St Ives

St Ives takes 1 day to see: Tate St Ives, a modern art gallery facing the sea, in a morning walk, and its sandy beaches amid cobbled lanes, in the afternoon. May-September is best. It's mid-to-high priced by British standards. It became an artist colony from the late 19th century onward, drawn by a particular quality of light still studied today, and that tradition lives on in its dozens of galleries and artist studios scattered around the village.