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St Ives

If there was a prize for the prettiest of Cornish ports, then St Ives would undoubtedly be a contender for the top spot. A tightly packed cluster of slate roofs, fishers' cottages and church towers spread out around turquoise bays – it's an unfailingly dazzling sight. Once a busy pilchard harbour, St Ives later became the centre of Cornwall's arts scene in the 1920s and '30s, when luminary figures such as Barbara Hepworth, Terry Frost, Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo migrated here in search of artistic freedom.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions

Tate St Ives
St Ives
After an 18-month, multimillion-pound refit, St Ives' most illustrious gallery reopened its doors, complete with a monumental exhibition space that's been…
Leach Pottery
St Ives
While other St Ives artists broke new ground in sculpture and abstract art, potter Bernard Leach was hard at work reinventing British ceramics in his…
Barbara Hepworth Museum
St Ives
Barbara Hepworth (1903–75) was one of the leading abstract sculptors of the 20th century and a key figure in the St Ives art scene. Her studio on Barnoon…
St Ives Society of Artists
St Ives
One of the town's oldest and most influential art collectives, founded in 1929, this gallery is housed inside a converted church on Norway Sq, with a…
Porthgwidden Beach
St Ives
Tucked under the grassy headland known as the Island is the little cove of Porthgwidden, a pleasant picnic spot and a handy paddling spot for the little …
Porthmeor Beach
St Ives
Stretched out beneath Tate St Ives is the sandy beach of Porthmeor, a good choice for swimmers and novice surfers thanks to its gentle swells. There's a…
Porthminster Beach
St Ives
The most impressive of the town beaches, with an attractive arc of soft golden sand that's usually sheltered from the wind by the cliffs. It inevitably…
Chapel of St Nicholas
St Ives
On the grassy promontory known as the Island, between Porthmeor and Porthminster, is the tiny pre-14th-century Chapel of St Nicholas, patron saint of…