Fodor's Expert Review Pantiles

A good place to begin a visit to Tunbridge Wells is at the Pantiles, a famous promenade with colonnaded shops near the spring on one side of town. Its odd name derives from the Dutch "pan tiles" that originally paved the area. Now sandwiched between two busy main roads, the Pantiles remains an elegant, tranquil oasis, and the site of the actual well. You can still drink the waters when a "dipper" (the traditional water dispenser) is in attendance, from Easter through September.