This town’s rich maritime history is evident in its quayside warehouses and fine old merchants’ homes. It was once one of England’s most important ports.
King’s Lynn is a traditional town dotted with Georgian townhouses and guildhalls. Discover a long history of maritime trade and visit bustling weekly markets.
Follow the river to Green Quay, housed in a former warehouse. This interactive museum examines the flora and fauna of the local estuary, which is called the Wash. Watch informative videos and check out the species housed in the museum’s freshwater tank.
Visit the Lynn Museum, which explores the town’s past as far back as prehistoric times. In the Seahenge Gallery you’ll find a life-size replica of the impressive Bronze Age timber circle. Examine King’s Lynn’s more recent past at the Town Hall Museum via exhibits and artifacts dedicated to the town’s history from the Middle Ages to the present.
Check out St. George’s Guildhall, England’s largest medieval guildhall. Constructed in the 15th century, the building originally served as a spot where tradesmen in the town’s thriving wool industry assembled. Today the building houses the King's Lynn Art Centre, with a theater and art house cinema.
Learn more about the town’s fishing community at True’s Yard. Set in two wonderfully restored cottages, this museum is dedicated to the culture and lives of the fisher folk who once lived in similar cottages.
Don’t miss the King's Lynn markets, held on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays in the town’s two historic marketplaces. Explore stalls selling everything from handbags and jewelry to clothing and produce.
You’ll see the three towers of St. Margaret’s Church rising over the Saturday Market Place. Look for markers recording floods from the 19th and 20th centuries near the church’s west door. Examine the moon dial on the southwest tower, which records the time of high tides.
King's Lynn is located in West Norfolk, which is well connected to the rest of the country by car, train, air or ferry. To get here, take one of the hourly trains from Cambridge or the Coasthopper bus from Hunstanton.