Pubs, Bars, Clubs and more...

MAIDSTONE town centre is full of all of the above, with some of the better ones being:

MuMu, Week St (now has a refurbsihed restaurant next door)

Frobishers, High St

The Druids Arms, Earl St

Ethos, Gabrielle's Hill

ME1, Market Buildings

The Old House at Home, Pudding Lane

Banks Wine Bar, Bank St

Kala Red, Bank St

The White Rabbit, Sandling Rd

The Chiltern Hundreds, Penenden Heath

Nightclubs include The Source Bar, The River Bar, Strawberry Moons and The Loft. The Music Room above Pizza Express in Earl St also plays host to some late, great and lesser known soul, R&B and jazz musicians.

The Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone has some quality comedy and music offerings, including in recent months Mark Thomas, Dara O'Briain, Tony Robinson, Jeremy Hardy and Roddy Frame from Aztec Camera fame.

The MAIDSTONE MUSEUM AND BENTLIF ART GALLERY is one of the best provincial museums you could ever hope to find. There is a huge range of exhibits from Roman to Medieval to military, plus a Japanese section worthy of the V&A, and a brilliant natural history and dinosaurs zone. The museum even has its very own Egyptian mummy!

Maidstone also has a great comedy venue in the form of UP THE CREEK on Union St. It's the same set-up as the Greenwich venue, but unfortunately only opens on Saturday evenings.

If CINEMA is your thing, then you must check out Hawkhurst's new KINO CINEMA.  An independent, state-of-the-art digital cinema showing mainstream and low budget/foreign language films, and with a lovely cafe area that provides beers, wine and coffee to take into the film with you. The SEVENOAKS PLAYHOUSE has now reopened and is being managed by the KINO CINEMA people!

TUNBRIGE WELLS has its fair share of restaurants - both upmarket such as Thackerays and bog standard such as Prezzo and Cafe Rouge, as well as The Assembly Halls, The Trinity Theatre and a fun bar/club called the Beluga Bar at Davinchis.

CANTERBURY has stacks of good places to eat, drink and be merry, chiefly amongst them being Wagamama, The Goods Shed (also a farmer's market during the day, 6 days a week) and the 3 floored The Works nightclub. The Gulbenkian Theatre at the University of Kent puts on theatre, comedy, dance and music and also houses Cinema 3 which shows all the films the Odeon doesn't. The Marlowe Theatre has a good programme of events. Canterbury has four museums housed in historic buildings which between them unfold the city's amazing story of famous people and great events from Roman times to Rupert Bear. Upon a recent visit to Canterbury I discovered the Orange Street Music Club, just off the High St, which showcases local bands and comedy and also houses a gallery displaying work by local artists.

FOLKESTONE has the amazing Leas Cliffe Hall venue where indie giants The Charlatans and wonder-God newcomers Hard-Fi recently played. There is also a brilliant art gallery in the shape of the Metropole Galleries, also up on the Leas. If you travel a bit further along from the town to Capel le Ferne you'll find an amazing cliff top cafe with a fantastic view out across the English Channel.

MARGATE has a thriving artists' quarter in it's Old Town and a couple of new bars in the Piazza. (Check out the article on Margate for more info...)

RAMSGATE has the very sophisticated Royal Marina and the lovely Georgian crescents above it. It also has an ambundance of Thai and Malaysian restaurants - the best of those being Bambuddha Hut and Surin Thai Restaurant, both on Harbour St. There's a jazz bar back down by the harbour that has a laid back vibe and is open fronted with outside seating in the summer.

CHECK OUT www.kentattractions.co.uk for other places to visit in Kent