Things to do in Canterbury?
 

Is there anything to do in Canterbury besides see the cathedral? We would like to do some of the other stuff too. Maybe you could give me some resteraunts or something. We are staying at the county hotel. Any info would be great, thanks, ~Zack

Zack <BR> <BR>To be honest, Canterbury's only must-see sight is the Cathedral and precinct - don't miss the gardens. Other side attractions are St Augustine's Abbey (ruins) and around the King's School. The High Street is OK for a wander. There are a couple of museums such as a Regimental Museum, the Canterbury Tales and Canterbury Story. However, they are probably quite specialist. <BR> <BR>There are however, lots of good side trips from Canterbury - Dover Castle and the White Cliffs (15 miles), Leeds Castle (25 miles) and plenty of beautiful countryside to explore.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with the last poster. While Canterbury is a good base for side trips [as well as for catching the Eurostar at Ashford-Kent and saving a hour in the bargain!] the town is very charming, full of old buildings, including a restaurant in an room where Queen Elizabeth I is alleged to have met a close friend regulary. Your hotel is right in the center of things. Here's a website for it: http://www.thycotic.com/ogc/county_hotel/ We ate a pleasant lunch in Jacob's, the lobby restaurant, one day. <BR>The cathedral itself is imposing and well worth your time. Get a tour if you can. We were fortunate enough to be guided around by one of the resident canons. [My husband had been introduced to the canon during his sabbatical stay in Canterbury.] <BR>Be sure to eat at Weaver's on High St. It is right next to the Stour river as it makes its way through Canterbury. <BR>Here are some websites to get you started: <BR>http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/tour.html <BR>http://www.kentaccess.org.uk/frames....l=/tourism.asp <BR>http://www.cantweb.co.uk/welcome.html <BR>http://www.digiserve.com/peter/cc.htm

Fodors <BR> <BR>Your reply from S Fowler is excellent, as usual. May I put an oar in ? <BR> <BR>There are two theatres, the Marlowe with more popular plays and the theatre up in the University with more advanced plays. There is a steady trickle of concerts and recitals of classical music, and I imagine similar for pop music. If ou buy the Kentish Messenger on arrival you'll get the picture from the entertainments pages. <BR> <BR>Near Canterbury East station and just within the walls is an Anglo-Saxon church, St Mildred's. West of Burggate lie not only the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey but also, a step further out of town, the church of St Martin, which was there before St Augustine ever arrived, and has Roman bricks in the walls. Then north west of West Gate is St Dunstan's church, with the buried head of Thomas More, and a modern window to celebbrate him. From the Weavers, which Fowler rightly lists, you can take a short boat trip within the city, but in summer from the West Gate you can take a longer punted trip out to the meadows, a peaceable place. <BR> <BR>As to restaurants, as well as lunch in Queen Elizabeth's guest chamber you might like the good tapas bar on Palace Street. <BR> <BR>The Canterbury Tales and Canterbury Story (or are they both one thing ?) are pretty rubbishy. All the furniture in Ledds Castle was bought at sauction by a rich woman in the twentieth century -- there's no sense of a family history there. Dover Castle and the cliff tunnels, on the other hand, are the real macoy, and were in practical use from Roman days until the Cold War ended in 1990. Other excursions are half an hour by train to Faversham, a town full of fine buildings with good meals (and beer) at the Phoenix Inn; Rochester, another twenty minutes from Faversham, with its own ancient cathedral and castle, and memories of Dickens; and Sandwich, which ceased development about 1700. I'm not so fond of Whitstable as of these other towns, but the seafood and the French restaurant there are good. <BR> <BR>Canterbury has able staff at the tourist information centre, and a visit there for advice is time well spent. <BR> <BR>And to return whence we came: to my mind the best thing in the cathedral is the bookof twentieth century martyrs in the easternmost part of the building: you can ask a guide where it is. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Kent. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR>

How fantastic, Sally and Ben. I hope to get to Canterbury in my next trip to England and, between the two of you, I've really got a much better feel for the place. Of course when the trip is within closer range (it is two years off, alas) then I will delve into guidebooks and such, but thanks for getting my appetite whetted.