Home
  • Home
  • About us
  • Accommodation
  • Breakfast and Relaxing
  • How to book
  • How to find us

Attractions in Canterbury and Kent

 

Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Theatres


• Marlowe Theatre 
• Gulbenkian Theatre, University of Kent

Cinemas


• Odeon
  Gulbenkian Cinema, University of Kent

Zoos

  • Wingham Wildlife Park

• Wildwood Trust, Herne Bay
• Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
• Howletts Wild Animal Park
 

Local places of interest

Canterbury - Westgate Towers -  iconoc and historic medieval tower with magnificent views across to the Cathedral. The museum in the guard chamber between the two towers houses displays of civil war armour. Visit the cell occupied by prisoner James, try on the helmets and have a go at brass rubbing.

• Whitstable - a rich maritime history and famous for its oysters; a working harbour bringing in the daily catch. The town has a rich alleyway network, used by smugglers as escape routes.T
• The Crab and Winkle Way - the old Canterbury to Whitstable railway line, forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 1.
• Herne Bay was founded in the early nineteen hundreds, a popular holiday destination for Londoners; wealthy London lady gave the town its 80ft Clock Tower; first pier erected in 1832 and by 1834 steamboats were using it to land over 40,000 visitors each year to the resort.
• Canterbury Tales - step back into the Middle Ages and experience Geoffrey Chaurcer’s Canterbury Tales and the pilgrims on their journey from London to Canterbury Cathedral.
 

Churches


• Canterbury Cathedral – the Mother church of the Anglican Communion; seat of the Archbishop; dates back to 597AD; stained glass which survived the bombing; 11th Century Crypt; 12th Century Quire; 14th Century Nave. In 1170 Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in the Cathedral.
• St Augustine’s Abbey - founded in 597AD by St Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory the Great as a missionary, and marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England. Originally a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent, it is part of the Canterbury World Heritage Site, along with the cathedral and St Martin's Church.
• St. Martin' Church - oldest Church in England still used for worship; private chapel of Queen Bertha of Kent in the 6th Century before Augustine arrived from Rome; St. Augustine set up his mission here when he arrived from Rome to convert the English. For this reason it is sometimes called the first church of the Anglican Communion.
• Greyfriars Chapel - oldest Franciscan building in Britain; sole remains of Greyfriars Friary; the Chapel and house of the first Franciscan settlement in Britain.

Castles


• Canterbury Castle - established in the 1080s by the Normans; replaced an earlier motte and bailey fortification built at the nearby Dane John; stone keep largely constructed in the reign of Henry I (1100 - 1135) as one of three Royal castles in Kent; by 13th century the castle became the county gaol; castle enclosure re-used the Roman town wall as its southern boundary; some reused Roman material still seen in the far corner.

Museums


• The Eastbridge Hospital - for 800 years the Eastbridge has given shelter and help to pilgrims, soldiers, local societies and schoolchildren. For over 400 years it has provided a permanent home to a number of elderly people.
• The West Gate Towers Museum - has stood for six centuries on guard over the road to and from London; one of the best views of the City.
• Museum of Canterbury - a 21st century interactive museum - theme is the city itself and its often turbulent story.
• Rupert Bear Museum (at the Museum of Canterbury)
• Canterbury Roman Museum - underground at the level of the Roman town; mix of excavated real objects: authentic reconstructions; and preserved remains of a Roman town house with its famous mosaics.
• Canterbury Royal Museum and Art Gallery - Victorian building houses decorative arts and picture collections (Now closed for redevelopment, due to re-open in 2011).
• Whitstable Museum and Gallery – main themes Whitstable's coastal community and seafaring traditions; special features on oysters, diving and shipping.
• Herne Bay Museum and Gallery - modern museum highlights the history of the Victorian seaside resort of Herne Bay and its surrounding area, including finds from Reculver Roman fort.
 

Home

More information

  • Where we are
  • Attractions in Canterbury and Kent
  • What's on locally
  • Image library
  • Newsletter
  • Home
  • About us
  • Accommodation
  • Breakfast and Relaxing
  • How to book
  • How to find us

Footer image - swirly graphic

© Magnolia House. All rights reserved.