Canterbury, England
Cathedral City Traffic Jam
"Where Pilgrims Once Walked, Now Coaches Idle"
Official Coat of Arms
A shield bearing the Cathedral's Bell Harry Tower rendered slightly obscured by a stationary National Express coach, surrounded by a wreath of student bicycles chained to every available railing, above a banner reading 'Sanctus Traffic Aeternum'.
TripAdvisor Review
★★★☆☆ 3/5
"The cathedral is genuinely breathtaking, no sarcasm here, but getting anywhere near it in summer means fighting through wall-to-wall tour groups and hen parties spilling out of the pubs on the High Street. Parked for an hour trying to find a space near the West Gate and gave up, ended up walking in from a field somewhere near Wincheap. Lovely city if you enjoy paying £6 for a coffee within sight of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Would visit again but bringing a bike."— BarryFromMaidstone_82
Property Listing
Charming period residence moments from a 1,400-year-old cathedral, offering an unrivalled soundtrack of tour guide megaphones and delivery vans reversing down streets built for foot traffic in the 1300s! Ideal for the buyer who dreams of medieval history and doesn't mind never finding parking again.
Twinned With
Salzburg — Both cities are utterly gorgeous, historic, and permanently ambushed by tour buses disgorging thousands of visitors who all want the same photo of the same spire.
Supporting Evidence
Canterbury's population roughly triples during university term time and tourist season, meaning the medieval street layout was never designed for anything busier than a horse and a pilgrim.