Ipswich Waterfront

The regenerated docklands area sits about ten minutes' walk south of the town centre and is the liveliest part of modern Ipswich. The Old Custom House on the quayside is one of the most elegant buildings in the city, a late 17th-century structure with a perfect pedimented front overlooking the water. The converted Victorian warehouses around it — Neptune Quay and Wherry Quay — now house restaurants, bars, and a marina.

It makes a pleasant evening destination: walk along the quayside, eat at one of the waterfront restaurants, and watch the sailboats come and go. On summer weekends the area can be genuinely lively. In winter it is more peaceful but the architecture is no less impressive.

things to do sight neighbourhood
A story
The Wet Dock at Ipswich was the largest in the world when it opened in 1842 — a sign of how important the town was to English commerce before the railways shifted trade north. Container ships docked here until the 1980s. The converted warehouses now hold flats, bars, and restaurants, but the Victorian hydraulic machinery that once operated the lock gates is still preserved in place.

Other places in Things to Do