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Margate
Town in East Kent, England

Margate

Margate is a seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England.

Plan a trip to Margate→From London

It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of 2 miles long, 16 miles north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. In 2011 it had a population of 61,223.

Get in

Getting to Margate

Travel time from all the London airports by public transport is much the same, as you have to go into central London then come out again. By car, London Gatwick (LGW IATA) is the closest, 85 miles by road. Trains from London Victoria run every 30-60 min, taking 1 hr 50 min via Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Sittingbourne and Faversham, where the train may divide.

See

Worth seeing

Margate seafront faces the main beach, a trad promenade with a clock tower, pubs, bingo halls, and amusement arcades. Harbour Arm casts an embrace around the harbour north of the beach, with eating places, and nowadays the Turner at its foot.

  1. 01
    Turner Contemporary Art Gallery

    Modern art gallery opened in 2011, with a small selection of paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851), who stayed at a boarding house on this spot.

  2. 02
    Margate Caves

    1 Northdown Rd, Margate CT9 1HQ, info@margatecaves.co.uk.

  3. 03
    Shell Grotto

    This is a remarkable place down a dingy back street: a winding underground passageway leading into a chamber, all decorated from floor to ceiling in sea shells.

  4. 04
    Draper's Mill

    This is a "smock mill" built in 1865, the only survivor of three here.

  5. 05
    Hornby Visitor Centre

    Westwood Industrial Estate, Margate CT9 4JX.

Do

Things to do

Margate Beach is a large crescent of sand right in town centre, by Dreamland and the railway station. It's accessible even at high tide, and the tidal pool is a sheltered area for kiddy-bathing. Half a mile west is a smaller beach, Westbrook Bay. Beaches east of the harbour through Cliftonville are narrow, and covered at high tide. Naylor Rock Shelter by the west end of Margate Beach is a grand Edwardian structure.

  1. 01
    Dreamland

    49-51 Marine Terrace, Margate CT9 1XJ (200 m east of railway station),.

  2. 02
    Tom Thumb Theatre

    Theatre squeezed into an old coach house with offbeat decor, and a bar with an outdoor balcony upstairs Cinema: Dreamland Cinema is only occasionally open.

Eat

Where to eat

There's a whole slew of places to eat near the seafront and on the harbour arm, and more in town centre.

  1. 01
    Sargasso

    Wine bar with great food, small portions, offering a great view of the harbour Buoy and Oyster, 44 High St, Margate CT9 1DS (north end of beach),.

  2. 02
    The Ambrette

    Enjoyable restaurant serving Anglo-Mumbai "haute cuisine".

  3. 03
    Mullins Brasserie

    Upscale but relaxed place in a former butchers, serves European cuisine with a Barbados twist.

  4. 04
    Forts

    Good coffee and breakfast spot by Winter Gardens.

  5. 05
    The Riz

    Ayubowan to this consistently impressive Sri Lanka and Kerala-style restaurant.

How locals move

Getting around Margate the local way

  • Get inBroadstairs is 2 miles from the channel port of Ramsgate with ferries from Ostend in Belgium (for car passengers/coaches only though - no foot passengers).

From Wikivoyage: Broadstairs, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Acroterion (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.