St Ives Archive, the place to visit in Carbis Bay
Of the 12 places to visit in and around Carbis Bay, 7 are museums or galleries. We list one place to visit inside Carbis Bay’s built-up area and 11 within 5 km of its edge. 2009 brought 214K visitors to Tate St Ives. In heritage care, one place on the list is looked after by the National Trust. Allow a day for Truro Cathedral, 31 km off.
Best known, in and near Carbis Bay
The rest of the best known are 2 museums, an art gallery and a fort.
Art galleryTate St Ives1.1 km outside town, to the north · 214K visitors a year (2009)
MuseumBarbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden900 m outside town, to the north
Fort · National TrustTrencrom Hill1.5 km outside town, to the south
MuseumThe Leach Pottery1 km outside town, to the northwest
ZooParadise Park2.5 km outside town, to the southeastEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Map of the places
Furthest from the centre is Zennor Quoit, 5.6 km away.
The dashed line is Carbis Bay’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
By kind
Ahead are museums or galleries (7); next, castles or historic places (3).
Green: inside Carbis Bay. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trencrom Hill).
The complete list
The town has one; within 5 km of its edge, the list finds 11 more.
7The one inside Carbis Bay comes first, then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.
6 listed buildings are on Carbis Bay’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Carbis Bay →
Big names nearby
The 12 days out are led by Truro Cathedral, 31 km away.
CathedralTruro Cathedral31 km east
Castle · English HeritagePendennis Castle31 km east
CastleCarn Brea Castle16 km east
Historic house · National TrustGodolphin Estate10 km southeast
Castle · English HeritageSt Mawes Castle32 km east
Museum · National TrustLevant Mine16 km west
MuseumPenlee House, Gallery & Museum10 km southwest
Garden · National TrustTrengwainton Gardens10 km southwest
FortChûn Castle13 km southwest
MuseumSt Hilary Church, Cornwall7.7 km southeast
Heritage railwayHelston Railway14 km southeastGardenGardenTrebah27 km eastPlaces well known beyond Carbis Bay (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Your questions on Carbis Bay
What are the main attractions in Carbis Bay?
The place to visit inside Carbis Bay’s built-up area is St Ives Archive. In all, 1 place to visit is mapped inside the town, and 11 more within 5 km.
Does Carbis Bay have a museum?
7 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Carbis Bay: St Ives Archive, Tate St Ives, Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden and The Leach Pottery.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Carbis Bay?
Yes. In or within 5 km of Carbis Bay, 1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trencrom Hill).
What are the best-known days out near Carbis Bay?
Within 40 km: Truro Cathedral (31 km), Pendennis Castle (31 km), Carn Brea Castle (16 km), Godolphin Estate (10 km).
Where are Carbis Bay’s historic buildings listed?
Carbis Bay has 6 listed buildings. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.
How is this list made?
From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Carbis Bay when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.
Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (17)
- Tate St Ives: flickr user "Steve Parker", CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden: Sarah Charlesworth, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Trencrom Hill: Crispin Purdye, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Leach Pottery: Jordanhill School D&T Dept, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paradise Park: Chris Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Ives Museum: Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Truro Cathedral: tracey maclean, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pendennis Castle: Darren Shilson, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carn Brea Castle: Bengoeswild, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Godolphin Estate: waterborough, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- St Mawes Castle: Claudiu Bichescu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Levant Mine: John Gibson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Penlee House, Gallery & Museum: Purely Penzance, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Trengwainton Gardens: N p holmes, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chûn Castle: Rod Allday, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Hilary Church, Cornwall: Tony Atkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Helston Railway: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.