The 10 Best Things to Do in Penzance, United Kingdom (UK)

This open-air theatre is dramatically situated on the cliffs at Porthcumo, near Land's End, and hosts a season of plays and musicals from May to September.

Penlee House Gallery & Museum is the only Cornish venue specialising in the Newlyn School and early St Ives artists (c.1880 - c.1940). This popular museum and art gallery is set in a building that was originally a Victorian family home, surrounded by a delightful sub-tropical park formed from the original garden. Changing Exhibitions throughout the year celebrate the rich artistic heritage of West Cornwall.Winner of the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2011-12 and of the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2009, 2010 and 2011 as Small Visitor Attraction of the Year. Open Monday to Saturday (Closed Sundays) throughout the year, including most Bank Holidays (closed Christmas and New Year), opening hours are 10am - 5pm during the summer (Easter to September) and 10.30 to 4.30 in the winter, with last admission half an hour before closing.

Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens is a major attraction in West Cornwall. In a beautiful sheltered valley, the woods, stream and dramatic vistas provide a perfect setting for large-scale exotic and sub-tropical planting. Interwoven with this there is also an evolving programme of contemporary artwork. The very favoured micro climate of kindly winter temperatures and shelter from the wind allow exotic and half - hardy plants to flourish. The planting schemes are appropriate to the varying individual habitats but carry a unifying theme of sculptural forms, textures and colours, complementing what nature has already provided. Dramatic landscape and planting provide the backdrop to contemplative but inspirational artworks. Internationally renowned artists such as James Turrell, David Nash, Richard Long and Tim Shaw have interacted with the setting to create site-specific permanent work, which harmonise with the landscape.

Cornwall's No 1 picnic garden, 9 acres woodland and ponds A magical place for all ages Open 10am until 8pm every day (Easter until October) Adults £5.00 Children over 5 years £2.00 Dogs welcome on leads.

An easy 2.1 mile walk along the South West Coast Path from Penzance that gives great views across Mounts Bay to St Michael's Mount, the Lizard and Mousehole. In autumn, the Bird Reserve at Marazion attracts rare migrants such as bitterns and water rails. The flocks of swallows hunting flying ants sometimes draw the attention of a passing hobby, an unusual bird of prey.

Morrab Gardens is a public park, with luxuriant sub-tropical planting established over many years, in the centre of Penzance. The quality of a public space gives a strong impression of an area. It is part of what gives a town its identity, and local residents a sense of civic pride. By the late nineteenth century, Penzance had become a popular seaside resort and required a park for visitors’ recreation. To this end, Penzance Corporation acquired Morrab House, along with its grounds, in 1888 for £3,120. The villa was leased by Penzance Private Library and the Gardens were designed and set out to the scheme of paths and borders which can be seen to this day. When the Gardens were established, in the 1880s, unlike today there were no nurseries selling exotic plants, the original planting was the result of gifts from local estates.

One of England's best-preserved and complete ancient stone circles consisting of 19 granite stones that form a perfect circle nearly 78 feet in diameter.