St. Ives, Cornwall, Visitor & Tourism Guide
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AONB: Cornwall
Select Towns & Villages: Botallack, Marazion, St. Just, Sennen, Porthcurno, Mousehole, Penzance, Newlyn, Porthleven, Gweek, Lizard, Coverack, Helford, Falmouth, Newquay, Perranporth
Nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site: Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site
Iconic Cornish town
St Ives is an iconic Cornwall town offering pretty much everything for a short break or longer holiday. There's great food and drink, beaches and sea and, when the sun's out, exceptional light. Throw in the superb coastal walking and culture and it's easy to see why the place gets so crowded. With this in mind, we'd urge you to holiday or weekend break down here out of season. Winter light, in our opinion, is particularly impressive in Cornwall.
Bars, pubs and restaurants are concentrated around St Ives Harbour & Beach and Porthmeor Beach. St Ives is a small place, so these are all within easy strolling distance. As one would expect, there are plenty of shops, too.
St Ives Chapel of St Nicholas offers exceptional views across Porthmeor Beach and back towards St Ives Harbour & Beach. It's a nice way to see the town and St Ives Bay and there's an easy climb to its summit.
Other beaches include St Ives Porthminster Beach and a little further away, around St Ives Bay, are Carbis Bay Beach, Hayle Beach and Gwithian Beach. The bay is marketed as 'one of the world's most beautiful bays'. It's certainly up there with the best we've seen in the UK. We'd recommend horse riding and surfing, walking the coastal path or just enjoying the sand. See our 'Top 10 Recommended Beaches in St Ives' list for further ideas.
Tate St Ives
The town has been attracting artists for decades, most noticeably Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, and this is one of the reasons why Tate St Ives was opened here in the 1990s. Tate St Ives is located behind St Ives Porthmeor Beach and is easy to get to on foot. Visit St Ives Barbara Hepworth Museum and Gardens, too.
Local attractions
The South West Coast Path runs through St Ives heading south along the extraordinary Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site on its way to Sennen Cove Beach and Land's End. We'd recommend Botallack Mine The Crowns Engine Houses and Levant Mine and Beam Engine. East of Land's End are Porthcurno Beach and Minack Theatre. Following the curve of the coast, explore Mousehole Harbour and its beaches. All these attractions are on The Land's End Peninsula (The Penwith Peninsula).
To the north, the path skirts St Ives Bay, said to be one of the most beautiful in the world, to Godrevy Cove and beyond. When we were there in Spring there were plenty of seals sunbathing in the secluded sandy coves.
To the south of St Ives are St Michael's Mount and Mount's Bay.
Day trips
A little further away, we'd suggest a day trip to Helford River and Estuary and Lizard Point, Falmouth Pendennis Castle and Porthleven Harbour and Port. Remember that Cornwall's a small county so it's very easy to travel, say, from the west coast around St Ives to the east coast at Coverack
Heading north east, explore the area around Perranporth and Newquay. The A30 and then A39 lead to the glorious River Camel and Estuary. Visit Padstow and the beaches around Trevose Head.
We'd also strongly recommend a trip to Falmouth and then across the water to St. Mawes. The The Roseland Peninsula, on which St Mawes sits, is beautiful.
Now have a look at our Top 10 Recommendations ...
Top 10 Recommendations
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Local Attractions [See more Attractions]
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Located in St. Ives, Cornwall, South West England, England Less than a mile away. Spend time on holiday or live in South West England and you'll come across Merlin Cinemas. St Ives Cinema is part of this group. We include this cinema on PictureTheUK as a rainy day attraction. Click on the external lin... |
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Located in St. Ives, Cornwall, South West England, England Less than a mile away. Kidz R Us is a theatre in St Ives. It's a short walk from St Ives Harbour & Beach. St Ives Cinema is across the road. Shows are staged at both St Ives Theatre and the dramatically located Minack Theatre. 'Kidz is a regis... |
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Located in St. Ives, Cornwall, South West England, England Less than a mile away. The popular Cornish coastal town of St Ives is named after St Ia. St Ia was blown across the sea from Ireland to St Ives on a leaf. The church that rises from the centre of the town is dedicated to this saint. 'The earli... |
Local Accommodation [See more Accommodation]
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 Less than a mile away. Total Bedrooms: 2; Maximum Occupants: 4; Rates: £379 - £989 Per Week A brand new first floor luxury apartment situated just 5 minutes walk from the gorgeous St Ives harbour and Porthminster beach.... |
© Owner
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Less than a mile away. Total Bedrooms: 2; Maximum Occupants: 4; Rates: £379 - £989 Per Week A brand new luxury ground floor apartment situated just 5 minutes walk from the gorgeous St Ives harbour and Porthminster beach. ... |
© Owner
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Less than a mile away. Total Bedrooms: 2; Maximum Occupants: 4; Rates: £489 - £1,189 Per Week A brand new luxury apartment situated just 5 minutes walk from the gorgeous St Ives harbour and Porthminster beach.... |
