Best Things to Do in Canterbury

The Best Things to Do in Canterbury include visiting Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury Tales Museum, St Martin’s Church and seeing the old buildings and narrow streets.

If the only attraction in Canterbury was Canterbury Cathedral then it would be worth the visit alone as this is one of the finest cathedrals in the world. However the city also has several other museums, including the Canterbury Tales Museum, St Augustine’s Abbey, and some beautifully picturesque old buildings and narrow streets, especially where the River Stour flows through the town.

Best Things to Do in Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral

Seeing Canterbury Cathedral is not just one of the best things to do in Canterbury it’s one of the best things to do in the whole country and forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This monumental cathedral, one of the finest cathedrals in the world, can trace its origins back to 597AD when St Augustine arrived in Canterbury, on a mission from Pope Gregory, and first established a church here. The oldest parts of the present building are from the 11th century, and it is renowned in history as the place where the Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 on the orders of King Henry II.

Canterbury River Tour

Be sure to read our Canterbury River Tour page.

Canterbury Tales Visitor Attraction

The pilgrims in Chaucer’s famous collection of stories <i>The Canterbury Tales</i> were on their way to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket when their often-bawdy adventures took place. Those stories are recreated here in an attraction inside St Margaret’s Church, and though they are a fairly predictable collection of recreated scenes from the tales, there is also plenty of historical detail and background information so visitors do come away educated as well as entertained.

Eastbridge Hospital

Pilgrims visiting the shrine to Thomas Becket were already plentiful in the 12th century, so the Eastbridge Hospital was founded to accommodate them. It’s a Hospital in the sense of a place providing hospitality rather than medical treatment. Part of the building is the Greyfriars Chapel, dating from the 13th century, and you can also visit the Franciscan Gardens.

Museum of Canterbury

The museum that tells the story of Canterbury from pre-historic times is housed in the medieval Poor Priests’ Hospital, and for family visitors it also includes the Rupert Bear Museum. If time is short you might want to skip this, but it does have some enjoyable exhibits if you have the time.

Roman Museum

The Romans had quite a large settlement in Canterbury, and this shows what life was like for them then. It includes the preserved remains of a Roman town house, with some beautiful mosaics, a reconstruction of a typical Roman market place, plenty of interactive things to keep children entertained, and some real Roman artifacts for you to handle.

St Augustine’s Abbey

This abbey was also founded by St Augustine soon after he arrived here to spread the Gospel of Christianity for Pope Gregory in 597AD. It also forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Canterbury Cathedral, and is quite an extensive site. It also includes the ruins of a Tudor Palace that King Henry VIII had built here for Anne of Cleves, after he had had the abbey destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

St Martin’s Church

Also covered by the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation but slightly out of the centre of Canterbury is this, the oldest parish church in England that has been in continual use. It even pre-dates the arrival of St Augustine at the end of the 6th century, and perhaps goes back to Roman times as Roman bricks have been used in the construction of the walls. It’s well worth making the short walk to see this beautiful and historic little church.

More Information

See the website for Visit Canterbury.