{"id":257328,"date":"2026-01-29T08:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/257328\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T08:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T08:16:09","slug":"my-idea-of-heaven-madonna-reveals-her-love-for-uk-seaside-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/257328\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018My idea of heaven\u2019: Madonna reveals her love for UK seaside town"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 iCTyfe\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p>Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n<p>With its sandy beach, popular market and growing arts scene, more and more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/visitors\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">people <\/a><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/travel\/uk\/best-hotels-margate-kent-uk-b2113960.html\"> have been visiting Margate<\/a> during an impressive revival for the Victorian seaside town \u2013 but its latest tourist has taken it to new fame.<\/p>\n<p>Posting on her Instagram profile to her 20 million followers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/madonna\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Madonna<\/a> shared pictures from her visit to an arts festival in the town last weekend, the second time she has reportedly visited in three months.<\/p>\n<p>Pictured with <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/voices\/tracey-emin-stoma-international-womens-day-b2295887.html\">Turner Prize winner Dame Tracey Emin<\/a>, she praised her friend\u2019s \u201cquite remarkable\u201d residency programme for artists in the community, before providing a glowing review of the town, which has a population of just over 60,000 and is around 80 miles from London.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole town seems to be inhabited and energised by creativity,\u201d she wrote. \u201cWriters and performance artists, photographers, and painters. This is my idea of heaven. Whenever I go there, I feel like I\u2019ve entered a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/travel\/uk\/england\/margate-travel-guide-best-hotels-restaurants-things-to-do-a8964086.html\">Described as<\/a> England\u2019s coolest seaside town, Margate has seen an influx of creatives in recent years, attracted by its thriving arts scene, boutique shops and trendy pubs and cafes. Its biggest attraction is the Dreamland amusement park, which features many traditional rides, including a helter-skelter and a Ferris wheel. <\/p>\n<p>Madonna, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/material-girlnextdoor-1127134.html\">who has homes <\/a>in New York and London, wrote: \u201cI have known Tracey [Emin] for over 25 years and I\u2019ve always been a fan of her extremely personal and provocative work. But what she has created in this community by the sea is quite remarkable.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Madonna.jpeg\"  loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Madonna also said her favourite Italian restaurant was in the town\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/>Madonna also said her favourite Italian restaurant was in the town (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has an artist residency program where she invites young artists from all around the world to come and paint and live for several months, artists who otherwise would have no place to paint and develop their talent and be a part of the many exhibitions that happen around Margate. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been there a few times now and I\u2019m always struck by the commitment and passion of all of these artists. Hungry, possessed, and extremely grateful to have this opportunity. They all have very touching stories to share and honestly it\u2019s so refreshing to witness them working in such a dedicated way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She added that the town also has her favourite Italian restaurant, believed to be Bottega Caruso. When The Independent approached the family-run restaurant, rated 4.7 stars on Google, a staff member said they were unable to comment. The restaurant\u2019s menu features main dishes priced from \u00a319.95. <\/p>\n<p>In her Instagram post, the 67-year-old, behind worldwide hits such as \u201cLike a Prayer\u201d, \u201cVogue\u201d and \u201cMaterial Girl\u201d, wrote: \u201cOn top of all of that [visiting arts in Margate], I get to eat at my favorite Italian restaurant which I\u2019m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone\u2019s going to go there and it only has one table!!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood to share something in the news that is not about hatred and killing but celebrates human connection and the ability that Art has to elevate people. To bring people together.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Madonna kept busy in 2025 with a remix album, Veronica Electronica, as well as the release of Bedtime Stories \u2013 The Untold Chapter, which gave fans a companion collection of remixes and outtakes from her 1994 album Bedtime Stories, Confessions on a Dance Floor.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, Madonna shared her appreciation for Harry Styles earlier this week after he reportedly cited her as an influence for his new song \u201cAperture\u201d. She wrote on her Instagram Story: \u201clove your new song Harry!!!!\u201d and then showed a picture of the singer\u2019s upcoming album Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally with the words \u201cOn Repeat\u2026\u2026\u2026. \u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257329,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,157,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-257328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}