Day trip to Canterbury from London

When I was on a business trip to London and decided to stay on over the weekend, my husband, who lived in the UK for several months when he was young, suggested I visit one of the old towns not far from London. I chose Canterbury, which is 1.5 hours from London by train. It was a pleasant sunny day in early summer.

Going around the medieval-feeling streets on foot

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It isn’t a big town, which means you can get to most places on foot. After getting off the train and going over the castle wall, I wandered around the streets lined with pretty houses and buildings. There is a mixture of different architectural styles, from genuine Tudor style to 1960s style.

There is even a Jaguar showroom in the medieval style – so cute!

Here is a brewery in the style.

Visiting Canterbury Cathedral, the iconic landmark of the city

The city’s main landmark is Canterbury Cathedral. It’s a world-famous cathedral, especially for medieval pilgrims. The tower can be seen from most places in the city.

While Canterbury Cathedral dates back to AD 597, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174. A number of extensions were then added in various architectural styles from different centuries.

The interior is richly decorated. You’ll need to spend several hours there if you want to check out all the details in every section. It’s a very beautiful cathedral with an awe-inspiring ambience.

More wandering in the streets with classic buildings

Canterbury is also famous the work of English poet and author Geoffrey Chaucer (who wrote The Canterbury Tales). The Canterbury Tales Museum contains recreated medieval scenes from Chaucer’s work. After visiting there, I continued wandering around the history-filled streets. It was indeed pleasant and sunny weekend.