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Destination Focus: Art, fun and festivals on the Isle of Thanet

Get away from it all and enjoy the refreshing sea air, big skies and spectacular beaches and bays of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate. Chill or be active, the choice is yours.

Hip, kitsch, cool – it has to be the Isle of Thanet

The magnetic qualities of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate have drawn painters, writers and musicians for centuries and the Isle remains as on-trend as ever. 

The acclaimed Turner Contemporary art gallery has placed Thanet firmly on the world’s art map but studio spaces, thriving nightlife and vibrant events make each visit unique. There’s plenty of live music at the bars and bandstands but visit in August for Margate Soul Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week, for concerts, headline acts perform at Dreamland

Come here for fun, ride a vintage rollercoaster at an iconic amusement park, build sandcastles, hang out in a retro ice-cream parlour, the Isle of Thanet offers 16 sandy beaches and bays, it’s studded with pretty villages linking Georgian and Victorian resorts. 

Explore the Viking Coastal Trail, Regional Route 15 of the National Cycle Network, which takes in the whole Isle of Thanet coastline, much along traffic-free promenades. Walk or cycle, whichever takes your fancy, perhaps stopping for freshly-cooked fish and chips or mouth-watering ice cream on the way. Try Angela's  a small sustainable seafood restaurant in Margate, awarded the new Green Michelin Star for Gastronomy and Sustainability in 2021!

Visit some of the area’s attractions, like the mysterious Shell Grotto in Margate, a subterranean wonder decorated with 4.6 million shells. Or take a tour of Ramsgate Tunnels, a unique civilian wartime tunnel complex set in a Victorian railway tunnel, then enjoy the cosmopolitan vibe of Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour, the only ‘Royal Harbour’ in the country.

Given its ease of access from London (London to Margate in approx. 1hr 30), the area’s long been popular, so check how busy the beaches are before you arrive. 


Art, fun and festivals on the Isle of Thanet   Art, fun and festivals on the Isle of Thanet  
Art, fun and festivals on the Isle of Thanet