Boasting hundreds of listed buildings of historical and cultural importance, Ipswich has a lot to offer locals and visitors alike.

And this weekend, those properties will be celebrated as their doors are thrown open to the public as part of the popular annual Ipswich Heritage Open Days.

A number of Victorian churches, The Old Custom House, Isaacs, Pykenham Gatehouse and The Wheatsheaf in Fore Street will be among the buildings people can visit and find out more about on Saturday and Sunday.

John Norman, of the Ipswich Society, which organises the event, supported by the borough council, said: “It solves a fascination most of us have for two things.

“The history of the town, and this town has an absolutely tremendous history and secondly, our general desire to be nosey and peer inside other people’s properties.

“It is free and it is wide spread.”

There will also be buildings in east Ipswich involved in this year’s open days, which boasts more than 30 properties, and along the Shotley peninsula, including Woolverstone Hall.

On the Saturday, an extended route bus tour on a heritage bus, provided by the Ipswich Transport museum, will also be made available.

Speaking ahead of the open days, Margaret Hancock, membership trustee of the Ipswich Building Preservation Trust, said: “It is a superb opportunity.

“I think Ipswich really needs to flag up how many buildings we have got that are of interest.

“Very often I think, with places like Norwich, people go for the castle and the cathedral. Ipswich has got some fantastic building, almost 600 listed.”

While there will be a number of historic buildings to see, there will be some modern architecture on the agenda as well, including University campus Suffolk’s Waterfront building and Broomhill Swimming Pool.

There will also be an historic sailing barge, Victor, on the Waterfront and there will also be free guided walks provided by Ipswich Tourist Guides and the preservation trust.

For a full list of the buildings that will be open, please visit www.ipswichsociety.org.uk/events/