Top tips

Image by Roman Grac from Pixabay

• Cornwall is the closest the UK gets to a riviera. It has beautiful beaches and bucket-and-space seaside towns, but also artistically inclined communes, rugged coastlines and wild moorland. All these things add to a memorable, and popular, holiday destination. There’s a range of accommodation just as broad as Cornwall’s appeal — everything from five-star spa hotels to cosy B&Bs. Art lovers may recognise the beaches of St. Ives, which is where you can visit an outpost of the Tate gallery and the Barbara Hepworth gallery; history lovers may prefer picturesque St. Mawes; Rock and Padstow are beloved by foodies, and great for families; Falmouth, Newquay and Fowey are loved by sailors; Mousehole and Marazion are on the farthest tip; and Bude has fantastic surfing conditions. In fact, many of Cornwall’s beautiful beaches have great surfing conditions, as well as incredible views, seafood, and real Cornish history and charm.  

Our Guide to the Towns of Cornwall 

Map of Cornwall's towns, via Cornwall Calling

St. Ives

Image by Klaus Stebani from Pixabay

St. Ives is spectacular: arranged across two sandy bays, with green hills behind, and bright blue water in front. It’s easy to see why this fishing village attracted artists; the light and colours here are bright, and this very pretty village, with its warren of white stone cottages and lichen-dotted slate roofs, gradually became artistic as well. Now it’s firmly an arty town. Don’t let yourselves get too distracted by the beaches (Porthmeor Porthwidden and Porthminster), to skip the Tate and the Barbara Hepworth gallery or vice versa.  St Ives is also a place to shop and eat out, and to go out in the summer months with plenty of independent, chi-chi boutiques. There’s a wide range of accommodation here too — lots converted from fishermen’s cottages around the harbour. Opt to stay around Carbis Bay, or slightly out of town if you’re looking for a quieter base.  

Padstow

Image by Graham Hobster from Pixabay

Who knows if picturesque Padstow would be quite what it has become without the delicious influence of Rick Stein?  What was once a picturesque fishing village on the Camel Estuary has become a chic foodie destination, with boutique and luxury hotels, and boutique shopping too. Luckily there are still pasty shops, and ice cream parlours, a couple of pubs with lashings of Cornish charm, and Rick Stein's excellent take-away establishment in the fishing harbour. There are strings of pretty, sandy beaches on both sides of the estuary, and the ferry across to Rock takes around five minutes. This is a wonderful place to walk, look, photograph and taste.  

Rock

By Flickr user Matt

Directly across the estuary from Padstow, with a great view of that pretty town rising out of its harbour and up green hills, Rock is laid out quite differently to its neighbour — along the water’s edge, long and relatively sparse. Rock isn’t your classic Cornish fisherman’s village with cottages pilled on top of each other, the properties here are spread out. It is a popular spot for foodies, of course, but it’s also great for surfers, windsurfers, walkers, and anyone looking for a relaxing spot with a reviving sea view.  Rock doesn’t have the compact centre of some Cornish towns and villages, but if you explore its main road you will come upon a number of great cafes and delis, and there are some fun pubs too.

Bude 

By Matt Prosser, CC BY-SA 3.0

Bude Sea Pool is a local landmark, cut into the headland, and certainly a great place for a dip if the tide is against you, which it can be here. The tidal range might not be more than a couple of meters in depth, but the shallow sandy beaches of Bude are quickly and dramatically swallowed up, leaving rocky outcrops, sand dunes and the Bude Sea Pool. Walking along the wide, sandy beaches of Bude is a wonderful way to spend time, and there’s an equally picturesque route across the clifftops if you don’t make it back before the tide turns. Bude town is functional, with not as much traditional Cornish charm as other local fishing villages, but it’s got a great toy shop, lots of surf shops and outdoor shops, and some nice souvenir shops too. If you haven't tried surfing, Bude may well be the place to give it a go. There’s a golf course for those willing to fight the wind, and Bude has a castle and a canal.The town is a very pleasant drive from Tintagel and picturesque Port Isaac.

Bodmin

Image by Richard Norris from Pixabay

Bodmin might not feel as if it’s an obvious Cornish holiday destination, but we thought it was worth including because it’s such a unique destination, and proof that there are all sorts of strings to Cornwall’s bow. And, being in the centre of the county, it’s a short drive from Bodmin to the beach. On a clear day, you can climb one of the national park’s great granite tors and see the sea, possibly in both directions, because Bodmin is between Padstow on one coast and Fowey on the other.  Bodmin Moor is an unusual, atmospheric and dramatic landscape, low hills that build on each other, and peak with granite boulders, tufted with grasses and windswept gorse, and home to wild moor ponies and farmed sheep. Bodmin used to be Cornwall’s county town, and its once famously remote jail has been converted into one of the swankiest hotels in the region.  

St Mawes

By Flickr user Tim Green

St Mawes has remained a relatively peaceful town, despite appearing in several episodes of Poldark, and having a number of excellent restaurants. These elements are still outweighed by the working seafaring community, and harbour full of genuine fishing vessels. So this is a good pick if you’re searching for a ‘proper’ Cornish experience. St Mawes also has two very nice, family-friendly beaches, and a welcoming sailing club and tennis club.   

Falmouth

Image from Pixabay

Famous naval town and port, Falmouth is both beautifully and strategically located, right on the mouth of the Fal, closest port to the English Channel. Falmouth still has a very fine collection of ships in its harbour, there are navel vessels of all shapes and sizes, super yachts, fishing trawlers, and the ferries going to and from between Falmouth and St. Mawes. Behind the harbour, there’s a big, friendly high street, with galleries, boutiques, bookshops and outdoor outfitters — as well as some big-name high street brands and plenty of bakeries specialising in Cornish pasties.  Falmouth has some great pubs too, some of them have rooms as well, and there’s the odd restaurant with rooms too.  Its most famous site is arguably the excellent National Maritime Museum. The sheltered harbour and river are ideal for paddleboarding, and you don’t have to go far to find a great beach.

Newquay

Image by InspiredImages from Pixabay

Newquay famously has seven white, sandy beaches, all of them swept by the Atlantic, some of them so impressively that this has become one of Cornwall’s best known destinations for surfers. Newquay is great for learning to surf and surfing infrastructure too. The beaches still draw families, with around 12 miles of sand divided around the town, with fun rocky sections. There's also a zoo, aquarium, miniature railway, mini golf course and playground. Plus a local theme park, and a number of National Trust properties. Newquay has been popular holiday destination since the 1850s, when it became known as the perfect place for a family seaside getaway. A number of Newquay’s hotels were built at this time, and whilst these are ideal for anyone looking for a traditional bucket-and-spade holiday, you will also find some more romantic hotels now, as well as aparthotels and family-friendly picks.  

Penzance

By Flickr user Richard Szwejkowski

Penzance is on the western side of Mount’s Bay, overlooking dramatic St. Michael’s Mount, and just around the corner from pretty Mousehole. It is the ferry port to the Scilly Isles, and still a working fishing port, so it’s not all cream teas and art galleries. But there are some galleries and tea shops, especially around Chapel Street. Penzance was a major centre for the Newlyn School of painters, so art is very important here. The Victorian promenade is the obvious place to start your explorations. It will lead you to the Jubilee Pool (the UK’s largest heated lido), and the Morrab Gardens, a tropical oasis. Penzance has plenty of offer in the way of beaches, and it’s a stop on the South West Coast Path — the leg between St. Ives and Penzance is one of the most beautiful but challenging. 

Marazion

Image by joakant from Pixabay

Marazion is just around the headlands from Penzance, and also benefits from views of St. Michael’s Mount and Mount’s Bay. There are many sandy beaches in the area, and the bay has great rock pooling opportunities as well. Marazion is also close to the RSPB reserve, so it’s a more outdoorsy choice. And of course you’re close to St. Ives, the Eden Project, Lizard Peninsula, and Land’s End.  As with so many of these Cornish villages there’s an arty atmosphere to Marazion, and a healthy collection of galleries, cafes and pubs. Smaller than many of its neighbours, there is a limited choice of places to stay.

Mousehole

By Flickr user Sykes Cottages

The pronunciation of Mousehole is always part of any opening conversation: it’s ‘mou-sle’, however much we all want it to be ‘mouse hole’.  The pronunciation may be the only disappointment Mousehole has in store for you, though, because this little Cornish beauty comes complete with white fisherman’s cottages, cobbled streets, local artist’s galleries and studios, great pubs, and a sea view that includes bobbing boats. For many years Mousehole was Conway’s busiest pilchard port, which gives it a foodie air, though tourism is gradually taking over, which means there’s more choice when it comes to accommodation and places to eat and drink, a foodie focus, and more boutiques  

Fowey

Image by Sabine Buchenau from Pixabay

Fowey is a lovely option on the ‘other’ side of Cornwall, at the mouth of the Fowey estuary, surrounding a calm and very pretty bay.  The town is spread along the waterfront and up the gentle hills — creating plenty of opportunity for accommodation with a view.  Its centre has the requisite boutiques and galleries, cafes, bars and restaurants.  And there’s an aquarium!  Fowey also has a 15th century church, a ruined castle, and a clay museum.  And of course it’s close to some idyllic beaches, including Polkerris, which is known for its windsurfing, sailing and paddleboarding. Romantic and friendly!