Margate

Margate is a Thanet seaside town that has changed significantly since Turner Contemporary opened on the seafront in 2011. The gallery -- designed by David Chipperfield Architects on the site of the lodging house where J.M.W. Turner stayed as a boy -- brought a sustained programme of contemporary art to a town that had been in decline since the package holiday era eroded its traditional visitor base. The building faces north-east across the bay and the light quality that drew Turner here in the first place is still the dominant atmospheric feature of the seafront.

The Turner Contemporary is free to enter and operates a changing programme of exhibitions through the year; it hosted the Turner Prize in 2019, drawing over 140,000 visitors. Antony Gormley's bronze figure 'Another Time' stands on Fulsam Rock immediately in front of the building and emerges from the sea at low tide before disappearing again as the tide rises -- checking tidal times before visiting is worth the 30 seconds it takes. The Old Town behind the seafront has been transformed since the gallery opened, with independent cafes, artist studios and vintage shops filling the Georgian and Regency streets around King Street and Market Place.

Dreamland, the historic amusement park on the seafront, operates a seasonal programme and has been extensively restored since 2015. High-speed trains from London St Pancras reach Margate in around 90 minutes; the station is a short walk from the seafront, Turner Contemporary and the Old Town.