Dover Castle
Occupying top spot, literally and figuratively, in Dover’s townscape, this most impressive of castles was built to bolster the country’s weakest point at…
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Dover
One of the Cinque Ports, down-in-the-dumps Dover has certainly seen better days. Its derelict postwar architecture and shabby town centre is a sad introduction to England for travellers arriving on cross-Channel ferries and cruise ships, most of whom pass through quickly. Lucky, then, that the town has a couple of stellar attractions to redeem it. The port’s vital strategic position so close to mainland Europe gave rise to a sprawling hilltop castle, which has some 2000 years of history to its credit. The spectacular white cliffs, as much a symbol of English wartime resilience as Winston Churchill or the Battle of Britain, rear in chalky magnificence to the east and west.
Explore Dover
- Dover Castle
Occupying top spot, literally and figuratively, in Dover’s townscape, this most impressive of castles was built to bolster the country’s weakest point at…
- BBanksy Brexit Mural
Despite voting leave, the poor port town of Dover is possibly the Southeast community set to suffer most post-Brexit. It was perhaps for that reason that…
- SSecret Wartime Tunnels
The biggest draw at Dover Castle is the secret wartime tunnels. The claustrophobic chalk-hewn passageways were excavated during the Napoleonic Wars and…
- RRoman Painted House
A crumbling 1960s bunker is the unlikely setting for some of the most extensive, if stunted, Roman wall paintings north of the Alps. Several scenes depict…
- DDover Museum
By far the most enthralling exhibit in the town's three-storey museum is an astonishing 3600-year-old Bronze Age boat, discovered here in 1992. Vaunted as…
- RRoman Lighthouse
This Roman-era lighthouse is Britain's oldest standing building and dates from around AD 50.
- SSaxon Church
The restored Saxon Church of St Mary in Castro can be found up in the castle.
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Dover.
- See
Dover Castle
Occupying top spot, literally and figuratively, in Dover’s townscape, this most impressive of castles was built to bolster the country’s weakest point at…
- See
Banksy Brexit Mural
Despite voting leave, the poor port town of Dover is possibly the Southeast community set to suffer most post-Brexit. It was perhaps for that reason that…
- See
Secret Wartime Tunnels
The biggest draw at Dover Castle is the secret wartime tunnels. The claustrophobic chalk-hewn passageways were excavated during the Napoleonic Wars and…
- See
Roman Painted House
A crumbling 1960s bunker is the unlikely setting for some of the most extensive, if stunted, Roman wall paintings north of the Alps. Several scenes depict…
- See
Dover Museum
By far the most enthralling exhibit in the town's three-storey museum is an astonishing 3600-year-old Bronze Age boat, discovered here in 1992. Vaunted as…
- See
Roman Lighthouse
This Roman-era lighthouse is Britain's oldest standing building and dates from around AD 50.
Guidebooks
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