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Canterbury Walking Tour: Delve Into History with City's Official Guided Visit
4.8
430 Ratings
Kent
Immerse yourself in the rich history of Canterbury with the city’s official guided walking tour. Explore medieval lanes, pilgrim inns, and the majestic Cathedral’s Precincts while hearing captivating stories of the city’s evolution over the years.
Immerse yourself in the rich history of Canterbury with the city’s official guided walking tour. Explore medieval lanes, pilgrim inns, and the majestic Cathedral’s Precincts while hearing captivating stories of the city’s evolution over the years.
Duration:
1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- 36 Burgate - Experience history brought to life by our expert Green Badge Guides on a captivating 90-minute tour. Journey through the medieval lanes, the Cathedral Precincts, and the historic grounds of King’s School. Hear intriguing tales of murder, ghosts, and the many renowned historical figures, writers, and artists who have lived or visited…
- 36 Burgate - Experience history brought to life by our expert Green Badge Guides on a captivating 90-minute tour. Journey through the medieval lanes, the Cathedral Precincts, and the historic grounds of King’s School. Hear intriguing tales of murder, ghosts, and the many renowned historical figures, writers, and artists who have lived or visited here.
- Stroll through the medieval streets and uncover its often bloody history!
- Witness the largest medieval gateway in England, explore the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral, and delve into its captivating story.
- Learn about Canterbury’s vibrant characters - Becket, Chaucer, Marlowe, and all the Kings & Queens who have passed through our gates. From pilgrims and plagues to peasants’ revolts, and much more!
Join the Official Canterbury Guided Tour! Available daily at 11am, with an additional 2pm tour from April to October, plus seasonal holidays.
Private guided tours are also available for small groups of up to 10 people at a cost of £150 (Advance bookings only).
What's Included
- Fully qualified Green Badge Canterbury City Guide
- Tour of central city lanes
- Visit to famous Cathedral Precincts (grounds)
- Fully qualified Green Badge Canterbury City Guide
- Tour of central city lanes
- Visit to famous Cathedral Precincts (grounds)
What's Not Included
- Entry to attractions
- Entry to attractions
Additional Information
Canterbury Guided Tours offers engaging 90-minute tours for those visiting the historic city of Canterbury. From exploring medieval streets and pilgrim inns to the grand Cathedral’s Precincts, these tours will take you on a journey through time, sharing captivating stories and showcasing the city’s transformation over the years.
Established in 1948,…
Canterbury Guided Tours offers engaging 90-minute tours for those visiting the historic city of Canterbury. From exploring medieval streets and pilgrim inns to the grand Cathedral’s Precincts, these tours will take you on a journey through time, sharing captivating stories and showcasing the city’s transformation over the years.
Established in 1948, Canterbury Tourist Guides Ltd is an independent company dedicated to providing top-quality guided walking tours in Canterbury. These tours are the city’s official tours and uniquely include access to the stunning Cathedral’s Precincts.
All guides possess city Green Badges, having successfully completed the accredited training course and passed the necessary examinations set by the Institute of Tourist Guiding.
- Carer Policy: We extend our concessionary rate to guests with a disability. Free entry is offered to carers accompanying those with a disability. To book a daily tour online, please book your concessionary place. Let us know you will be bringing a carer with you (no carer ticket will be required on arrival)
- At the guide’s discretion, well behaved dogs on short leads are welcome
Location
Butter Market
Daily Tour: Please meet your Guide in the Buttermarket, outside the main Cathedral Gate. Guides wear a red sash. Please note you may finish your tour in a different location (usually the High Street).
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(430 Ratings)
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502laurenzb
Apr 5, 2026
A Fun Journey into Canterbury’s Past - We had an absolutely fantastic guided walking tour through Canterbury. Our guide, Adrian, brought the city’s history to life in a way that was both engaging and easy to follow.
Canterbury is incredibly rich in history, tied to many important events that have shaped human civilization. Throughout the tour, we learned about everything from the founding of the city to its profound religious influence over the centuries. The stories about the pilgrims and the cathedral were especially fascinating and added real depth to the experience.
What really made the tour stand out was Adrian’s sense of humor — he kept the entire group entertained from start to finish. The experience was highly immersive; at times, it genuinely felt like we had travelled back in time and were witnessing Canterbury’s past firsthand.
Adrian also had a wonderful way of connecting with the group, keeping everyone engaged and completely mesmerized throughout.
Highly recommended for anyone visiting Canterbury!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stever12345
Apr 5, 2026
Brilliant, highly recommended! - Absolutely loved our walking tour. Lindsey was a fantastic guide. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
R7424imcurtiss
Mar 31, 2026
Great time in Canterbury. - This was a great walking tour. Extremely informative. Our tour guide, Sian , was extremely friendly and knowledgable. She answered all our questions. We had a great time. Canterbury is must visit.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Humphrey_a
Mar 31, 2026
We found Adrian our guide... - We found Adrian our guide warm and engaging. He has a vast store of historical knowledge which he shared
with timely clarity despite the bitter wind and odd shower.
Review provided by Viator
Puffpuff
Mar 28, 2026
Excellent walking tour of the historic centre and cathedral surrounds - An excellent walking tour which gave tremendous insight and anecdotes on the historical centre of Canterbury. With our green badge expert guide, Naomi, as well as the detail of the ancient centre we were also guided around the Cathedral grounds without having to buy a separate ticket for the Cathedral (just not inside the cathedral), and the Kings School, which is not usually even open to the public. This access by itself was really worthwhile but it was a jam-packed tour and we were very lucky in that there were only 6 of us on the morning we went, so we had a great opportunity to ask questions. It was really worthwhile, would highly recommend.
Requires advance booking and is very reasonable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeremy
Mar 12, 2026
AN EXCELLENT TOUR OF ANCIENT CANTERBURY - We met our splendid guide Paul in the shadow of magnificent cathedral, in Butter Market. Before we set out on our 90-minute walk, Paul gave us some history and background to the town all of which was most interesting and relevant. Then off we trotted, with Paul stopping us at regular intervals to point out and explain points of historic interest. After about 45 minutes we returned to the Butter Market and entered the grounds of the cathedral, here we were given much information about the building and its development and, as we walked around it, we were also introduced to the famous and beautiful King's School, the oldest in the world with roots going back to 579AD! When the tour arrived at its 90-minute mark, Paul very kindly asked if any of wished to prolong the walk, as there was more he could show us. Ten of us started and ten of us stayed on to enjoy a further half an hour of interesting facts and charming buildings. I really can't thank Paul enough for his knowledge, patience, and delightful personality, everyone really enjoyed the tour, and all wished it could have been even longer!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annewm7635qe
Feb 19, 2026
Scintillating walking tour around historic city! - Absolutely brilliant - shortened review as I lost the first one in the ether! We met up at 11 on what felt to be the coldest day of the year and we're welcomed warmly by Julian who proceeded to give us the most knowledgeable, insightful, anecdotal and inspiring tour of old Canterbury imaginable. Highlights for me were the evocation of less savoury events at the Buttermarket, the clever use of Mathematical tiles, a generous pause in front of the emerging-from-restoration Christ Church Gate to savour the colour of the coats of arms and emblems of heraldry, the ongoing synergy between Catholic and Protestant influences culminating in the compelling narrative of the demise of St Thomas a Beckett and portrayal of the many persons involved - with much detail and context to enrich and stimulate. Great too to walk through the sumptuous Kings School grounds and back in the centre to have the old mediaeval stone windows pointed out and the fact of a church being built in the middle of the main thoroughfare. Could go on and on - a really marvellous tour with huge appreciation of the guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cruiser31461343887
Feb 8, 2026
History of Canterbury - The tour was great, starting in Butter Market. Alex our tour guide was full of knowledge and kept the tour interesting. The tour guided us through the past of Canterbury. It was time well spent
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hannahmaria1990
Feb 2, 2026
Fantastic tour with Jane - Had a lovely time on the walking tour with Jane as our guide. It was just myself and my partner on the tour, and she did a fantastic job of tailoring it to our interests. A great way to see the city!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
James_l
Feb 21, 2026
Kind of wish I didn't do this tour. - I think other people in my group enjoyed this way more than I did. I found reading about Canterbury on Wikipedia far more interesting than this tour itself. I have come to expect over the years that the guides on tours I have booked via Viator tend to ask everyone their names, where they are from, I tegtate thst into their tour, add a little humor. This seemed like a dry history lesson on boring subjects in the cold.
Review provided by Viator
