Plymouth, GB

A chef-owned restaurant on a quiet central street behind the Theatre Royal that helped reinvigorate Plymouth's dining scene, serving ambitious, well-priced modern-British tasting menus. It radiates youthful enthusiasm and skill. Best for a special-occasion tasting dinner in the city centre.

A fine-dining restaurant set in the medieval Prysten House, one of the city's oldest buildings, serving refined seasonal modern-British plates with a focus on local produce. The historic room adds to the occasion. Best for a celebratory dinner in a genuinely historic setting.

A family-run Barbican stalwart of over 27 years serving fresh local seafood with a Greek and Mediterranean twist in a warm, relaxed room. It's a genuine neighbourhood institution. Best for a relaxed Mediterranean-leaning seafood dinner on the Barbican.

An award-winning Barbican chippy serving sustainably sourced fish in crisp golden batter with views over Sutton Harbour. It's the proper seaside fish-and-chips experience done right. Best for a classic harbourside fish supper, eaten looking over the boats.

A modern two-storey cafe-bar on the Barbican quayside serving fresh seafood landed by its own day boats, plus good veggie and vegan options, on a terrace over the water. The provenance and the views are the draw. Best for a relaxed quayside seafood lunch with a Sutton Harbour view.

A lively brasserie inside the historic Plymouth Gin distillery building, serving modern-British plates and good-value set menus in a buzzy, colourful room. It's a dependable, central choice with character. Best for a relaxed brasserie dinner, ideally paired with a gin tour next door.

A legendary harbourside kiosk on the Barbican serving cheap, generous burgers and the famous half-yard hot dog to a constant crowd of locals, bikers, and sailors. It's a no-frills Plymouth institution. Best for a cheap, fun harbour bite that's pure local tradition.

A bike-shop cafe on the Barbican serving good coffee, brunch, and cake to a relaxed crowd of cyclists and locals. The combination of espresso and bikes gives it a distinct character. Best for a proper coffee and brunch on the harbour.

Reputedly Britain's oldest working bakery, a tiny Barbican spot turning out excellent sourdough, pastries, and pizza slices with a history said to stretch back to supplying the Mayflower. The bread alone is worth the detour. Best for a pastry-and-coffee stop or a loaf to take away.

A friendly Peverell neighbourhood spot serving wood-fired sourdough pizza and its own-brewed beer at fair prices, away from the tourist centre. It's the kind of local place residents keep to themselves. Best for an unfussy pizza-and-craft-beer dinner in the suburbs.

A long-loved vegetarian Indian restaurant serving South Indian and Persian-influenced meat-free dishes with real depth, a Plymouth favourite for decades. It's proof that veggie Indian can be a destination. Best for a flavourful all-vegetarian Indian dinner.

The first Japanese restaurant in Devon, on Vauxhall Street near the Barbican, serving sushi, teppanyaki, and Japanese classics across three distinct dining rooms. It's the dependable choice for Japanese food in a city that runs heavily toward seafood and pub meals. Best for a sushi or teppanyaki dinner near the harbour.

An artisan bakery-cafe in the Royal William Yard turning out excellent bread, pastries, and brunch in the grand Georgian surroundings by the water. The setting and the bakes make it a lovely stop. Best for a pastry-and-coffee break while exploring the Yard.

A flat, signposted seafront route linking the Hoe, the Barbican, and the harbours, with the whole sweep of Plymouth Sound alongside. It strings together the city's best waterfront sights on one easy walk. Best for an easy, scenic walk taking in the Hoe, Barbican, and Sound.

A rocky National Trust beach southeast of the city with superb rockpooling, the offshore Mewstone, and a stretch of the South West Coast Path with sea views. It's the city's nearest taste of wild Devon coast. Best for a rockpooling family afternoon or a moderate coast-path walk.

A grassy clifftop park on the eastern side of Plymouth Sound with a coast path, sea views back to the Hoe, and a cafe, near Mount Batten. The vantage across the water to the city is the draw. Best for an easy-to-moderate clifftop walk with panoramic Sound views.

A flat, traffic-free former-railway path running up the wooded Plym valley from the edge of the city toward Dartmoor, ideal for easy walking and family cycling. The river, woods, and old viaducts make it scenic as well as gentle. Best for a flat, accessible walk or ride toward the moor.

A scenic reservoir on the southwestern edge of Dartmoor, ringed by a quiet lane and paths with moorland tors rising beyond and woodland along the shore. It's the easiest taste of Dartmoor from Plymouth. Best for a moderate reservoir-and-moor walk a short drive onto the moor.

A dramatic crag and wooded river valley where the River Plym meets Dartmoor near Shaugh Prior, with a steep climb to a rocky summit and Iron Age remains. It's a proper hill-and-river walk close to the city. Best for a more challenging walk with a rocky climb and river scenery.

A National Trust woodland in the Plym valley with riverside and old-railway paths, an aqueduct, and nesting peregrine falcons watched each spring. It's a shaded, easy escape on the city's edge. Best for an easy woodland-and-river walk, with falcon-watching in spring.

The UK's largest aquarium, on Sutton Harbour, with a vast deep-reef tank, sharks, and a journey from local waters to tropical reefs across thousands of creatures. It's a guaranteed family hit and a strong wet-weather option. Best for a family half-day, especially the big ocean tank.

Plymouth's flagship museum, gallery, and archive — a purpose-built cultural complex bringing together maritime history, natural-history specimens, contemporary art, and the striking suspended ship figureheads under one roof. It's free to enter and has over a million visits behind it. Best for a half-day of wide-ranging culture in the centre.

The historic Black Friars Distillery on the Barbican, the oldest working gin distillery in England, offering tours of the copper stills and a characterful bar in a medieval building. It's a fragrant slice of the city's drinking heritage. Best for a distillery tour and a gin cocktail in the historic bar.

The largest regional producing theatre in England, staging major touring productions, musicals, and its own acclaimed work in a modern central auditorium. It's the heart of the city's performing arts. Best for an evening of touring theatre or a big musical.

A restored Tudor merchant's house on a narrow Barbican lane, with an atmospheric, immersive audio-led retelling of the lives of those who lived there, narrated by a local woman who grew up on the same street. It's a vivid, small-scale dose of Elizabethan Plymouth. Best for a short, atmospheric step back into the 16th century.

Harbour and river cruises around Plymouth Sound, the dockyard, and up the Tamar, giving the best perspective on the city's great natural harbour. Seeing the warships and the breakwater from the water is a different experience. Best for a relaxed cruise of the Sound on a calm day.

A stylish boutique cinema in the Royal William Yard with sofas, a bar, and a mix of mainstream and independent films in a grand Georgian setting. It's a civilised night out by the water. Best for a comfortable film-and-cocktail evening at the Yard.

A grassroots live-music venue and bar in the Mutley area, championing local and touring bands across genres in an intimate, unpretentious room. It's the backbone of Plymouth's independent music scene. Best for an evening gig with a genuine local-scene feel.

The city's main indoor arena, rebranded Plymouth Arena, hosting big-name touring concerts, comedy, and family shows, plus seasonal ice skating. It's where the largest acts and events come to town. Best for a big concert, comedy night, or a family show.

The grand grassy headland above Plymouth Sound where Francis Drake supposedly finished his game of bowls before facing the Armada, now a breezy promenade of memorials, lawns, and sweeping sea views. It's the city's front room. Best for a sunset stroll along the seafront with the whole Sound laid out below.

The candy-striped red-and-white lighthouse standing on the Hoe, originally built on the Eddystone reef in 1759 and rebuilt here, now climbable to the lantern room. The view from the top over the Sound is the best in the city. Best for the short, steep climb and the panorama over the waterfront.

Plymouth's historic harbour quarter, a tangle of cobbled streets and crooked Elizabethan buildings around Sutton Harbour, now full of galleries, independent shops, and seafood restaurants. It's the oldest, most characterful part of the city. Best for an afternoon of cobbled-lane wandering and a harbourside meal.

The waterfront spot on the Barbican marking where the Pilgrim Fathers set sail for America in 1620, with a commemorative portico and globe. It's a small but historically weighty landmark. Best as a quick, meaningful stop on a Barbican harbour walk.

A magnificent complex of Georgian naval victualling buildings in Stonehouse, once supplying the Royal Navy and now restored into a waterfront hub of restaurants, galleries, and apartments. The scale of the architecture is striking. Best for a waterfront wander, a meal, and the ferry or coast path beyond.

A glorious 1930s Art Deco seawater lido curving out into Plymouth Sound below the Hoe, a Grade II-listed pool that's a summer institution. Swimming in the saltwater pool with the sea beyond is pure nostalgia. Best for a summer swim or a look at the Art Deco architecture from the Hoe above.

A Tudor house set in a sweeping landscaped country park across the water on the Cornish side, reached by the little Cremyll foot ferry, with formal gardens, coastal paths, and grazing deer. The crossing and the views back to Plymouth are half the pleasure. Best for a half-day of garden-and-coast walking via the ferry.

A grand Georgian mansion with Robert Adam interiors set in landscaped parkland above the Plym estuary on the city's eastern edge, a National Trust property used as a Jane Austen film location. The house and the riverside parkland make a full visit. Best for a country-house-and-parkland afternoon a short drive from the centre.