The plan of the city is inherited from the Romans: the North, South, East and West shopping streets radiate from the central market cross dating from medieval times.

The original Roman city wall was over 6+1⁄2 feet (2.0 m) thick with a steep ditch (which was later used to divert the River Lavant).

The city was also home to some Roman baths, found down Tower Street when preparation for a new car park was underway.

In January 2017, archaeologists using underground radar reported the discovery of the relatively untouched ground floor of a Roman townhouse and outbuilding.

The exceptional preservation is due to the fact the site, Priory Park, belonged to a monastery and has never been built upon since Roman times.

However, the foundation story is regarded as a myth by historians as there is no archaeological evidence that Chichester was reoccupied after the Romans left until the 9th century.

[11][12] In the 9th century Alfred the Great set about building a system of fortified towns or forts, known as burhs, in response to the Viking threat.

The Burghal Hidage is an Anglo-Saxon document that provides a list of over thirty burhs, mainly in the ancient Kingdom of Wessex, and the taxes (recorded as numbers of hides) assigned for their maintenance.

[15][16] Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the cathedral that had been founded in 681 at Selsey was moved to Chichester after the Council of London of 1075 decreed that Sees should be centred in cities.

[23] At Christmas 1642 during the First English Civil War, the city was besieged and St Pancras church was destroyed by gunfire.

[28] Chichester was bombed by the Luftwaffe during World War II, but fared relatively well compared to larger English cities.

[29][30] On 11 May 1944, a United States Army Air Forces Consolidated B-24 Liberator crashed in the city, killing three, injuring 38, and damaging hundreds of local buildings.

[33] On 21 November 2017, the Chichester District Council adopted a 'Southern Gateway' plan to redevelop an area from the law courts to the canal basin, including the two railway level crossings.

[52] The Chichester conservation area, designated for its architectural and historic interest,[53] encompasses the whole of the Roman town, and includes many Grade I and II listed buildings.

[61] Chichester is home to the South Downs Planetarium & Science Centre, which opened in 2001 and features a program of public star shows in its 100-seat theatre.

The Sloe Fair, a funfair that dates back to the 12th Century, is held annually on 20 October in the city's Northgate car park.

It also hosts a high-profile annual event under the banner Poetry and All That Jazz which included performances by Don Paterson in 2010, Sam Willetts in 2011, and David Harsent in 2012.

The city is periodically referred to in Call the Midwife, as the seat of the Order of Saint Raymond Nonnatus, the mother house's exterior being depicted in episode 1.6.

In the 1990s blues and R&B were introduced and acts including Status Quo, Blondie, Boney M, Howard Jones, Go West, The Pretenders and Simple Minds played the festival up until its final staging, in 2011.

[citation needed] The City of Chichester has been twinned with Chartres, France, since February 1959 and Ravenna, Italy, since December 1996[74][75] and Speyer, Germany, since 2023.

[80] Chichester Cross, which is a type of buttercross familiar in old market towns, was built in 1501 as a covered marketplace,[81] and stands at the intersection of the four main roads in the centre of the city.

[85] It remained closed and unused for six years until the front was opened as a fast food restaurant and the rear converted for offices.

[88] Chichester railway station, on the West Coastway line, has regular services to Brighton, London Victoria via Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

[citation needed] In summer 2020, COVID-19 temporary pop-up segregated cycle lanes were implemented predominately around parts of the city inner ring road and associated routes.

[citation needed] The University of Chichester[95] was granted degree-awarding body status by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in October 2005.

In the south aisle of the cathedral a glass panel in the floor enables a view of the remains of a Roman mosaic pavement.

A memorial statue exists of William Huskisson, once member of parliament for the city, but best remembered as the first man to be run over by a railway engine.

[108][109] The city is home to the Chichester Sharks Flag American Football Club who are members of the BAFA National League.

[119] Tim Peake, who became the first official British astronaut when he arrived on the International Space Station in December 2015, was born in Chichester in 1972.

[citation needed] Tom Odell, who was born in Chichester, is a singer and songwriter who gained success with his album, Wrong Crowd.