Cornwall – Falmouth and Truro Visitor Guide

Cornwall is filled with miles of sandy beaches, picturesque little towns and rustic countryside. Two places I love to visit are Falmouth and Truro. I’m very lucky as I’ve been down to visit every year, for 3 years straight since 2019. In the meantime, I’ve had a lot of time to explore what they have to offer. I’ve even made a free map for you. If you’re thinking of visiting – here’s my mini-guide:

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is best known for its arts. The streets are filled with colourful bunting hanging from the rooftops year-round. Everywhere looks like a painting come to life. The town centre is filled with independent shops, with very reasonable prices so

Photo Opportunities:

• The Harbour is an essential part of living for many Falmouth locals. There are benches scattered along the harbourside, with views of the sea crashing beneath your feet and boats floating idly. It’s an amazing place for photos! It’s very easy to find and get to – just aim down towards the sea and you’ll get there!

• The Street Art Wall. If colour is your thing, then you’ll love the street art wall in Falmouth – not it’s official name of course! It’s located in a car park (check out the free map I made you, for the exact location), so be sure to visit at a quiet time or else you might not get a very good photo.

• The Beach! Falmouth has 2 main beaches – Gyllyngvase and Castle Beach. They are often quiet unless you visit at peak summertime, so you don’t need to worry about people in the background.

Food:

• Fal Falafel is an amazing Falafel shop (with a great name!) that sells fresh, locally sourced food. They are very cheap and easy to get too, as they are based right in the centre! I don’t actually have a photo of their food, as I ate it too fast – so trust me when I tell you it’s good. It’s mostly vegan and gluten free.

• Boo Koos is a great restaurant that serves delicious milkshakes, handmade burgers and fries. They also have dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan options. I also recommend going around Halloween time as they have beautiful decorations inside!

• Roly’s Fudge Falmouth, is a fabulous fudge shop in the heart of Falmouth. It is filled top to bottom with handmade fudge of all different flavours. There is something to suit everyone’s taste. You can even buy it online if you’ve been before and are still craving some!

• Choaks Cornish Pasties, is a pastie shop where you can see it being prepared fresh, in front of your eyes. You can even attend Pasty School for £10, and get a certificate and you’re own pasty at the end!

Things to Do:

• The Bean Hive – AKA The Pink Shop! If I were to own a shop, I would want it to be this one. It’s a dream! Every time I’ve been in there, I’ve always heard people complimenting how nice and pretty the shop is. It has such an eccentric range of products that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. You have to check it out!

• Pendennis Castle/Point is a short walk away from the town centre. Pendennis Point has an amazing view where you can look far out into the sea and try to spot Dolphins. I’ve never been in the Castle, only walked past, so I can’t comment too much, however, it does look very nice and interesting. If history is your thing – be sure to check it out!

• Take a boat tour or even rent a boat yourself. My boyfriend and I rented a boat from Falmouth Boat Hire for £40 for 1 hour. It was very fun as we got to operate it ourselves and explore the waters at our own pace. Try not to do it on a day where it’s too windy though as you’ll be holding on to all your clothes! There are also plenty of boat tours you can take from Falmouth too, such as taking the boat across to Flushing and back!

• National Maritime Museum Cornwall. This is a museum that focuses on representing Cornwall’s history in various ways. The two main collections are their small boat collection and the maritime collection. The admission fee is re-invested into the museum, so you can be sure that your money is being spent well.

• Falmouth Art Gallery is free to visit and includes lots of interesting art and photography from locals. It is often very quiet and they run lots of events and workshops that are often free. It’s located in the centre (right next to Boo Koos!), in a very prominent building, so you won’t miss it!

Truro – The Capital of Cornwall

Truro is the capital of Cornwall, and you’ll most likely pass it when visiting any Cornish town – so why not have a visit? It’s not by the beach but is next to a river; therefore it’s perfect if you’re feeling a bit bored of the beach.

Photo Opportunities:

• The Cathedral is perfect for taking photos of! It’s very gothic and there is often events hosted which cover interests such as art, music and learning. If you’re feeling hungry, they even have a restaurant where there is a wide range of delicious cakes and gluten free options.

• The Viaduct is another great spot to take photos of. If you’re taking the train, you will most likely walk past it whilst getting into the centre. It’s easy to get to and makes for stunning photographs!

Food:

• You can’t come to Cornwall without having a Cornish Pasty – what better place to do it than in the capital?! There are plenty of bakeries scattered around Truro – such as Warrens and Rowse, and lots of traditional shops like Martins Bakery There’s even the option to try a ‘cocktail pasty’, in case you don’t feel like having a full one. Little tip – the Warrens Bakery do an amazing magic bag (see here for more)

• Bao Bites is one of my most favourite restaurants! They sell Bao, which is a fluffy type of bun, stuffed to the brim full of vegetables and other fillings. They also do bubble tea – which is an instant win in my book! The shop has a seating area upstairs and downstairs, and is adorned with bright colours and decorations. It’s very cheap too – so what are you waiting for?!

Things to Do:

• The Celtic Tossers is a place where you can go and throw axes! How cool is that?! It feels so good to get your anger out with and very satisfying when you hit a target (I realise I made that sound like the target is a person – so just to clarify, it’s a target board, sorry to disapoint some of you haha!). Prices start from £20, so it’s very low cost for a lot of fun – and to be honest, the name alone makes it worth it.

• The Royal Cornwall Museum is home to various collections and exhibits, with items important to Cornwalls past. It is £5 for adults to enter and free for under 18’s, which is very well priced as it all goes to allowing the museum to run. You could easily spend more than 1 hour here, getting lost in the history!

• Enjoy Clothing is an amazing vintage and retro clothing shop. The inside is just as pretty as the outside, filled with flamboyant vintage decor! They even have a vegan/vegitarain cafe – what more could you want? Everytime I’ve visited, there have always been something I’ve bought as the peices feel so rare and individual to find. They have a depop shop if you’re into retro and vintage clothes but don’t live near, however it’s defietly worth a visit in person too!

Free Map:

I’ve made a free map of all the destinations listed in this post, just for you! You can access it by clicking here.

Let me know if you’ve been to Cornwall! What did you do? Which shop was your favourite? What flavour Pasty did you have? If you liked this post, you may also like: ‘Oxford – Best Things To Do in 1 Day‘ or ‘How To Spend 4 Days in New York City‘.