Canterbury, GB

A Michelin-starred pub in the tiny riverside village of Fordwich, a short drive northeast, serving modern British cooking built on Kentish produce in a wood-panelled 1930s room. It is the area's special-occasion table and worth the trip out of town.

A daily farmers' market and restaurant under one Victorian railway shed beside Canterbury West, where the kitchen cooks whatever the stallholders brought in that morning. The menu is chalked up and changes constantly with the season.

A relaxed modern British restaurant in a former pub near the city walls, leaning hard on local farms, day-boat fish and an open-fire approach. It is the kind of place locals book for a proper dinner without the formality of fine dining.

A French bistro on Northgate with a relaxed wine bar downstairs and a more serious prix-fixe dining room above. The ground floor blackboard menu and natural-leaning wine list make it an easy spot for a long, unhurried meal.

Modern Indian cooking that treats Kentish ingredients with a chef's restraint rather than the usual curry-house formula, plated in a calm central dining room. The spicing is precise and the menu changes with what is in season locally.

A long-running, cheerfully loud Mexican kitchen by the Westgate that has been a Canterbury fixture for decades. Expect generous plates, strong margaritas and a buzz that makes it a reliable group dinner.

A small all-vegetarian and vegan cafe just off Burgate doing hearty, unfussy daytime food that wins over committed carnivores. Everything is cooked fresh and the menu shifts with what is good that week.

An independent coffee shop on St Margaret's Street that has been roasting its own beans for years, taking origin and seasonality seriously. It is the city-centre spot for a properly made flat white away from the chains.

A 1930s-styled tearoom on St Margaret's Street doing a full English afternoon tea with tiered cakes and a proper pot of loose-leaf. It is unashamedly traditional and a fun rainy-afternoon stop with kids or visiting relatives.

A wine bar and bottle shop with a strong focus on English and especially Kentish wines, which the region now does genuinely well. Small plates pair with whatever is open by the glass, and the staff actually know the local vineyards.

An artisan chocolatier making fresh chocolates and patisserie on site, with a tiny counter for hot chocolate and cake. It is the sweet stop to fold into a wander around the King's Mile lanes.

A flat, surfaced riverside path running about three miles from the edge of the city out to Chartham, shared by walkers and cyclists. It hugs the Great Stour through water meadows and is the easiest green escape straight from the centre.

An almost traffic-free, roughly eight-mile route following the old Canterbury to Whitstable railway through the Blean woods to the coast. It climbs gently out of the city and ends at Whitstable harbour, making a satisfying point-to-point day.

One of the largest ancient broadleaf woodlands in England, managed by the RSPB, with waymarked trails through oak and chestnut just north of the city. It is dog-friendly, quiet and a good chance to hear nightingales in spring.

A wetland reserve of reedbeds and lagoons along the Stour valley northeast of the city, threaded by a flat loop with bird hides. It is one of the best birdwatching spots in Kent and feels remote despite being close to town.

Canterbury's main stage, a modern riverside theatre that pulls in West End touring productions, big-name drama, dance and music. It punches well above the city's size and the auditorium has genuinely good sightlines.

The city's free museum, art gallery and library rolled into one grand mock-Tudor building on the high street. The collections range from explorers' curiosities to local paintings, and it is the obvious rainy-afternoon move with kids.

An underground museum built around an in-situ Roman mosaic floor, telling the story of Durovernum, the Roman town beneath modern Canterbury. It is compact, atmospheric and genuinely below street level among the ruins.

An indoor walk-through attraction that recreates Chaucer's medieval pilgrimage with costumed actors, sets and sound and smell effects. It is unashamedly theatrical and a fun way to get the city's pilgrimage story into kids before the cathedral.

The arts centre on the University of Kent campus above the city, combining a theatre, independent cinema and cafe-bar under one roof. It programmes touring theatre, live music, comedy and arthouse film that the commercial venues skip.

The mother church of the Anglican world and the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170, which turned the city into England's great medieval pilgrimage destination. The nave soars, but the real pull is the crypt below and the candle marking the site of the shrine.

The roofless ruins of the abbey founded in 597, when Augustine arrived to convert Anglo-Saxon England, now an English Heritage site just outside the old walls. It is far quieter than the cathedral and the audio guide does a good job rebuilding the walls in your head.

The oldest parish church in the English-speaking world still in use, with Roman brick built into its walls. It is small, plain and genuinely ancient in a way the grander sites are not, and most visitors never make it this far east.

The last surviving medieval gate of the city, a hulking twin-towered gatehouse you can climb for a rampart-level view down the high street. It once doubled as the city jail, and the small museum inside leans into that history.

The oldest Franciscan building in Britain, a tiny chapel straddling a branch of the River Stour on stone arches. You reach it through a walled garden off the high street that almost nobody notices from the pavement.

A formal Victorian park built around an ancient burial mound, with a path spiralling up to a monument at the top. From the mound you get a sweeping view over the city walls and rooftops to the cathedral.

A riverside park following the Stour just inside the walls, with a famous hollow plane tree and lawns that fill with locals the moment the sun comes out. It is the green lung of the city centre and the prettiest stretch of the river to wander.