Ramsgate, United Kingdom: Self-Guided Walking Tour

Things to do in Ramsgate include exploring its maritime museums, churches, theatres and distinctive religious heritage. The town’s history is closely connected with the sea, while its buildings reveal changing religious, cultural and entertainment traditions. Neywo has a free audio guide for Ramsgate with 18 narrated places, available in 11 languages.

Ramsgate is in England, within the United Kingdom. For an independent way to discover the town, a Ramsgate self-guided walking tour can connect several of its most interesting sites without a group or fixed timetable.

What to See in Ramsgate

Ramsgate Maritime Museum

Ramsgate Maritime Museum occupies the Clock House on the quayside of the Royal Harbour. Also known as the Clock House Museum, it tells the maritime history of East Kent and reflects Ramsgate’s close relationship with the sea.

The Clock House building closed in 2021 for major refurbishment. It is expected to reopen in 2026 as both a museum and a heritage hub for the town. The museum was run by the Steam Museum Trust from 2012 until 2023, when the lease returned to Thanet District Council.

Royal Victoria Pavilion

The Royal Victoria Pavilion is a seaside pavilion and former theatre on Ramsgate’s waterfront. Its role has changed over time: the building was later used as a nightclub before becoming a Wetherspoon pub. These successive uses make it a notable part of the town’s entertainment history.

Granville Theatre

The Granville Theatre is a theatre and cinema complex on Victoria Parade. It is Ramsgate’s sole multi-purpose entertainment venue, bringing performances and film experiences together in one building. Its name comes from the Granville Hotel opposite the theatre.

Parish Church of Holy Trinity

The Parish Church of Holy Trinity is one of Ramsgate’s church buildings. It forms part of the town’s religious heritage and can be included on a walk through its historic streets.

St Ethelbert’s Church

St Ethelbert’s Church on Hereson Road is the Catholic parish church of Ramsgate. Dedicated to Saints Ethelbert and Gertrude, it was designed by Peter Paul Pugin and built by W. W. Martin and Sons of Ramsgate.

The church is one of several places in Ramsgate connected with the Pugin family and their architectural ideas.

Montefiore Synagogue

Montefiore Synagogue stands beside the family mausoleum of Sir Moses Montefiore on Honeysuckle Road. Completed in 1833 on Montefiore’s country property in Ramsgate, it is regarded as one of the oldest synagogues in England.

The synagogue remains a private Orthodox Jewish place of worship. Its neoclassical character and relationship with the adjacent mausoleum are central to the site’s identity. The synagogue and mausoleum were listed together as a Grade II* building in 1968. The Montefiore Endowment cares for the site and also maintains the nearby Ramsgate Jewish Cemetery.

St Augustine’s Abbey, Ramsgate

St Augustine’s Abbey, also known as Ramsgate Abbey, is a Grade II listed former Benedictine abbey built in 1860 by Augustus Pugin. It was the first Benedictine monastery built in England since the Reformation.

The site remained a Benedictine community until 2010, when the monks moved to St Augustine’s Abbey in Chilworth, Surrey. It is now owned by the Vincentian Congregation from Kerala, India.

Across the road, St Augustine’s Church is also known as the Shrine of St Augustine of Canterbury. It is a separate Roman Catholic church belonging to the Archdiocese of Southwark. The church includes the personal church of Augustus Pugin and forms a central part of his collection of buildings in Ramsgate.

Christ Church

Christ Church is a church building in Ramsgate and one of the stops included in the town’s Pugin-themed walking route.

This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete

This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete is a technology museum in Ramsgate. Its focus offers an opportunity to consider the changing relationship between people and the tools they create.

Church of St George

The Church of St George, also known as St George the Martyr, is a church in Ramsgate. It adds another religious landmark to a walk through the town.

St. Luke’s Church

St. Luke’s Church is another church building in Ramsgate. It is included among the places that can be discovered on the route dedicated to Pugin and the town’s architectural heritage.

Church of St Laurence

The Church of St Laurence, also known as St Lawrence Church or St Laurence-in-Thanet, is a Church of England parish church in Ramsgate, in the Thanet area of Kent.

St Christopher’s Church

St Christopher’s Church is located in Newington, Kent, and offers another place of worship to notice in the wider Ramsgate area.

St Ethelbert’s Church and Ramsgate’s religious heritage

Together, Ramsgate’s Catholic, Anglican and Jewish sites show the variety of religious buildings found around the town. St Augustine’s Abbey, St Augustine’s Church, Montefiore Synagogue and the parish churches each contribute a different part of Ramsgate’s architectural and cultural story.

JemimaSara Studio and The Micro Museum

JemimaSara Studio is a building in Ramsgate and one of the places to notice while exploring the town. The Micro Museum is a small museum with a deliberately distinctive name, offering another compact stop for visitors interested in Ramsgate’s cultural places.

Explore Ramsgate with a Free Audio Guide

Neywo offers two walking tours in Ramsgate, with 11 narrated stops altogether:

• Royal Harbour to Honeysuckle Road: 1.78 km, 55 minutes and 6 stops, including Ramsgate Maritime Museum, Royal Victoria Pavilion, Granville Theatre, Parish Church of Holy Trinity, St Ethelbert’s Church and Montefiore Synagogue.
• In the Footsteps of Pugin: 2.01 km, 54 minutes and 5 stops, including St Augustine’s Abbey, Christ Church, This Museum Is (Not) Obsolete, Church of St George and St. Luke’s Church.

Download Neywo and explore Ramsgate at your own pace. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule.