This large pub is situated on Buttermarket Square, which is over 800 years old. It is a very busy place, close to the main entrance of the Cathedral. The Old Buttermarket is a traditional British pub with a modern feel, in a house built upon Roman remains. There are plenty of outdoor tables and indoor seats. They provide an impressive choice of real ales on tap and malt whiskeys, as well as a fine selection of red and white wines. They serve high quality pub food. One of their specials is the Old Buttermarket Steak Pie, that is always a popular choice.

The primary route to Canterbury Cathedral passes through the ornate Gothic Christ Church Gate. Entrance to the rest of the Cathedral is through an adjoining guest information center and shop.

Like the rest of the Cathedral, the Gate has been repaired and restored numerous times.

The Gate suffered damage and the main statue was destroyed during the English Civil War in 1643. The statue was not replaced until 1990, even though the rest of the Gate was restored in 1660. In 1803 the original towers were removed but were replaced in 1937.

Over the past few years, there have been ongoing preservation and restoration efforts on the Gate and the rest of the Cathedral.

The formal name of the Canterbury Cathedral is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury. It is one of the oldest and most well-known Christian structures in all of England and it is a World Heritage Site.

It was originally founded in 597 and has been expanded and rebuilt many times in its history.

In its earliest days, the church was part of a Benedictine monastic community and was the seat of the archbishop. The first bishop was Augustine of Canterbury, a missionary sent in 596 by Pope Gregory I. He also founded Saint Augustine's Abbey, though it was not called that then, located outside the city walls.

The building as it is now was more or less laid out by Archbishop Lanfranc and dedicated in 1077 after the Norman Conquest. It was built from stone from France and designed to be like the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen.

A pivotal moment in the Cathedral's history was the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Becket was murdered in the northwest transept in 1170 by knights of King Henry II. The events transformed the Cathedral into a place of pilgrimage. Such pilgrims were depicted in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Today the Archbishop of Canterbury serves as the global leader for the Anglican Communion and leader of the Church of England.

Why You Should Visit:
The Cathedral is a World Heritage Site and one of the most stunning examples of Gothic architecture in England.

Tips:
Plan to dedicate at least three hours to tour the Cathedral. GPSmyCity offers a self-guided tour to help you explore the Cathedral and its grounds.

Be sure to look up! Some of the most impressive examples of architecture lie in the fan vaulting, ornate carvings, and beautiful stained glassworks.

Trinity Chapel is located at the east end of Canterbury Cathedral. It was completed in 1184 as a shrine for Saint Thomas Becket's relics. This site became a popular pilgrimage site.

The chapel replaces a smaller chapel that burned down in 1174. Thomas Becket had celebrated his first mass as Archbishop of Canterbury in the smaller chapel. After the archbishop of York crowned Henry the Young King, Becket excommunicated the archbishop of York and two other church leaders. Henry expressed his displeasure, and knights killed Thomas Becket in the Canterbury Cathedral.

The popularity of the pilgrimage site inspired Geoffrey Chaucer to write Canterbury Tales in 1387. In 1540, King Henry VIII had Becket's shrine and bones destroyed. Today, visitors will find a lighted candle marking the former site of Becket's shrine.

Edward Plantagenet, the Black Prince, is entombed in this chapel. King Henry IV and his consort, Joan of Navarre, are buried in Trinity Chapel. While most kings are buried in Westminster Abbey, King Henry IV wanted to be connected with Thomas Becket. There are alabaster effigies of the King and Queen on top of the tomb.

The Corona Tower is at the east end of Trinity Chapel. Also called Becket's Crown, this area housed some of Becket's relics. It also housed Saint Odo's and Saint Wilfred's shrines.

The Cloisters are situated on the north side of the Canterbury Cathedral. It is a covered colonnade that encloses small square courtyards attached to the side of the Cathedral. The structure dates from the 14th century; it was planned and built in around 1400 by a Kentish Man, Stephen Lote. The highlight of the cloisters is the grandiose domed roof decorated with many painted shields and figures. The walkway served as a place for contemplation as well as for reading and writing. On the ceiling of the Cloisters are knobs that bear the arms of persons who have contributed money to the building and decoration of the Cathedral.

The Chapter House and the Cloisters are situated on the north side of the Canterbury Cathedral. This magnificent chamber inside a separate building is the largest chapter house in England. The Chapter House was built in the late 14th century. The central zone of the chapter house is an open space. The Chamber House interior features the wonderful Medieval stained glass, lofty timber roof, and stone seats ring the walls under arched stone niches and Prior’s noble seat. It was the meeting place for monks and priests who represented the council and prayed. Later, sermons were preached here. It's worth trying to get inside.

An unassuming British pub located near the Cathedral has quite the history. The Old Buttermarket is currently everything you'd expect from such an establishment - it's the perfect place for a pint after a long day touring the Cathedral. If you're feeling nippish, the meat pies and fish and chips are excellent.

But what makes The Old Buttermarket a special stop is its history. There is certainly a lot to be told, and some of it we still don't know. Flint pieces found in the cellars give clues that the Romans used the site. Tunnels have been found that once connected the site to the Cathedral.

There has been an operating public house on this site for over 500 years. A coaching inn called the Black Boy was in business from the 1600s until 1908.

The name also clues you to an interesting tidbit of history. The town butter market was held on the square right outside the pub.

The Roman Museum features a Roman courtyard house and a Roman pavement. The museum was initially founded in 1961.

The Romans captured a settlement here in the first century AD. They laid out a settlement on a partial grid and included a theatre, forum, temple, and baths. By the third century, they had also built a town wall with seven gates to defend against barbarians. The Romans occupied Canterbury until about 410 AD.

A World War II bomb exposed the Roman mosaic pavement. The excavation revealed a Roman townhouse that had several rooms, corridors, and mosaics.

The museum aims to show people what Roman city life was like. Because the city has been raised many times since Roman times, the pavement is located under the present-day pavement. Therefore, each step visitors take down to the Roman pavement represents 100 years of the archaeological layer.

Today, visitors can see the three mosaic pavement panels, as well as other excavated artifacts. Household deities are on display. Visitors will find objects such as an ax, dice, spoons, roof tiles, and a calvary harness. Silver from the Westgate Gardens silver hoard is also on display.

The museum features a reconstructed Roman house with a kitchen. A Roman marketplace reconstruction has a cobbler, greengrocer, fast food vendor, and haberdasher.

Visitors can also check out a computer game which also guests to use Roman technology.

Museum hours: Daily 10:00 am- 5:00 pm.

The central museum and library for the city of Canterbury are located in the Beaney Institute building. Admission to the museum and galleries is free, and a trip inside is well worth your time.

The Tudor Revival-style building was designed by city surveyor A.H. Campbell and built-in 1899. It was known as the Beaney Institute until 2012.

The cost of the ornate building was gifted to the Canterbury City Council by Dr. James George Beaney. Beaney was a colorful character in the town's history. He was beset by controversy from the medical establishment.

The museum houses a collection of English and European ceramics and art, along with oriental porcelains. Of course, many items in the collection are of local interest, including the Chair of Saint Augustine and Canterbury pilgrims tokens.

Items on display in the museum span the region's history from prehistoric implements to Roman and Anglo-Saxon antiquities. If you're interested in the Roman period, don't miss the museum's other facility--the Canterbury Roman Museum.

Established to give accommodations to the poor pilgrims visiting the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket, the Hospital of Saint Thomas the Martyr of Eastbridge opened around 1190. The facility is now an almshouse for the elderly.

Don't let the word "hospital" lead you astray. This building is not and was never a medical facility. Instead, the word refers to the hospitality it provided to visiting pilgrims.

The buildings of the Hospital are all original and built in the 12th century. There is a Pilgrim's Chapel, whose ceiling shows woodwork and joinery that have been dated to 1285. The Undercroft originally served as a dormitory.

The Refectory was a large open dining space. A 13th-century fresco of Our Lord in Glory is on the wall. It was discovered and conserved in 1879.

As the name may suggest, the building was built on the King's Bridge near the Westgate. The rooms directly over the River Stour were restored in a massive preservation effort from 2014 to 2019.

The eight individual apartments that make up the present-day almshouse are private and not open to the public. The rest of the buildings, however, are. Eastbridge is one of three adjoining sites--the Eastbridge Hospital, Greyfriars Chapel, and The Franciscan Gardens.

Dating from at least the 14th century and reconstructed in the 16th, this must be one of the most photographed historic buildings in Canterbury and one of the top riverside pubs in Kent. Having survived the WWII German bombing campaigns, its timber-framed front can be easily spotted on St. Peter's street, with an even longer front running along the River Stour.

The Old Weavers House takes its name from the hundreds of Huguenots and Walloons who settled in the area after fleeing religious persecution in the 16th/17th centuries in France and the Low Countries. Many had expertise as weavers, and therefore started their trade, requiring well-lit work rooms, in local buildings. Despite having no other true weavers houses that can be seen elsewhere in Canterbury, this building housed a weaving school into the early 1900s.

At the rear is a medieval "ducking stool" that historically served to punish not only scolds (women accused by their husbands of talking back too much!), but also suspected witches, by dunking them into the water. Rather than simply being fixed by the water, however, the stool could be mounted on wheels to allow the convict to be paraded through the streets before punishment was carried out.

For the ultimate riverside experience, the Old Weavers Restaurant has a riverside terrace bursting with plants and flowers to create a restful oasis at the water's edge. Not only that, but diners can also enjoy a 40-minute river tour in one of the punting company owned boats, prior to or followed by a one-course-meal of their choosing.

Mon-Sat: 9am–12am; Sun: 12pm–11:30pm

The western gate in the city walls is the 60-foot (18-meter) high Westgate. This impressive structure is the largest surviving medieval gatehouse in England. It was built of local ragstone around 1379 and is the only one of Canterbury's original seven gates still standing.

The Romans built the first city walls in 300 AD. Westgate was always the most crucial entrance, as this was the road from London. The present gate was built to replace the original Roman one.

The building has had various other uses over the years. It was used as the local prison from the 1400s to the 1800s. There was even a cage built in the gateway where select prisoners were allowed to beg from or chat with passers-by.

After the city walls were dismantled in the early 1800s, the jailer's house was built to the north. This building wound up serving as the Canterbury City Police headquarters. It was connected to the jail by an iron bridge. This building is now a bar and cafe.

Presently the structure houses the West Gate Towers Museum and several very realistic and historically-themed escape rooms.

This is the oldest pub housed in one of the oldest and most amazing historic buildings of the 14th century. It sits on a quiet street, several minutes walk from the Canterbury Cathedral. Hidden away around the back streets, the Parrot has a peaceful, countryside atmosphere to it. It offers a good choice of beer, ales and wine, as well as mixed drinks. The bar features a romantic walled garden. During refurbishing, many astonishing features were found, such as Medieval crafted timbers and some 15th century timber-work. There is often live jazz music.