Things to Do in Canterbury
Prices, opening hours, best times to visit and the stuff nobody tells you, everything you need for a first trip to Canterbury, England, plus one pigeon's opinions on all of it.
Canterbury's whole reputation rests on one very bad day in 1170, when an archbishop was murdered in his own cathedral and the city became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in medieval Europe overnight. This is the proper guide to things to do in Canterbury, what things actually cost, when to go, and which bits are worth the walk. Six main stops below, plus a quiz at the bottom to see if you were paying attention.
Canterbury Cathedral
I asked about the 1170 murder in the quiz, so here's the full story. Archbishop Thomas Becket was killed inside the cathedral by four knights who believed, wrongly or not, that they were acting on King Henry II's wishes. His death turned Canterbury into one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in medieval Christendom, and the site of his martyrdom, now marked by a striking modern altar, is still the emotional centre of a visit today.
Beyond the Becket story, the cathedral is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, exactly the third answer I asked about in the quiz, and the Archbishop of Canterbury remains its spiritual head. The building itself, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture built up over centuries, is worth the visit on pure scale alone, allow at least an hour and a half.
Hours Generally Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11.30am-5pm, subject to closures for services
Address 11 The Precincts, Canterbury CT1 2EH
Official site canterbury-cathedral.org
The Canterbury Tales connection
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, one of the most important works in early English literature and the second thing I asked about in the quiz, follows a group of pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury, swapping stories along the way, exactly the same journey medieval pilgrims made to visit Becket's shrine. You don't need to have read a word of Middle English to enjoy walking the same streets those fictional pilgrims were headed for.
The Canterbury Tales attraction on St Margaret's Street brings the stories to life with an immersive walk-through experience if you want more than just the literary connection, a family-friendly way into a text that can otherwise feel intimidating.
Address 23 St Margaret's Street, Canterbury CT1 2TG
St Augustine's Abbey
Founded shortly after AD 597 by St Augustine, marking the rebirth of Christianity in southern England, and now a genuinely atmospheric set of ruins managed by English Heritage, just outside the city walls and often missed by visitors sticking only to the cathedral. Together with the cathedral and St Martin's Church, it forms the Canterbury UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The audio tour is included in your ticket, and a newer VR experience lets you see the abbey as it looked in its 16th-century monastic heyday, a genuinely good way to make sense of ruins that can otherwise be hard to picture as a working building.
Hours Seasonal, generally 10am-6pm in summer, check current times
Address Longport, Canterbury CT1 1PF
Official site english-heritage.org.uk/st-augustines-abbey
St Martin's Church
A short walk from the abbey, this is the oldest parish church in continuous use anywhere in the English-speaking world, tradition holds it was already standing and in use as a private chapel before St Augustine even arrived in 597. It's a small, quiet building, free to visit, and easy to combine with St Augustine's Abbey on the same walk.
Address North Holmes Road, Canterbury CT1 1PW
Canterbury's City Walls
Much of the medieval city wall circuit survives, along with Westgate Towers, the largest surviving city gate in England, now a small museum with a rooftop viewing platform over the city. Walking sections of the wall, particularly the stretch near Dane John Gardens, gives you a genuinely different vantage point on the cathedral's towers than the street-level view.
Dane John Gardens itself, built on the site of a Roman burial mound, is a pleasant, free green space to break up a day of history-heavy sightseeing.
Canterbury Roman Museum
Built around the remains of an actual Roman townhouse discovered on the site, with a preserved mosaic floor still in situ, this museum covers Canterbury's life as the Roman town of Durovernum Cantiacorum, long before Augustine or Becket. It's a smaller, quicker visit than the cathedral or the abbey, good for filling an hour between bigger stops.
Address Butchery Lane, Canterbury CT1 2JR
Best time to visit Canterbury
May to September gives the most reliable weather for walking the city walls and Dane John Gardens, and it's when Canterbury's cathedral and abbey both keep their fullest opening hours. The cathedral and St Martin's Church work fine whatever the weather, so a wet day doesn't rule out the core of a Canterbury trip, it just narrows the outdoor half.
Getting around Canterbury
Canterbury's city centre is compact and entirely walkable, the cathedral, the Roman Museum and the city walls all sit within about 15 minutes of each other on foot. St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church, just outside the walls, add another 10-15 minutes each way. Canterbury has two mainline stations, East and West, both an easy walk from the centre.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Canterbury worth visiting?
- Yes, it's one of England's most significant historic cities, home to the Archbishop of Canterbury and a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning three separate sites within walking distance of each other.
- How many days do you need in Canterbury?
- A day trip covers the cathedral, the city walls and a Roman Museum stop comfortably. A second day lets you add St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church without rushing.
- Is Canterbury expensive?
- The cathedral's admission price is the main cost; St Martin's Church, the city walls and Dane John Gardens are all free.
- What is Canterbury famous for?
- The 1170 murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in its cathedral, Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and being the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
That's everything I've got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government's latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
