Cheltenham /ˈtʃɛltnəm/, also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a regency spa town and borough which is located on the edge of the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. With a motto of Salubritas et Eruditio meaning 'health and education', Cheltenham has been a health and holiday spa town resort since the discovery of mineral springs in 1716 and has a high number of internationally renowned and historic schools.

The town hosts several festivals of culture, often featuring nationally and internationally famous contributors and attendees. The list of festivals includes: the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival, the Cheltenham Music Festival and the Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival. As the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup is the main event of the Cheltenham Festival, held every March.

Cheltenham stands on the small River Chelt, which rises nearby at Dowdeswell and runs through the town on its way to the Severn. It was first recorded in 803, as Celtan hom; the meaning has not been resolved with certainty, but latest scholarship concludes that the first element preserves a pre-British noun cilta, 'steep hill', here referring to the Cotswold scarp; the second element may mean 'settlement' or 'water-meadow'. As a royal manor, it features in the earliest pages of the Gloucestershire section of Domesday Book where it is named Chintenha[m]. The town was awarded a market charter in 1226.

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