Hello everyone and welcome back to #alexjostories! Today I want to unveil through words the beautiful and small city that I live in, Canterbury. I have been living here for almost two years now. Even if it’s crazy small I am happy every single time I come back here because it has become my second home.
When you come to Canterbury you won’t find so many attractions because it really is a small city. Arriving in Canterbury, you will get out of the bus or out of the train and you see that our city centre is only one street. It’s called high street and at the end of the high street there is a huge gate called West Gate. West Gate is the mark that breaks the old city town from the new one. The houses that you’ll see around the city centre are really old, from around 1600’s. These houses are creating the actual magic of the city. The best part of everything is that around Canterbury there are like four other small cities at a short distance: Margate, Whitstable, Dover and Herne Bay. When you go to one of these cities you’ll be able to have a walk on the beach and enjoy the ‘beautiful’ English weather.
Why did I call this article ‘The City of Students’? Because in Canterbury there are two big universities: University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University and this city is small, so imagine how Friday nights go around here. Canterbury is filled with students and it couldn’t be better. Have a walk in the campus or in the city centre for about 20 to 30 minutes and you will see more diversity than ever and so many different people. This is a beautiful thing about the fact that we are an international university. You can interact with so many people and learn so many new things about cultures and nationalities.
Top things to do in Canterbury
- Visit the Canterbury Cathedral – Well, Canterbury is an important city in England because it has this Cathedral. The Cathedral is beautiful and it is such a historical place. You should definitely see it if you decide to visit this town.
- Have a walk around the city centre – There is not much to do in the city centre but having a walk around town in a beautiful sunny day is nice. You can do some shopping, have something to eat at some good restaurants. Just having a nice day out with your friends or family.
- Go to Dover on the Cliffs – I can’t say much about the Cliffs because I didn’t go there. When I went to Dover I saw the cliffs from far away, but I heard from a friend of mine that it is amazing. The imagery of the sea is fascinating. I found some excellent photos from the Cliffs.
- Have a walk around the University of Kent campus around midday- The campus of my Uni is huge. The first weeks I moved there I thought that the campus is as big as a city. The campus is a good place to go when you are in Canterbury because there are so many people, doing so many things and activities and you would definitely love the diversity. Also, the campus is situated on a top of a hill and you can have amazing walks through the forestry parts and the image of the city is marvellous.
- Go to Canterbury West Gate River Tour – I also can say that I didn’t go in any of these tours but I image it is nice having another perspective of the city. These river tours are organised only in spring and summer and also for a bit during autumn. Right now, there are no river tours in Canterbury because you would freeze to death. Definitely this is my next thing I want to do when the sun will shine again
around here.
If you want to visit this beautiful city you really have to do all these things. I can tell you this: there is nothing much to do around here. If you want to come here you should stay around 2-3 days. That would be sufficient to see everything and have a great time. Also, my advice would be for you to come here during spring.