Experience the best of Canterbury

Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Communion and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Becket was murdered here in 1170, and pilgrims came to his shrine for centuries, the journey that Chaucer used for The Canterbury Tales. The cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church together form a World Heritage Site.

Medieval lanes of timber-framed buildings run through the centre, and the Westgate Towers, the last surviving of the city's medieval gatehouses, stand beside the River Stour, where punts glide beneath willows. Christopher Marlowe was born in Canterbury, and the Marlowe Theatre bears his name. The coast is close: Whitstable's oysters and Herne Bay lie to the north, and the white cliffs of Dover to the south-east.

Kent is called the Garden of England, and its orchards, hop gardens and vineyards supply the cafés and pubs with Kentish ale, English sparkling wine, apples and local cheeses. Whitstable oysters are the seaside speciality. Orchards blossom in spring, and the cathedral precincts are quiet and atmospheric in winter.