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Coastal town in Kent, England
Photo: Chris Worsley, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Broadstairs is a beach resort on the east coast of Kent. It has sandy beaches, clean bathing water and a variety of pubs and restaurants. In 2021 its population was about 25,000.
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Cottage frequented by Charles Dickens and now a small museum. Its owner Mary Pearson Strong inspired Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield, who was gripped by a mission to thwart the passage of donkeys in front of the cottage.
Small local history museum in a water tower disguised as a castle.
Large popular ice cream parlour.
Good small trattoria, they also have branches in Canterbury and Faversham.
Reliable Thai restaurant.
Downstairs is a pub with live music.The upstairs restaurant serves mostly seafood but there's a good vegetarian and vegan menu.
Great reviews for this smart seafood restaurant, booking recommended.
Tiny restaurant serving excellent food, go for the fixed-price tasting menu.
Family-friendly pub restaurant. Owned by Thorley Taverns.
Amazing place: a large converted chapel that's a maze of old books, combined with a bar and meals with vegan options. Dogs welcome.
Cosy brewpub.
Lively bar and restaurant, often has live music so it's not the place for a quiet chat.
Charming B&B with five rooms in a Georgian townhouse. Note the spelling.
Mid-range hotel in Georgian villa once inhabited by Charles Dickens, now owned by Shepherd Neame brewery group. Comfy, and great sea views, which you're paying for. It also has a popular restaurant, serving daily noon-9PM. Dog friendly.
Pleasant hotel in an old building but with accessible rooms. Convenient for town.
Functional business hotel on a bland retail estate in mid-Thanet.
Off-licence with a great selection of wines.
Gift and beach shop at the foot of High St, selling beachwear, sunglasses, hats, lylos, buckets and spades and the like.
A big retail park 3 miles west of town. It has the usual "High Street" retailers (an Olde English phrase meaning "relocated away from High St some time during the previous millennium"), Vue cinema and budget eating places.
By bus
National Express NX022 takes 3 hr 15 min from London Victoria via Canterbury and Margate to Broadstairs, continuing to Ramsgate. It runs four times a day.
By car
Broadstairs is from London and about 1 hour from the M25 via the M2, and 16 miles east of Canterbury.
By boat
Broadstairs is 2 miles from the channel port of Ramsgate with ferries from Ostend in Belgium (for car passengers/coaches only though - no foot passengers).
By plane
The nearest major international airports are London Gatwick (LGW), 84 mi and London Heathrow (LHR), 104 mi. Manston Airport closed in 2015.
Taxi operators include Andrew's (+44 7563 563563), Central (+44 1843 888888) and A2B Thanet (+44 1843 263263).
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Southend-on-Sea, Essex · Regional · SEN
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