The Plaza @ Truro originally opened in 1938 and was the premier venue for film-goers throughout its ...
This working cyder farm produces over forty varieties of delicious fruit products. Take a self gui...
Discover one-and-half beautiful acres of planting that was once part of a much bigger Victorian esta...
Drama and music events.
Situated in the heart of Penzance, and now at 18 River Street Truro, Lighthouse Gallery promises an ...
As Cornwall's only city - and capital city at that - Truro's rich cultural heritage and beautiful location at the convergence of three rivers makes it a great place to visit. As a thriving and cosmopolitan commercial centre, a diverse mix of local boutiques and high street favourites make shopping unusually pleasurable, whilst no shortage of eateries and hostelries will keep you well fed and watered. If life in the city gets too much (although it's hardly hectic!), Truro is a perfect springboard from which to explore the windswept tranquility of the Roseland Peninsula, on the eastern flank of the Fal Estuary.
For a guide to Truro in Spanish, click here
For a guide to Truro in Polish, click here
For a guide to Truro in Russian, click here
If it fits with your plans, try to arrive at night: catching the cathedral's three spires by floodlight lends the Truro skyline a romantic nocturnal splendour. In the midst of a £3.6million restoration to bring back its Gothic glory, it's as stunning from afar as it is up close. The steps make a good spot for sandwich munching and people watching, and if you're lucky, you might catch a rehearsal for one of the evening recitals. Pull up a pew!
Heading south out of the city, the National Trust's Trelissick Gardens (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-trelis... ) are well worth a look. Continue to the King Harry Ferry www.kingharryferry.co.uk (named by the Independent as one of the top 10 most beautiful ferry crossings in the world) to get across to the Roseland, making sure you have a peek south to see the River Fal's mussel farms. The road running the peninsula's spine offers stunning vistas, rewarded by picture postcard village St. Mawes. Try your luck with a crab line off the harbour wall, or get the ferry across the river and head to St. Anthony's Head Lighthouse, known to some from 1980s TV hit Fraggle Rock.
If the flora and fauna at Trelissick are a bit overwhelming, the onsite café's homemade cake is a deliciously guilty pleasure. For a taste of the high life, St. Mawes' famous Hotel Tresanton (designed by international interiors guru Olga Polizzi) offers an accessible slice, even if a room for the night is out of the question. Freshly baked petit-fours on the terrace for afternoon tea, plus the Sunday lunchtime barbeque, make this a must that's still relatively pain-free on the wallet. Back in the city, grab a sandwich for the cathedral steps from the Duke Street Sandwich Bar & Deli or tick the wholesome box with a visit to veggie/vegan café Feast. Local ingredients are cooked with great flair at Saffron, which is a favourite for many a Truronian. For quality Pan-Asian fayre whose preparation can be watched on plasma screens above the open kitchen head to Stingy Lulu's for seared tuna off a granite block, whilst down the cobbled streets at the other end of town, Chantek serves up modern Thai cuisine in slick and comfortable surroundings. Not your bag? Bustopher Jones will sate any lust for modern bistro cooking.
For smoky sophisticates' toe-tapping jazz, Bustopher Jones on Friday nights is worth a visit. Rolling down the hill to Lemon Quay yields a plaza reminiscent of the continent. Grab a beer or cocktail from the MI Bar and make the most of the regular weekend DJ nights. Tucked just round the corner is Indaba ('meeting place' in Swahili) all stylish white and dark wood which serves up a welter of delicious cocktails and beers from around the world. For similar lounge bar chic, upstairs at Pippa's Steakhouse warrants a gander or head to the Kazbah to slouch in one of their sofas or beanbags in the new upstairs area. If you'd rather shake a leg, L2 heads up a small handful of the late night options, with the weekends firmly focused on the dancefloor. If indie rock is more your thing, then check out one of the monthly Tuck Shop nights at Bunter's Bar. A trip to Truro would not be complete without a pint of one of Skinner's ales (Betty Stogg's is one to watch), brewed just outside the city on the river Fal. The Old Ale House is also a good bet.
Heading out of town, sundown at The Heron in Malpas should not be missed. The Punchbowl and Ladle, on the way to the King Harry Ferry, hits the thatch-roofed, low-ceilinged country hostelry nail square on the head. The King's Head pub in Ruan Lanihorne on the Roseland is a lovely place with great food and set in the amazing, timeless surroundings of Ruan Lanihorne creek. A birdwatcher's paradise, the wooded creek is so quiet you forget that things like cars even exist.
A great selection of trendy local boutiques join the national heavyweights on Truro's cobbles. Lemon Street Market is a good place to start, where Uneeka specialises in Fairtrade products from around the world. The market also houses a fantastic deli and fishmonger. For interesting homewares, Inhabit offers something with a twist that stops on the nice side of kitsch, while Calico, just next to the cathedral, mixes excellent design with sparkling bijou. The streets around the main drag should cater for most tastes, with clothing and accessory retailers in abundance.
Surf, skate and snow culture are well represented on River and Kenwyn Streets by Force Majeure, Quiksilver and the Fistral Surf Company. For hardware rather than software, head to Supertubes surf shop, who'll be able to kit you out according to experience and wallet. For something slightly less mainstream, try designer boutiques Coco Marie and 2wentythree, which specialise in unique pieces with an appropriate mixture of quality and price.
From the city, a late afternoon stroll along the river to Malpas is beautiful and easygoing. Making it down to the lower parts of Trelissick Gardens is rewarded with stunning views up the Fal estuary and out to sea, where it's also possible to pick up the path that skirts the estuary to the King Harry Ferry. Cross the river onto the Roseland and its southern tip is worthy of exploration if only for the relative solitude its geographical isolation brings. Take stout boots to Veryan and the surrounding area, whose rugged landscape and rocky outcrops will leave you windswept and weatherbeaten. At the western tip of Veryan Bay is Nare Head, where, if twitching is your thing, there's one of the largest seabird breeding colonies on Britain's south coast.