10 Most Beautiful Places in Cornwall (And How to Bring Them Home)
Cornwall is one of those places that gets under your skin. The light is different here — golden and Atlantic-wild, bouncing off turquoise water and whitewashed cottages in a way that stays with you long after you've left.
Whether you've been a hundred times or you're still dreaming of your first visit, here are the ten most beautiful places in Cornwall that deserve a place on your walls as much as your bucket list.
1. St Ives
There's a reason St Ives is the most painted town in Britain. Turquoise water, golden sand, narrow cobbled streets and whitewashed cottages tumbling down to the harbour — it's almost impossibly beautiful. Visit at golden hour and you'll understand why artists have been coming here for over a century.
2. Mousehole
Pronounced "Mow-zul" by the locals, Mousehole is the kind of village that doesn't feel real. Ancient granite walls, a perfectly sheltered harbour, colourful boats and cottages that glow gold in the evening light. It's tiny, it's timeless and it's utterly unforgettable.
3. Fistral Beach
Cornwall's most famous surf beach is a completely different kind of beautiful — wild, powerful and endlessly dramatic. Stand on the clifftop above Fistral on a big Atlantic swell day and you'll feel it in your chest. The perfect place to park a VW camper and watch the world go by.
4. Port Isaac
Known to millions as the setting for Doc Martin, Port Isaac is one of Cornwall's most charming and unspoiled fishing villages. Narrow winding streets, stone cottages and colourful boats bobbing in the cove — it looks exactly as it did a hundred years ago.
5. Padstow
Rick Stein put Padstow on the map but the town was beautiful long before the seafood restaurants arrived. A working harbour, lobster pots on the quayside and whitewashed cottages climbing the hillside — Padstow is Cornwall at its most charming.
6. Penzance
The most westerly town in England, Penzance has a wildness to it that the more touristy Cornish towns don't. Cobbled streets, subtropical gardens and the extraordinary sight of St Michael's Mount rising from the bay — Penzance is unlike anywhere else.
7. Newquay
Beyond the stag dos and the surf schools, Newquay has some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in Britain. Golden cliffs, powerful Atlantic waves and sunsets that seem to go on forever. Fistral Beach alone is worth the journey.
8. Fowey
The Fowey estuary is one of Cornwall's best kept secrets. Pastel painted houses tumbling down to sparkling water, tall ships and a harbour so beautiful it inspired Daphne du Maurier. If you haven't been — go.
9. Polperro
A hidden cove, a winding stream running through the village and whitewashed cottages so perfectly picturesque they look painted. Polperro is the kind of place that stops you in your tracks.
10. St Mawes
Sitting on the Roseland Peninsula across the water from Falmouth, St Mawes is Cornwall's best kept secret. Bobbing boats, turquoise water, a pretty Tudor castle and views across the Carrick Roads that take your breath away.
Bring Cornwall Home
Can't get enough of Cornwall? Our watercolour print collection captures the most beautiful Cornish destinations — from St Ives and Mousehole to Fistral Beach and Port Isaac. Each print is made to order on premium fine art paper with free UK shipping.