Penzance

Nestled in a corner of glorious Mount’s Bay, our town has long been a hidden gem for well-informed travellers. Visit Penzance and you’ll encounter all the salt-flecked history you’ll expect from its famous name – the piratey cobbled alleyways, the bobbing boats and dockside taverns – along with a vibrant local scene.

At last you’ll feel like you’ve discovered authentic Cornwall.

Plot a course along the mid-eighteenth century Chapel Street, exploring independent antiques and art shops as you go. Admire the pleasingly flamboyant Grade-I listed Egyptian House, a rare example of Egyptian Revival architecture from the 1830s which sticks out like an ornate sore thumb amid the brickwork.

The iconic art deco Jubilee Lido is the largest seawater pool in the UK, and was opened in 1935, the year of King George V’s Silver Jubilee. Community-run and community-owned since 2017, it boasts a vast but chilly main pool, a learners’ pool, and a thermally heated smaller pool. Perhaps you’ll have time for a dip?

Penzance promenade stretches the seafront between The Jubilee Pool and Newlyn and is an idyllic place to stroll, roller skate, jog or just sit and people watch. Dating back to the 1800’s the Promenade gives breath taking views of Mounts Bay and Newlyn. There are occasions when it rains in Cornwall and Irish painter Norman Garstin captured such a day in his painting “The Rain it Raineth Every Day” which was to become an iconic painting of Penzance in 1889 – capturing the grandeur, splendour and light of the Victorian Promenade, come rain or shine. That very same painting now resides in Penlee Gallery at Penlee House a few hundred metres from its Promenade inspiration. Penlee Gallery houses an impressive art collection with works by members of the famous Newlyn School.

Continuing along the promenade towards Newlyn we reach the Newlyn Art Gallery. For more than 125 years, the gallery has been bringing the best in contemporary art to audiences in the South West. In 2007 the gallery was redeveloped and they opened a second venue, The Exchange, in Penzance.

Passengers can join a shore excursion to many of the nearby attractions including St Michaels Mount, the Minack Theatre, Lands End and St Ives. Penzance has created fortunes, weathered storms and inspired groundbreaking ideas and looks forward to welcoming you.