Serviced Apartments in Folkestone

Discover the best activities and attractions Folkestone has to offer, and find out what makes this city a vibrant and exciting place to live or visit.

The Leas & Leas Cliff Park
A sweeping Victorian promenade and cliff-top park that runs along Folkestone’s seafront, The Leas is beloved for its panoramic views across the Channel, extensive lawns, and walking routes that link into neighbouring Sandgate. It hosts outdoor concerts, community events and cliff-top sports, and includes Leas Cliff Hall — a long-standing performance venue — nearby. The space is popular for dog-walkers, families and photographers, and provides an accessible green lung close to the town centre. Impact: as a major free attraction it draws regular local and visiting footfall, supporting cafés, seasonal kiosks and nearby hospitality businesses while contributing significantly to residents’ quality of life and town-centre vitality.

Folkestone Harbour & Harbour Arm
The harbour area has been transformed into a lively waterfront destination: the 300m Harbour Arm is a converted pier hosting pop-up bars, street-food vendors, permanent eateries and summer events, all with direct sea views and views to France. The working harbour, art installations and occasional markets create a blend of maritime heritage and contemporary culture that’s popular for dining, evening drinks and sunset walks. Impact: the Harbour Arm’s mix of independent food and drink traders, events and increased visitor numbers has been central to Folkestone’s regeneration, generating seasonal employment and keeping tourist spend within the local economy.

Folkestone Creative Quarter
A compact district of cobbled streets and former industrial buildings packed with independent galleries, artists’ studios, boutique shops, cafés and creative businesses. The Creative Quarter is where many of Folkestone’s makers, designers and small creative enterprises operate; regular open-studio events, gallery openings and pop-ups make it a cultural hub. What makes it special is the concentration of working creatives and the authentic, small-scale retail experience you won’t find on high streets. Impact: it’s a key driver of the town’s reputation as a creative centre, attracting cultural tourists, supporting micro-businesses and encouraging long-term investment in arts-led regeneration.

Folkestone Triennial & Folkestone Artworks
The Folkestone Triennial is an internationally recognised public-art festival that commissions contemporary artists to create site-specific works across the town; many of these installations remain as part of the permanent Folkestone Artworks collection. The event and its legacy artworks turn the streets, seafront and public spaces into an open-air gallery that rewards repeat visits and self-guided art walks. Popular because it combines high-quality contemporary art with a seaside setting, it also brings global artists into direct dialogue with local history and community. Impact: the Triennial brings significant short-term visitor spikes and media attention, and the permanent artworks contribute to year-round cultural tourism, education programmes and the town’s creative economy.

Folkestone Museum
A local museum celebrating Folkestone’s social and maritime history, with displays on archaeology, local industries, wartime stories, and the town’s unique coastal heritage. The museum is a compact, family-friendly resource that connects residents and visitors with Folkestone’s past through exhibitions, archives and community projects. What makes it special is its focus on local narrative — from seafaring and smuggling to the town’s role in cross-Channel transport — presented in an accessible way. Impact: by preserving and interpreting local heritage, the museum supports cultural education, draws history-minded visitors into the town centre, and complements the broader visitor economy (cafés, shops and accommodation).

Explore the diverse transport options available in Folkestone, from efficient public transportation systems to convenient road networks. Whether you're commuting to work or exploring the city, this section will give you an overall look at the available transportation systems.

Public Transit System
- Rail (Folkestone Central & Folkestone West) - Two main National Rail stations serving the town with regular Southeastern services linking Folkestone with Dover, Canterbury and London (via direct and connecting services); both stations offer local onward connections and basic passenger facilities.
- High-speed rail connection (via Ashford International / HS1) - Ashford International (a short train or car journey from Folkestone) is the nearest major HS1 station with direct high-speed services to London St Pancras and continental connections; local services provide convenient transfers between Folkestone and Ashford.
- Channel Tunnel (Eurotunnel Le Shuttle) - The vehicle shuttle terminal at Cheriton/Folkestone provides frequent vehicle and coach shuttles to Calais (separate from Eurostar passenger trains), enabling fast cross-Channel road-based travel for cars, motorcycles and freight.
- Bus network (local & regional) - Local and regional bus services (operated by Stagecoach and other local operators) connect neighbourhoods, the town centre, seafront and surrounding villages; regional routes connect to Ashford, Dover and other Kent towns, supplemented by timetable and real-time information at key stops.
- National / long-distance coaches - National coach operators provide long-distance coach services to and from the area (with services often calling at or near Folkestone or the larger nearby hubs such as Ashford and Dover), offering an alternative to rail for some journeys.
- Taxis and private hire / rideshare - Local taxi firms and private-hire vehicles operate across Folkestone for on-demand travel; rideshare availability can vary and is typically concentrated around the town centre and stations.
- Community and demand-responsive transport - Community transport, dial‑a‑ride and parish/minibus schemes (coordinated via Kent County Council or local charities) support mobility for older residents and those with limited access to conventional services.
- Nearby ferry port access (Dover) - While Folkestone no longer hosts major ferry services, Dover Port is a short drive away and provides regular ferry links to France, complementing Channel Tunnel options for international travel.

Major Highways
- M20 - The primary motorway linking Folkestone to the M25/London and to the Channel Tunnel terminal; key route for private vehicles and freight to/from the continent.
- A20 - The historic trunk road running parallel to the M20, providing local and strategic access toward London and the Dover/Folkestone corridor.
- A259 - Coastal route providing east–west links along the south coast, serving neighbouring towns and seafront destinations.
- A260 - Primary A‑road connecting Folkestone northwards to Ashford and the wider national road network.
- M25 - London orbital motorway accessible via the M20, important for national connectivity between Folkestone and wider UK motorway network.

Cycling Infrastructure
- Cycle infrastructure and routes - Folkestone offers a mix of on‑road lanes, off‑road shared-use paths (notably along parts of the seafront), secure parking at key locations and links into the National Cycle Network (NCN Route 2 coastal corridor) plus local cycle routes connecting the town centre, harbour, and nearby green spaces; provision varies by street and some ongoing improvements have targeted better signposting, parking and traffic-calming to benefit cyclists.

Recent and Upcoming Improvements
- Folkestone Harbour & Seafront regeneration - Ongoing regeneration and public-realm works around the harbour, seafront and Creative Quarter have improved pedestrian routes, public spaces and access between town, seafront and transport hubs, making local journeys easier and more pleasant.
- Station accessibility and passenger improvements - Network Rail / Southeastern investment programmes in the region have included accessibility upgrades, station environment improvements and better passenger information at local stations to improve commuting comfort and interchange.
- Road resilience and M20 management measures - Local and national measures to manage Channel Tunnel-related traffic (including junction improvements, traffic-management schemes and contingency arrangements) aim to reduce disruption to commuters and freight movements on the M20 corridor.
- Active travel and cycle-route funding - Local authority and government-funded active travel initiatives have targeted safer walking and cycling links (seafront, town centre approaches and routes to schools), and further schemes are planned or under development to extend these networks.
- Rail service and rolling-stock enhancements (regional) - Timetable adjustments, fleet renewals and reliability-focused interventions across Southeastern and HS1 corridors have sought to improve journey times, capacity and service resilience for trips into London and the region (with direct benefits to Folkestone commuters via better connections).
- Channel Tunnel operational upgrades - Continued investment in Eurotunnel operations and terminal resilience (security, processing and freight handling) supports more reliable cross‑Channel links for vehicle and freight users based in and around Folkestone.