A guide for all your favourite places to visit in Cornwall

Welcome to our 'Explore Cornwall' page - These sections are packed with helpful information for all those visiting Cornwall, if you are looking to find the best restaurants and popular things to do in Cornwall you've come to the right place! We give each location its very own page that includes a list of the best spots to eat & drink in that area, the top attractions & things to do, a suggestion on if you only have time to do one thing, and what that destination is most famous for. Keep an eye on this page as we are always updating information and adding new amazing locations to our guide to Cornwall. Scroll down to find our recommendations for the top 10 things to do in Cornwall for 2023 below!

Discover all the top things to do in Cornwall - Pick a Cornish destination below to get started!

St Ives

Penzance

Newlyn

Mousehole

Marazion

Praa Sands

Hayle

Sennen

St Just

Lands End

Porthcurno

Perranporth

Porthleven

Falmouth

Newquay

Lizard

The best restaurants in Cornwall

The coastal towns are loved for their fresh, local and sustainable seafood, which means some of the top seafood restaurants in the UK are located right here in Cornwall, like Mackerel sky & Porthminster Beach Cafe  But its not all just about seafood here, theres something to suit anyones taste with everything from the popular street food kitchen FeedandFed to award winning fine dining at the Ugly Butterfly. Looking for something special? Check out our 30 best restaurants in Cornwall.

What is Cornwall famous for?

Cornwall is famous for many things, world class beaches, rugged coastlines and of course delicious pasties. These are of course all loved by many but there is so much more to discover about the history of Cornwall and what else it's famous for. This county is rich in mining history, which is believed to have began in the early Bronze age approximately 2150 BC with the main materials mined being tin and copper, you can still find many abandoned engine houses and mining buildings spread around Cornwall today. There are many fishing harbours dotted along the coast of Cornwall, the biggest and busiest of them is the Newlyn harbour which is actually one of the largest working harbours in the UK. Unfortunately having more than 400 miles of coastline once brought some unwanted visitors... real life pirates! The most famous pirate from Cornwall was called Blackbeard and tormented the seas during the 18th century. On a lighter note nowadays the Cornish coastline is mainly used for relaxing or surfing, with tourism being huge business in this area there is so many amazing things to do in Cornwall, check out our top 10 things to do in Cornwall lower down on this page! Many parts of Cornwall are known for world class waves which brings global attention and many surfing competitions are held here such as Boardmasters and the English national surfing championships.

The Top 10 Things To Do In Cornwall For 2023

Here is a quick top 10 list of things to do in Cornwall for 2023, be sure to scroll down to find out more information and see pictures of all the attractions!
​1. The Minack - open air Theatre
2. Pick an Art gallery - Theres many to choose from!
3. St Michaels Mount - Castle on an island in Mounts Bay
4. Porthcurno Beach - Tropical oasis
5. South West Coastal path
6. Surf the Cornish waves
7. Eden Project - Sub-tropical gardens
8. Wheal Coates - Engine House ruins
9. Explore St Ives Town
​10. Tintagel Castle - Medieval landmark in North Cornwall

BONUS - Try wild swimming in Cornwall

1. The Minack - Famous Cornish Theatre

This atmospheric theatre is actually carved into the cliff side with vast views across the Atlantic Ocean and Porthcurno beach. The theatre was mainly built using hand tools and determination from its owner 'Rowena Cade' along with her friends and helpers! It still operates to this day and there are often great shows and tours available in the summer months, they cover the history of Cornwall and how this amazing theatre became known as a famous landmark in Cornwall.
www.minack.com

2. Visit some amazing art galleries in Cornwall

You may not have time to visit them all, but most towns in Cornwall have multiple art galleries you can wonder around with no admission fees, take St Ives for example there is 37 art galleries in this small coastal town alone. They include the hugely popular 'Tate' and smaller independent galleries like the Penwith gallery pictured below.
www.penwithgallery.com

3. St Michaels Mount - Learn the history of this Cornish landmark

A fairytale medieval castle built on an island with its entrance pathway hidden by rising tides! Once the tides are in the only way to get to and from the St Michaels Mount is by boat, the castles is located in Mounts bay and looks out to the Atlantic sea and back to Marazion beach. Theres a great gift shop and restaurant so you can spend the whole day exploring the castle... one of the most amazing things to do in Cornwall!
​www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk

4. Porthcurno - One of the best beaches in Cornwall

Voted in many online publications including Trip-advisor as one of the best beaches in cornwall, Porthcurno. A tropical looking oasis of turquoise waters and golden sandy beach which is accessed by a steps and a gentle sloping path leading down from a large carpark. Looking up from the beach to the right hand side you will see the famous Minack theatre within the granite cliff side.
Tom from Tripadvisor says:
​I went to Porthcurno having read the reviews here thinking "Ok it can't be that crystal clear" or "the sand can't be that perfect". But I was very much proven wrong, the golden sand beach stretches into the crystal clear water giving you an amazing beach experience.
When searching for things to do in Cornwall, Porthcurno beach is a must visit!

5. South West coastal path - 300+ miles of wild scenery

The South West coastal path is the UK's longest trail at 630 miles and is much loved for its vast ocean views, within the Cornish boarders there are over 300 miles of coast path with varying walking difficulty, some areas can be steep and rocky so its best to plan your route before you start your trip, luckily there is an easy to use map of the whole coast path with difficulty ratings for each section on the south west coast path website below. This is a charity run organisation with many ways of supporting them including making donations and fund raising.
​www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk

6. Surf Cornwall - Surf some of Cornwalls 300 beaches

Cornwall is a surfing hot spot not only in the UK but also Europe, and is known around the world for having many beaches with great waves. Always pick a beach with lifeguards on watch as the Cornish riptides can be strong and dangerous! If you only have time for a short list of things to do in Cornwall then get out there in the fresh sea air and give surfing a go! There are many well established surf schools for beginners to get started with, one of the biggest and most popular surfing spots in Cornwall is Fistral beach - Newquay where you will find 'Escape surf school' which is the longest running surf school in the UK.
www.escapesurfschool.co.uk

7. Eden Project - Visit sub-tropical gardens in Cornwall

If you love amazing architecture, stunning landscaping and interesting plant & trees then the Eden Project will make a great day out for you! Its one of the biggest and most visited attractions in Cornwall and is located near St Austell. With two huge Bio-domes there plenty to explore, experience the sights, scents and scenery from the Mediterranean, Western Australia, California and South Africa! You can also fly on a zip wire, go ice skating and wonder through there biggest rainforest in captivity!
​www.edenproject.com

8. Look back in time - Engine House Wheal Coates

Number 8 on our list of the top 10 things to do in Cornwall is Wheal Coates! Take in the dramatic history of Cornwall by visiting Wheal Coates engine house, it is still standing strong today on the granite cliff side near St Agnes on the North coast of Cornwall. The top of the site is easily accessed from a carpark, however paths down to the ruins do get steep and rocky in parts. One of Cornwall’s more popular landmarks and most photographed tin mining sites and it’s easy to see why with its incredible cliff top coastal views! An atmospheric landscape that must be explored when in this area of Cornwall.

9. Explore St Ives town

​We love beautiful St Ives 😍 Walk the cobbled streets, browse the vast array of shops and galleries, and eat at fantastic local restaurants and cafes. If you're in luck and the sun is shining - Take yourselves down to one of the 5 stunning beaches, get your toes in the sand and soak up the coastal scenery and fresh sea air. If you want some more reasons to visit this popular coastal town then we have a blog on 5 reasons to visit St Ives!

10. Learn the history of a Cornish castle - Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle is a medieval site rich in Cornish history, it is located in North Cornwall set among the dramatic clifftops and rugged Cornish landscape. Most famous for being the birthplace of King Arthur the legendary leader of the knights of the round table! Tintagel Castle has many tales and legends surrounding it, to find out all of the stories and fact why not book a tour with English Heritage!
www.english-heritage.org.uk

The best beaches in Cornwall

Did you know that Cornwall has over 300 beaches!? It also has the longest coastline out of all the counties in the UK, in fact theres over 400 miles of golden sands, pebbled bays and secret coves. Many great surf spots are dotted along the coast of Cornwall, the surfing conditions change drastically throughout cornwalls surfing hot spots and can suit beginners, professionals and big wave surfers, only the brave and slightly crazy surf Cornwalls biggest! Monstrous waves have been known to reach over 40ft (12m) at the well known 'Cribbar Reef' located in Newquay and this spot is absolutely not for the faint hearted or inexperienced! Cornwall is lucky to have many Blue flag beaches, which is an award given to amazing beaches that met strict criteria and standards, they must be extremely clean, sustainable, have good accessibility and safety measures in place to protect all beach users.

The top 5 blue flag beaches in Cornwall you must visit:

1. Portmeor - St Ives.   View on map
2. Gyllyngvase - Falmouth.   View on map
3. Trevone Bay - Padstow.  View on map
4. Carbis Bay - St Ives​.   View on map
5. Widemouth Bay - Bude.  View on map
​
Watch the video below to see 10 stunning Cornwall beaches and find out some helpful information about them!

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