St Ives

St Ives is famed for its world-class beaches, but there’s more to the town than just this. Narrow alleyways and cobbled lanes, amidst the tightly packed granite cottages and houses eventually bring you out into a harbour which was once a major fishing centre in medieval times, while the locally mined tin was also exported from here. The construction of the railways towards the end of the 19th century brought tourists to the region and also included a number of artists who wanted to paint the beautiful scenes they saw, so art has shaped much of the culture in St. Ives, which has a number of galleries, as well as craft shops. In nearby Penzance, there are a number of interesting buildings such as the exotic Egyptian House formed from two 1830s cottages on Chapel Street.