New Yorkers could soon be packing their bags and heading to Canterbury after its delights were hailed by one of the world’s biggest newspapers.

A review of the city by pilot-come-travel journalist Mark Vanhoenacker - titled 36 Hours in Canterbury, England - has been published by the New York Times.

In it he describes Canterbury as “the small city of prayer, stone and stories”, recounting his fleeting day-and-a-half trip.

First stop is the Westgate Towers, which the author claims offers “the best view in Canterbury”, with a quick cocktail at One Pound Lane adding bite to his visit.

City playwright Christopher Marlowe receives a mention, with the theatre bearing his name described as “one of Britain’s finest regional stages”.

Dinner is served at the Unicorn Inn in St Dunstan’s Street, “one of the friendliest for traditional British pub fare”, but it is the Goods Shed in Station Road West which truly has the author salivating.

“It’s hard to imagine a more pleasurable food emporium than the Goods Shed, an 1830s-era former railway depot now home to a restaurant, farmers’ market and a food hall that’s filled to the rafters with fiercely locavore, reasonably priced delights,” he writes.

Three of the city’s “finest shops” capture the writer’s attention - the Chaucer Bookshop, Vinylstore Jr and vintage clothing store Revivals.

The Refectory Kitchen in St Dunstan’s Street, with its “comforting” hot chocolate, wins plaudits, as does St Peter’s Street cafe Kitch, which “wouldn’t be out of place in the Hamptons”.

There’s a nod to Bollywood Blast dance classes at the Canterbury Academy, and a plea for readers to sample the sounds of nightingales in Blean Woods, “part of one of England’s most beloved ancient woodlands."

The Michelin-starred Sportsman in Seasalter serves up dinner during Mr Vanhoenacker’s short stay, but the pub’s remote position on the coast almost catches him unawares.

“The place was so unassuming that I asked my taxi driver to wait while I confirmed the address,” he writes.

A feast of Whitstable oysters, Dover sole and pork belly is washed down with Master Brew.

Canterbury Roman Museum, St Augustine’s Abbey and the St Martin’s Church tickle the author’s cultural tastebuds, but it’s the city’s most famous landmark which leaves the biggest impression.

“I first saw Canterbury Cathedral from the air, as a student pilot on a flight high above Kent in 2002,” the author recalls.

“The architectural majesty of the worldwide Anglican Communion’s mother church remains as pleasing a landmark as any I’ve seen.”

Canterbury City Council’s tourism department helped Mr Vanhoenacker with his itinerary and advised places to visit.

Its head of business and regeneration, Caroline Hicks, said: “Naturally we are delighted with the piece in the New York Times.

“While it’s not quite money-can’t-buy publicity, this type of international coverage would certainly cost a fortune if you were paying.”