Saturday 07/12/2024

€ 95 p/person

Saturday 14/12/2024

€ 95 p/person

Join us on a lovely day out to Canterbury (UK).

Canterbury is one of the best day trips to take from EU. With a slower pace of life, manageable size and full of culture and history, this small city makes for the perfect EU escape. With beautiful cobble-stoned streets and medieval buildings that are steeped in history going back as back to Roman times, there’s so much to discover. Situated in the middle of Kent and, a Canterbury day trip is a firm favourite for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle of England’s cities. Well-known for its UNESCO World Heritage Cathedral, vibrant history and it’s well-preserved medieval architecture, isn’t it about time you visited this incredibly beautiful city?

Visit the Westgate Towers Museum

If you’ve come into Canterbury city centre from Canterbury West Station, you may have already walked past the imposing Westgate Towers. The Westgate Towers are England’s largest gateway towers still standing today. The Towers we see today are the Medieval towers from 1380, rebuilt as a replacement to the previous Roman West Gate. Whether the Towers were rebuilt to welcome pilgrims arriving in the city after Thomas becket’s death or as a defensive status symbol is still debated by historians today. Today, inside the Westgate Towers you’ll find the Towers Museum where you can read about the history of the Towers and Canterbury in a little more detail as well as get access to the Tower’s viewpoint at the top.

Stroll through Westgate Gardens

Especially beautiful in the spring and summer, Westgate gardens is a beautiful green park/garden that follows the Great Stour River through a part of town. Located right next to Westgate tower, it’s a lovely place for a stroll, a few photos or a picnic if the weather is cooperating. Make sure to check out the giant, 200-year-old, 7 meters (25ft) wide Oriental Plane tree before heading south and enjoying the beautiful country scenes. The first City Walls were built by the Romans in about 270 AD and were constantly fortified and expanded but by the 11th century, the walls really provided no more military value, and they were easily penetrated by the Normans. In the 18th and 19th centuries due to more modern city planning and expansion, many parts of the city wall and city gates were knocked down to make way for new roads and buildings. Today only a few parts of the wall survive mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the city.

Visit St Augustine’s Abbey

Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, St Augustine’s Abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a Benedictine Monastery until the Reformation Since 1848 the site has been used for educational purposes such as part of The King’s School in Canterbury. The ruins have also been preserved for their historical value.

Go Punting on the River Stour

While punting might be more well-known in Cambridge than Canterbury, it’s still a great place to get yourself on the river for a few hours in the afternoon. Punting is basically going out on the river in a punt, a flat-bottomed, open boat with square ends mostly used in shallow water or small English rivers. A long pole is used to propel the boat. Punting is a great way to see Canterbury from a different vantage point and to enjoy the day on the water. You can bring drinks and snacks and get your friends together for good times floating around Canterbury.

Stop by the old Weaver’s House

One of the most photographed buildings in all of Canterbury this Weaver’s House turned pub/restaurant is a great example of medieval English architecture. It’s located on the High Street so there’s no doubt you’ll walk past it at some point. Make sure to check out this beautiful building or even go in for a drink

Early morning departures from

Gent (0500) – Brugge (0545) – Oostende (0615)

onto Calais for early crossing by ferry to Dover (UK).