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Penlee House, Gallery & Museum
Attractions in Penzance

Penlee House, Gallery & Museum heads what Penzance has to see

Penzance and its surroundings hold 4 historic sites, 3 museums and 3 attractions. The built-up area itself has 5 places on our list; 12 others are within 5 km of its edge. One of the places on the list is maintained by the National Trust. Walking distance covers 4 of the places on the list, all within 1 km of the middle. Travel 11 km and you reach Tate St Ives.

Photo: Penlee House, Gallery & Museum, Purely Penzance (CC BY 2.0)
In Penzance
5
inside the built-up area
Within 5 km
12
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
4
in or near town
Castles & historic places
8
in or near town
Cared for
1
National Trust, English Heritage, Cadw and others
Best known

Start with these in Penzance

After Penlee House, Gallery & Museum come 2 attractions, a pier and a museum.

MuseumPenlee House, Gallery & Museumin townPierSouth Pierin townMuseumTrinity House National Lighthouse Museumin townAttractionAttractionGrand Casinoin townAttractionAttractionEgyptian Housein townGarden · National TrustTrengwainton Gardens600 m outside town, to the west

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

The places, mapped

The map stretches to Mên Scryfa, 6.4 km away.

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The dashed line is Penzance’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

Kinds of place

Castles or historic places lead the count with 8; 4 are museums or galleries.

Museums & galleries 3 museums · 1 art gallery2 in town · 2 nearby
Castles & historic places 4 historic sites · 2 historic houses · 1 castle · 1 fort0 in town · 8 nearby
Gardens & estates 1 garden0 in town · 1 nearby
Zoos, theme parks & days out 1 pier1 in town
Other attractions 3 attractions2 in town · 1 nearby

Green: inside Penzance. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trengwainton Gardens).

Every place

All the places to visit

The town has 5; within 5 km of its edge, the list finds 12 more.

YHA Penzance

Historic house · 200 m outside town, to the west

Mansion in Penzance, Cornwall, England, UK, used as a youth hostel.

Run by Youth Hostels Association (England & Wales)
About YHA Penzance →

The 5 inside Penzance come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.

211 listed buildings and 2 scheduled monuments are on Penzance’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Penzance →

Big names nearby

Day trips

Tate St Ives, at 11 km, heads the 12.

Art galleryTate St Ives11 km north · 214K visitors a year (2009)CathedralTruro Cathedral39 km northeastMuseum · National TrustLevant Mine11 km westFortChûn Castle7.2 km northwestMuseumBarbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden11 km northeastCastle · English HeritagePendennis Castle36 km eastFort · National TrustTrencrom Hill7.6 km northeastCastleCarn Brea Castle24 km northeastHistoric house · National TrustGodolphin Estate13 km eastCastle · English HeritageSt Mawes Castle37 km eastMuseumSt Hilary Church, Cornwall8.3 km eastMuseumThe Leach Pottery10 km north

Places well known beyond Penzance (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.

Penzance, answered

What are the main attractions in Penzance?

The best known inside Penzance’s built-up area are Penlee House, Gallery & Museum, South Pier, Trinity House National Lighthouse Museum and Grand Casino. In all, 5 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 12 more within 5 km.

Does Penzance have a museum?

4 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Penzance: Penlee House, Gallery & Museum, Trinity House National Lighthouse Museum, Newlyn Orion Gallery and Marizion Museum.

Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Penzance?

Yes. In or within 5 km of Penzance, 1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trengwainton Gardens).

What are the best-known days out near Penzance?

Within 40 km: Tate St Ives (11 km), Truro Cathedral (39 km), Levant Mine (11 km), Chûn Castle (7.2 km).

Where are Penzance’s historic buildings listed?

Penzance has 211 listed buildings, 2 of them Grade I. 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 Penzance 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 (20)

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.