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Music
Cheltenham Music Festival
Nine days of classical concerts in Cheltenham Town Hall, the Pittville Pump Room and churches around the county each July; in 2027 from 9 to 17 July.
The Cheltenham Music Festival is nine days of classical music in Cheltenham every July. The 2027 festival runs from Friday 9 to Saturday 17 July. The festival began in 1945 and marked its 80th year in 2025.
What happens
The orchestral concerts and premieres are in Cheltenham Town Hall on Imperial Square. The Pittville Pump Room, the Regency spa hall in Pittville Park, holds the recitals: in 2025 Dame Imogen Cooper played Beethoven's last three piano sonatas there. Concerts also go out to Gloucester Cathedral and to Tewkesbury Abbey, and smaller events take place in churches and college chapels around the town and in Holst Victorian House, the composer's birthplace. In 2026 a series of free concerts went out to pubs and bars around the town, and the festival also gave a Concert for Schools and relaxed concerts for schools and families.
Tickets and who it suits
Each concert has its own ticket from Cheltenham Festivals, sold online once the programme is announced. The festival suits anyone who likes chamber music in a small room: the Pump Room recitals are the ones to book first. The 2027 programme and prices were not out by late October 2026.
Getting there and parking
The town centre is about 25 minutes' walk from Cheltenham Spa station, with a taxi rank outside, and Stagecoach buses stop on the Promenade. The Pump Room is in Pittville Park, on the north side of the town. The town-centre car parks the organisers suggest are Regent Arcade, Rodney Road, St George's Road and Royal Well, and a regular bus runs into town from the Park and Ride at the racecourse. There are bike racks near the Town Hall. For the cathedral and abbey concerts, allow time on the road to Gloucester and Tewkesbury.
In July, the hills above the town are at their greenest: Cleeve Common is a short drive, and when to visit the Cotswolds lists the summer's other festivals.
Next in the town's year is Cheltenham Literature Festival in October. The same July, the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival re-enacts the battle of 1471 at Tewkesbury.
Offers from businesses near this event
Offers are published by the businesses themselves, which pay to be listed here. We have not checked them, and you deal with the business directly.
Accessibility
- Assistance dogs welcome
Where to stay for Cheltenham Music Festival
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The Rising Sun Hotel
Hotel · Cleeve Hill
A Greene King Inns hotel, pub and restaurant with 23 bedrooms near the top of Cleeve Hill, with views over five counties from its beer garden.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Cleeve Hill Hotel
B&B · Winchcombe
A 12-room bed and breakfast hotel on Cleeve Hill, about three miles south-west of Winchcombe, with views over the Severn Vale and a door onto Cleeve Common and the Cotswold Way.
Walker-friendly · Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026