St Ives - what to see, do & eat

[whattodoes]

I will be in St Ives in the Summer, any recommendations of what to see, where to eat, etc

Not visited since I was a child so looking forward to it. And yes I know it will be busy & need to book restaurants.

Which St Ives are you going to?

Sorry! Cornwall

The firehouse is nice for a decent steak! Try and book the sea view tables.
I get an amazing vanilla frappe on the seafront it is honestly so good. They also do really good dairy free ice cream.
Blas burgers is also good.
We like porthminster beach but porthgwidden is also a nice beach. Sorry not sure I’ve spelt those correctly !
Might be worth the trek upto tregenna castle for food and the nice grounds and views.
It is so so busy there, you need to just try get through the best you can 😆

For things to do highly recommend these, have a lovely time!

• Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives/barbara-hepworth-museum-and-sculpture-garden A small but perfect gem in the heart of St Ives - beautiful garden with Hepworth’s incredible sculptures, and her house is a small gallery/museum. Not a long activity, 1-2 hours.

• The Tate St Ives - www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-st-ives stunning building right on Porthmeor Beach in St Ives. Need a few hours to do the whole gallery, also great if you have a rainy day! Views over the town and out to sea from the top floor café.

Ideally access to a car (?) for these recommendations, but there’s a tiny train station in St Ives and local buses:

• St Michael’s Mount - stmichaelsmount.co.uk 20-25 minutes drive from St Ives. Need to book tickets in advance to go on the Mount, adult tickets are pricey. Alternatively the vast beach and village opposite the island, called Marazion, are free to enjoy and you can walk the causeway at low tide to the island for free.

• Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens - www.tremenheere.co.uk 20-25 minutes drive from St Ives. Huge, stunning gardens with interesting sculptures, some interactive you can go inside. Superb views out to sea and St Michael’s Mount in the distance. Lovely cafe too. Pick a sunny day!

Ooh, I'm pleased to see this thread, we are going there very soon as well, and also looking for suggestions. We're visiting the Eden Project on one day, but the rest of the time we will be in the St Ives locality.

Thanks @theclampits & @Pomegranate500

We will have dc with us (primary age) too.

The minack theatre if you have a car is absolutely beautiful, with a lovely beach on the left. While we were there, there was a rehearsal for the next play. I loved it

@efeslight thank you

Jubilee Pool in Penzance - Art Deco Lido. Great on a sunny day. Also has a geothermal pool (book ahead). Cafe, drinks, icream.
Mousehole village - lovely harbour, safe sand, food, icecreams.
Perranuthnoe beach - fab clean safe beach (will be quieter than St Ives). Fabulous cafe, eat outside, look over the beach.
All close to St Ives. If you are eating in St Ives in the evening eat early or book ahead very busy in the summer.

Paradise park is brilliant for children!

Another vote for The Tate - they usually have stuff on for kids in the holidays too.

Yellow Canary Cafe for the best coffee and pastries. Nice for lunch too.

Silco bar and kitchen was nice for a drink and a few small plates with beautiful views. The crab fries and dark stormy rum cocktail were a highlight.

Firehouse was so nice we ate there twice.

Hub , a chain place, was relaxed, lots of families eating there straight off the beach. Food was decent.

DC were made very welcome everywhere.

Fruit picking Trevaskis farm was good fun. Didn’t rate the rest/cafe but the fruit was great and the farm shop worth a look.

St Michael’s Mount was excellent, free with a national trust pass except for the boat out or back depending on the tide.