
Tate St Ives and more: what to see in St Ives
This is a list led by museums or galleries, 7 of its 12. There are 6 places to visit inside St Ives’ built-up area, and 6 more within 5 km of its edge. 214K visitors came to Tate St Ives in 2009. The list includes one place cared for by the National Trust. Truro Cathedral, 32 km away, is the best-known day out.
Leading places in St Ives
Behind Tate St Ives on the list are 3 museums, an attraction and an art gallery.
Art galleryTate St Ivesin town · 214K visitors a year (2009)
MuseumBarbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Gardenin town
MuseumThe Leach Potteryin town
MuseumSt Ives Museumin townAttractionAttractionHoly Well Of St Iain townArt galleryArt gallerySaint Ives Society of Artistsin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Plotted on the map
To the southeast is where most of the 6 lie.
The dashed line is St Ives’ built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022
Kind by kind
Museums or galleries number 7, castles or historic places 3.
Green: inside St Ives. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trencrom Hill).
The whole list for St Ives
After the 6 in town come 6 more within 5 km of its edge.
The 6 inside St Ives 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.
180 listed buildings and 2 scheduled monuments are on St Ives’ History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in St Ives →
Around the region
Allow a day for Truro Cathedral, 32 km away, the pick of 12.
CathedralTruro Cathedral32 km east
Castle · English HeritagePendennis Castle32 km east
CastleCarn Brea Castle17 km east
Historic house · National TrustGodolphin Estate12 km southeast
Museum · National TrustLevant Mine15 km southwest
Castle · English HeritageSt Mawes Castle34 km east
FortChûn Castle12 km southwest
Garden · National TrustTrengwainton Gardens11 km southwest
MuseumPenlee House, Gallery & Museum11 km south
Historic houseYHA Penzance11 km southwestGardenGardenTrebah29 km southeast
Garden · National TrustGlendurgan Garden29 km southeastPlaces well known beyond St Ives (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.
Practical questions about St Ives
What are the main attractions in St Ives?
The best known inside St Ives’ built-up area are Tate St Ives, Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Leach Pottery and St Ives Museum. In all, 6 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 6 more within 5 km.
Does St Ives have a museum?
7 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of St Ives: Tate St Ives, Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Leach Pottery and St Ives Museum.
Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near St Ives?
Yes. In or within 5 km of St Ives, 1 place is cared for by the National Trust (Trencrom Hill).
What are the best-known days out near St Ives?
Within 40 km: Truro Cathedral (32 km), Pendennis Castle (32 km), Carn Brea Castle (17 km), Godolphin Estate (12 km).
Where are St Ives’ historic buildings listed?
St Ives has 180 listed buildings, 1 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 St Ives 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
- The Leach Pottery: Jordanhill School D&T Dept, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Ives Museum: Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Trencrom Hill: Crispin Purdye, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paradise Park: Chris Allen, 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
- Levant Mine: John Gibson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Mawes Castle: Claudiu Bichescu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chûn Castle: Rod Allday, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Trengwainton Gardens: N p holmes, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Penlee House, Gallery & Museum: Purely Penzance, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- YHA Penzance: Edmund Gooch, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Glendurgan Garden: Daderot, CC0, 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.
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