The Dreamland amusement park is now owned by entertainment giants LiveNation, meaning ever-more serious gigs (like Supergrass with Jake Bugg and The Coral in 2025). Where Else? Is holding up the actual indie side of things, with thoughtful gigs (Anna Erhard, The None) and punchy comedy (Jamali Maddox, Suzi Ruffell), much of it from local promoter Chumps. It’s had financial struggles, so buying a ticket here does more for the town than a trip to Dreamland. 

The Turner Contemporary will likely be on your itinerary anyway, but it’s worth a detour to the crisp white Carl Freedman, which feels even more connected to the Tracey Emin vision of Margate as an art leader. Local artists often get their first big shows here – like the ethereal dream scenes of Laura Foote or the sexualised female Edens of Vanessa Raw, another artist who completed a residency at Tracey Emin’s TKE Studios down the road. Locals quietly covet the limited edition posters. 

A takeover of the former Sands Hotel, facing the Main Sands in the thick of it all, No. 42 is part of a boutique brand that has hotels in York, Bath and Brighton. Neutral-toned rooms with Crosley vinyl players feel like the Balearics-meets-Kent coast, and there’s little messing with Whitsable oysters and Kentish ribeyes at the Art Deco-ish Pearly Cow restaurant with stellar terrace views. The rooftop bar buzzes come summer, and there are treatment rooms and a copper bath in the basement spa.     

While Angela’s needs booking, its seafront small-plates little sister is walk-in only. The setup may be more casual, but the often pickled or cured dishes are just as good here: silken crab tarts with shortcut pastry, smoked prawns with aioli, raw bream with brown butter and apple. Pair with a Sophie Evans skin-contact Kentish pinot gris and a neon sunset from one of the outside tables looking the Main Sands, and you have something approaching the Margate Dream.