America votes Chester 'More romantic than Paris'

According to a poll published on the Mail Online last week, Chester has been voted the fifth most romantic destination by Americans.

 Chester’s historical walls and preserved beauty has put the city before Paris, Rome and Venice when American’s are looking for a romantic getaway. But what does this mean to the people of Chester? Do they know, or even care that their city is the envy of loved-up Americans? I took to the streets of the city centre to find out.

[caption id="attachment_717" align="alignright" width="150"] Chester's beauty is obvious to old and young alike.
Picture by: gpmarsh.com[/caption]

Erin, 65, and John Broderick, 68, have lived in Chester all their lives. They said: “We met in Chester, by the walls actually, and so it’s always been close to our hearts. We don’t need anyone, especially Americans telling us how great Chester is!” John added “Personally I’d rather not have a load more tourists here, it’s crowded enough as it is. Especially at weekends.”

Theo Arnold, 21, moved to Chester recently, he is single and said: “No, it’s always good to get good press. Hopefully the romance of the city will rub off on me!”

Hayley Phillips, 25, from Shrewsbury said: “I live about an hour away but my boyfriend lives here in Chester. Although they (Shrewsbury and Chester) are quite similar I prefer coming here. It has everything you’d want and is a perfect combination of a big city and a town.” She laughed when asked about how romantic she found Chester and said: “It doesn’t matter how romantic a place is, it depends who you’re there with!”

Young, engaged couple Danny Hughes, 29 and Harry Miles, 32 said: “We’ve come to Chester for some Christmas shopping. It’s very romantic, especially with all the lights; it’s great that American’s want to come here.”

Lee Brown, 43 and his partner Jake Vass, 42, said: “Being gay and living here is fine. We used to live in London and found the industrial city life wasn’t for us. Here, we are comfortable and happy being ourselves.” Jake added: “I wouldn’t say it was either romantic or non-romantic. It’s nice and if American’s want to come visit then great. I just hope it doesn’t become too commercialised here to accommodate for them.”

The view of the public seems to be that it’s not important to them what other countries think; they love their city and are happy to share it with anyone who wants to appreciate it.

To see the Mail's reporting of this story, go to http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2513697/Americas-preferred-romantic-destination-Chester-UK.html