St Ives is a charming town in the South West of the UK, and it is one of the most popular destinations in Cornwall. It is surrounded by beautiful beaches and has a lot of narrow cobbled streets sprinkled with cute independent shops. Most of all, it has this coastal-town vibe that makes it an exceptional place with many things to do.
Top Things to Do in St Ives
Go to the beach
One couldn’t talk about St Ives without mentioning its beaches, as the town is almost surrounded by them. The biggest and most popular one, Porthmeor Beach, is located right in front of the Tate St Ives museum, and is great for surfing and swimming – if you don’t mind cold-ish water.
On the other side of the town, the beautiful and large Porthminster Beach hosts every year in May the St Ives Food and Drink Festival, a wonderful way to welcome the warmer days with great music and delicious food.
Note: there won’t be a 2024 edition of the Food and Drink Festival. Next one will be in May 2025.
Another one that I want to mention is Harbour Beach, as it is a harbour during high tide, and a beach during low tide. It is particularly nice at this time as all the boats rest on the sand instead of floating.
Still in the mood for a stroll by the beach?
Check out Carbis Bay, located within 10 minutes of St Ives. There is a beautiful beach and the path taking you there offers a stunning view of the surroundings. The beach is really big and will be way less crowded than those in St Ives.
Walk around its cobbled streets
While visiting St Ives, the best thing to do in my opinion is to get lost in its streets and explore the town by foot.
From The Malakoff bus stop you get a stunning view over the town, and you can then walk down to the Down-a-long, the lower part of town with typical whitewashed Cornish cottages.
From there, head over to Fore Street, the main street in the centre of St Ives, where you’ll find many independent shops, pubs and bakeries. It is filled with the nice smell of warm Cornish pasties and fudge, with a warm atmosphere and fresh sea breeze.
Once you reach the harbour, just walk along it and, when going towards Porthmeor beach, take the opportunity to go up the narrow winding streets. You’ll also find plenty of small cottages and some hidden gems too!
Go shopping
The centre of St Ives is filled with beautiful shops, going from famous brands to small independent shops that sell products made by local artists. They are perfect to buy a souvenir or support local artists.
Most of these shops are located along or around Fore Street, but you’ll also find other scattered around town.
Eat all the Cornish delicacies
There are many delicacies that you should absolutely try when you visit St Ives and Cornwall in general. Here’s what I would personally recommend:
- Cornish pasty
Perfect for a lunch on-the-go or a light dinner, you’ll find Cornish pasties pretty much everywhere. Cornish pasties are half-circle-shaped pastries filled with beef, potatoes, onions and turnips, that were traditionally eaten by miners and farm workers.
You can now find plenty of different flavours in bakeries all around Cornwall. When you are in St Ives, I’d recommend at least stopping by the Pengenna Pasties shop to watch the bakers preparing pasties at the window, and maybe trying one too!
- Cornish ice cream
What sets apart Cornish ice cream from the usual ice cream you can find anywhere is the use of clotted cream in the recipe, giving it a fantastic velvety texture. While you are walking around the streets of St Ives, stop by one of the ice cream parlors around the harbour and you will not be disappointed! One of the best is Moomaid of Zennor.
- Cornish cream tea
A Cornish cream tea simply consists in freshly baked scones topped with jam and delicious Cornish clotted cream, enjoyed with a pot of tea.
The best cream teas I’ve had in Cornwall were from the Olive’s Café in St Ives. This little gem is hidden away in a tiny square but serves terrific home-made scones and the staff is lovely.
- Fudge
Cornish clotted cream is again used in a delicious way in the traditional Cornish fudge. This super-sweet candy is also a must-try, especially if you have a sweet tooth like I do.
When walking along St Ives’ Fore Street, you’ll notice the sweet smell of fudge coming from Roly’s, a family-run shop that sells delicious and crumbly fudge. Another famous fudge shop is The Cornish Candy Shoppe selling all kinds of sweets, including soft and creamy fudge.
Visit art galleries and museums
During the 20th century, many artists came to St Ives on holiday or moved there, and in 1938 the St Ives School of Painting opened. As a consequence, St Ives has many great art galleries and museums.
The most famous museum in St Ives is probably Tate St Ives, a branch of the Tate museum that exhibits works from artist with a close link to St Ives and Cornwall in general. The building’s architecture is very interesting and you get a fantastic view of Porthmeor Beach, right in front of it.
Another great museum to visit is the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, where you can immerse yourself in the artist’s work by walking around the gardens and studio.
The Leach Pottery art studio and gallery is also worth the visit, founded by two influential pottery artists of the 20th century.
Go on a boat tour
There are plenty of boat tour possibilities in St Ives, wether you want to go fishing, go on a sea safari, see seals or wildlife in general, or just enjoy a nice boat trip that offers beautiful views over the Cornish coastline.
Some of the most popular destinations for boat trips are Seal Island and the Godrevy Lighthouse, and on any boat trip you might encounter seals, dolphins and marine birds.
For a more comprehensive overview of the boat tour possibilities in St Ives, I highly recommend this post by the Cornish Compass!
Walk to St Ives island
St Ives island is not really an island but a peninsula, located between the harbour and Porthmeor Beach. It offers spectacular views of St Ives and the Godrevy Lighthouse, and is apparently a perfect spot to go bird watching!
Go surfing
Cornwall in general but also St Ives is a great spot to surf, and Porthemor beach is also one of the only spots were you can safely surf in winter too. If you feel like it, why not book a surfing class or hire a board from the St Ives Surf School?
Explore around St Ives
If you have more time on your hands or want to explore the area around St Ives, here are my recommendations:
- take the St Ives railway to St Erth and enjoy a scenic train ride
- explore Carbis Bay and its beautiful beach
- check out the Godrevy Lighthouse (on a boat tour)
- go on a one day road trip in West Cornwall
St Ives, Cornwall –
Useful information
How to reach St Ives, Cornwall?
By car: the preferred option to explore West Cornwall. You might have to pair it with another mean of transport depending on where you come from.
By train: taking a train from London Paddington to St Erth (around 6 hours), you can then reach St ives by taking the train from St Ert to St Ives.
By plane: the Newquay airport is the closest one to St Ives, then you’ll need to take a bus or rent a car to go to St Ives.
By bus: depending on where you come from, you’ll have many options and usually you’ll arrive to The Malakoff bus stop in St Ives.
A road trip for international travelers…
West Cornwall and St Ives are not an easy destination to reach for international travelers, but an trip idea could be: spending a few days or a week in London, then renting a car and going to St Ives stopping in Oxford, Bath and other beautiful Cornish towns (Tintagel, Boscastle, Falmouth, Truro, etc.)
How long should you stay in St Ives?
- If you plan on staying only in St Ives: 2 days is the perfect amount of time to explore the town and enjoy its coastal atmosphere.
- If you plan on exploring the surrounding area too (recommended): 4 days to a full week are perfect to explore West Cornwall and make the most of its cute towns, beautiful beaches and fantastic hiking opportunities.
Do you need a car to visit St Ives?
You don’t need a car to go around St Ives, but if you want to explore the area (which I recommend), a car will save you lots of time and will allow you to see many more towns, beaches and viewpoints than the local buses will.
