Places to visit on your holiday in Cornwall

Whatever the weather, Cornwall has attractions and activities for everyone. We can only offer you a taste of what is available.

The Eden Project has captured the world's imagination. Two giant biomes house two wildly-different environments (Humid Tropics and Warm Temperate) that exist thousands of miles from their natural homes. The Eden Project is one of the UK's top tourist attractions and, due to its very nature, is a place you will want to return to year after year to watch it develop.

Newly opened in Falmouth, the National Maritime Museum is a gateway to the maritime world, offering unique and interactive displays of boats and their place in people's lives.

The Tate Gallery at St ives primarily presents modern British art in a spectacular coastal setting. There is an eclectic mixture of galleries throughout the West Cornwall area, ensuring easy access to visual art.

Carved from the cliffs near Porthcurno, the outdoor Minack Theatre stands as a permanent tribute to Rowena Cade, whose inspiration has left a legacy for all to enjoy and a theatre experience that cannot be missed.

Penzance has its own intimate Acorn Theatre which brings a variety of performers to its stage.

The Hall for Cornwall in Truro is arguably the county's permier venue for the performing arts.

It was only in Victorian times that Penzance became the major town in West Cornwall - previously, Marazion held this mantle. Penzance boasts many fine old buildings, dating from the 17th to 18th century. Of note, the Egyptian House in Chapel Street is of an extraordinary design. Chapel Street boasts a fine array of antique shops. Art Deco fans will relish the recently refurbished outdoor Jubilee Bathing Pool and the architecture of the nearby Yacht Inn.

St Ives is one of Cornwall's oldest holiday resorts that is as well known for its artistic community as for its pristine golden beaches, popular with families and surfers. In the cobbled alleyways you will find numerous galleries and interesting shops. St Ives also has a state-of-the-art leisure centre with gym and swimming facilities.

The city of Truro is the administrative centre and the main shopping venue in Cornwall. Truro's neo-Gothic cathedral was built between 1880 and 1910 with its central tower rising to 76 metres (250 feet). Truro's many fine Georgian houses and terraces are a reminder of local copper- and tin-mining wealth and these subjects are explored in the attractive Royal Cornwall Museum, which also includes some fine landscape paintings by artists of the Newlyn School of Art.

Nearer to home, the market town of Helston is the home of the famous Furry Dance celebrations. While you are there, take time out to visit the Helston Folk Museum.

Warmed by the Gulf Stream, buffeted by the Atlantic, relying on sea and air links with the mainland, the unique Isles of Scilly are a world apart. Populated by a friendly community of just over 2000 islanders, sub-tropical Scilly has a tranquillity and a quality of life long lost to less isolated places.

Exotic plants and wild flowers, ancient cairns and crumbling castles, sparkling white sands by an azure sea - all just 28 miles from Land's End.

Take a boat trip to the Isles of Scilly by the Scillonian III or fly from Land's End aerodrome. Alternatively, helicopter flights are available from Penzance Heliport.

By value of fish landed, Newlyn is the UK's largest fishing port with 150 working boats. The Pilchard Works was the last factory in Britain where pilchards were pressed and packed and today it houses an exhibition on the town's working and social history. Landscape paintings by artists of the famous Newlyn School of Art may be seen in the Newlyn Art Gallery.

Surviving the onslaught of modern tourism, Mousehole is an unspoilt fishing village famous for its Christmas illuminations and, of course, the Mousehole Cat. Above the village, is the Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital.

Concealed in the cliffs above the golden sandy beach at Porthcurno is the Museum of Submarine Telegraphy showing how the world has become a smaller place thanks to communications. A fascinating insight into international telegraph communications and a reminder that Porthcurno continues to be the major communications connection between the UK and North America.

Finally, Land's End itself is a place of legend, mystery and stunning natural beauty. And just further along the coast near St Just is Cape Cornwall, the only cape in the British Isles.

The Lizard peninsula leads to Britain's most southerly point. Playing a key role in the history of global communication, it was from the Lizard that Marconi first received wireless signals from North America. Also, Telstar beamed the first international television pictures into Goonhilly Earth Station - still the largest satellite earth station in the world.

The National Trust has recently renovated the experimental wireless station used by Marconi at Poldu Cove.

You can also visit the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek or take a tour at RNAS Culdrose, home of air sea rescue helicopters (01326 565085)..

Cornwall has a splendid array of gardens to visit including:

• The Lost Gardens of Heligan
• Trebah near Falmouth
• Trelowarren at Mawgan Helston (01326 221224)
• Trengwainton near Penzance (01736 362297)

There are also countless other activities available to suit all ages and tastes:

• Want to learn to surf - visit Global Boarders in Marazion, offering surf schools in the area
• Paradise Park wildlife sanctuary, Hayle
• Flambards Village Theme Park, Helston
• Poldark Mine heritage centre with a memorable underground tour
• Country Skittles at Townshend (01736 850209)
• Go karting at Jeepers, St Erth (01736 754960) or Power House Karting and Paintball (01209 711993)
• Horseriding at Mulfa Trekking Centre, Newmill (01736 361601), Romany Walks Riding Stables (01736 740838) or Tregurtha Downs Farm Riding School (01736 711422)
• Fishing at Boscathnoe Lake (01837 871565)
• Penwith Pitch and Putt at St Erth (01736 754343)
• Greenacres 9 Hole Short Golf Course (01736 757600)
• Cheney Mill Farm Park - set in 12 acres (01736 759555)
• Diving off the Cornish coast

So much to see, so much to do, you will want to come back to Cornwall again and again.