• Best for: Culture-focused breaks and lower prices on lettings.
• Weather: Cooler and wetter, though frosts are rare this far south-west.
• Atmosphere: Quiet museums, cosy pubs and a well-loved Christmas market in December.

⭐Our Hosts' recommendation: Our Exeter local expert, Emma of Cottage for 4 people, with garden recommends coming to visit the city on foot, starting with the Roman wall trail behind Southernhay and finishing at the Quayside. She suggests booking the underground passages tour first thing, when the tunnels are quietest, then walking the canal towpath to the Double Locks for lunch. You can read more about local tips on Emma's page.

1. Marvel at Exeter Cathedral
2. Go underground in the medieval passages
3. Explore the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
4. Spend an afternoon on the Quayside
5. Walk the Roman city wall

1. Marvel at Exeter Cathedral

   Begun in the early 12th century and finished nearly 300 years later, Exeter Cathedral is the city's centrepiece. Two squat Norman towers flank the nave, and above them stretches the world's longest run of Gothic vaulting, studded with more than 400 carved bosses. Look for the astronomical clock, whose lower dial dates from 1484, and the 13th-century misericords in the choir, which include the oldest known carving of an elephant in Britain. The green outside is the city's favourite spot for a coffee in the sun.

2. Go underground in the medieval passages

   Beneath the high street runs a warren of vaulted tunnels dug in the Middle Ages to carry clean drinking water into the walled city. Lead pipes were laid inside stone-built passages so they could be repaired without digging up the streets above. Today you put on a helmet and follow a guide through the low, cool corridors, spotting centuries-old masons' marks and graffiti. The visit starts at a small heritage centre with sections of the original pipework and hands-on displays about how the system worked. It is one of the few attractions of its kind open to the public in England.

3. Explore the Royal Albert Memorial Museum

   The RAMM opened in 1868 as a memorial to Prince Albert and reopened in 2011 after a major refurbishment. Its ornate Gothic galleries mix world cultures, zoology, prehistory and fine art, which makes it an easy rainy-afternoon choice with children. Highlights include samurai armour, medieval fragments rescued from bombed buildings, the 14th-century Exeter puzzle jug and a wall of prehistoric hand axes. Entry is free, and the cafe in the entrance hall is a good place to regroup before heading back onto the high street.

4. Spend an afternoon on the Quayside

   Exeter was a busy wool port for centuries, and the Quayside still has the warehouses to prove it, including the Custom House of the 1680s. Pubs, cafes and craft shops now line the water, with tables out whenever the weather allows. Hire a canoe or a bike, or cross the river on the hand-hauled Butts Ferry, on a crossing used since 1641. The towpath along the Exeter Ship Canal makes a flat, easy walk south towards the estuary, with a pub at the halfway point.

5. Walk the Roman city wall

   Roughly seventy per cent of Exeter's Roman wall survives, which is a remarkable amount for a city centre, and a signed trail follows it for about a mile and a half. The circuit takes in Southernhay, the remains of Rougemont Castle built in 1068, and Northernhay Gardens, one of the oldest public parks in England. Allow an hour at a gentle pace, longer if you stop at the cottages on the edge of Dartmoor noticeboards and viewpoints. It is the clearest way to understand how the medieval city grew inside its Roman outline.