BEFORE YOU GO
Travel insurance: SafetyWing
£22 Canterbury Cathedral entrance tickets with audio guide – buy SKIP THE LINE TICKETS HERE
Other possible bookings/activities:
– Canterbury guided walking tour
– Journey through time: exploring Canterbury’s landmarks
Day trip from London – How to get to Canterbury from London?
🚆 Canterbury is less than 1 hour away from London by train, making Canterbury the perfect day trip location. There are two train stations located in Canterbury – Canterbury West and Canterbury East. They are both equally as close to the old town of Canterbury so you can take the train into either of them. The location of the Canterbury West station is closer to the iconic Westgate Gardens so if you are aiming to visit these first then I suggest opting for a train that stops at the Canterbury West station.
📍Things to do:
Morning:
💐 Stroll along the Westgate Gardens and see all the beautiful flowers. Top tip: during spring you will be able to see and take photos with the beautiful magnolias that frame that part of the garden. There is a white magnolia at the entrance near the city wall tower and a pink magnolia about 100 meters along.
🥞 Breakfast/Brunch at The Refectory Kitchen.
🛶 Go punting on the River Stour – if you are taking your dog with you and would like to go punting, I have good news for you. The company Canterbury Punting Co offer dog friendly punting excursions.
⛪️ Explore the Canterbury Cathedral – buy SKIP THE LINE TICKETS HERE
Lunch: from one of the suggested where to eat places below.
🚶♀️ Find out more about the city on a walking tour – Canterbury guided walking tour
📚 Check out the books at the Sir John Boys House more famously known as The Crooked House is a 17th century half-timbered three story building on the King’s Mile. Here you can find the Catching Lives Bookshop. It is a charity bookstore run by a team of volunteers with all proceeds going to the charity Catching Lives.
🫖 Go for afternoon tea
🎟️ Check out the local markets for local produce and handmade goods
Alternative afternoon activity:
🍇 Visit Simpsons Wine Estate – it is about a 30min trip from Canterbury. To get there you will need to go to Canterbury Bus Station to catch bus number 16 heading towards Folkestone. The stop you will get off at is called Barham Crossroads and from there it is about a 15 minute walk to the winery.
🥗 Where to eat:
- Fringe + Ginge Coffee (coffee)
- The Refectory Kitchen (brunch)
- Cafe Des Amis (lunch)
- The Dolphin (dog friendly pub lunch)
- Old Weavers House (lunch) – 16th century house with river side garden
- Parrot Pub (pub lunch) – 14th century pub
- Tiny Tim’s Tearoom (afternoon tea)
ENJOYED THIS POST? SAVE FOR FUTURE TRAVELS BY PINNING IT FOR LATER!
