Penzance Reviews. 8 Things Top Websites Are Saying About Our Town

(This post was updated in October 2025 to reflect the sheer number of positive reviews about Penzance rolling in…)

What do people really think of Penzance?

Not locals or regular visitors. That’s a love-fest of Penzance positivity. We’re talking about those folk who write about beautiful places for a living. The ones who have been there, done that and can cast a cool eye on what a town has to offer.

We’ve scoured a selection of the biggest publications for Penzance reviews. Some are from national and international newspapers and magazines, others from tourist websites.

And what do they say?

For those of you who don’t like spoilers, look away now…

Basically, we are the BOMB. 💥👏🕺🏼

Here’s those awesome Penzance reviews…

‘Cornwall’s coolest seaside town’ – Condé Nast Traveller

Condé Nast Traveller. Bit posh. Probably wears very shiny shoes and turns left on planes.

But when the New York publication sashayed into PZ, we more than met its sky-high standards.

Condé Nast Traveller’s love affair with Penzance began in 2017 when it described us in this article as ‘Cornwall’s coolest seaside town’.

We continued to exert our magnetic pull a few years later when we were named one of the Best Places to Visit in Cornwall 2020. It waxed lyrical on our Jubilee Pool, high-profile galleries and incredible foodie scene (name-checking our Michelin-starred chefs, too). Penzance, it said, has come into its own over the past few years.

And, it seems, the luxury travel publication simply can’t get enough of us. In January 2025, it wrote an article about wild swimming retreats for women and showcased Penzance’s historic boutique hotel Chapel House, our iconic Art Deco lido Jubilee Pool and that magnet for wild swimmers, Battery Rocks. As we’ve said before, wild swimming in Penzance is fast becoming a must-do activity for many locals and visitors, with surely more dry robes per square mile than any other town in Cornwall.

Then, in April 2025, it was back AGAIN, bigging up Penzance’s arts and dining scene in its best places to visit in Cornwall guide.

Oh, Condé Nast Traveller, we love you too. Mwah!

‘One of the best beach towns in the UK’ – National Geographic

What do the words ‘National Geographic’ say to you? Stunning photography of some of the world’s most beautiful places? That pretty much covers it. So it was with great pride that in 2025 Penzance found itself showcased in an article about the UK’s seven best beach towns. The article highlighted our foodie scene (‘never been stronger’), tropical gardens, ‘famous west Cornwall microclimate’ and ‘stirring’ festivals Golowan in midsummer and Montol in midwinter.

Where National Geographic goes, the nation’s newspapers follow. The Express picked up the article and elaborated on our ‘stunning natural beauty and artistic heritage’ and our proximity to ‘gems like St Michael’s Mount, the dramatic cliffs of Land’s End, the open-air Minack Theatre, the charming village of Mousehole, and the crystal-clear waters of the Isles of Scilly’.

Meanwhile, London’s Time Out also ran a story about the National Geographic list, heaping more praise on PZ.

‘Best Independent Shopping Town in the UK’ – The London Economic

We absolutely loved this recognition from online paper The London Economic in April 2025, because so many of us in the town have been blown away by the meteoric rise of the Penzance shopping scene.

In an article, The 10 Best Towns for Shopping Independent in the UK, Penzance came out TOP, with its ‘wonderful array of independent shops, excellent food, and its incredible community driven spirit’.

Indies namechecked include Edge of the World Bookshop, foodie joints such as Loafs and the Cornish Hen Deli, retro clothing stores such as ‘Black Vintage Jacket’ and many more.

Our market town is enjoying an independent shopping renaissance – in fact, it now officially offers the best indie shopping in the UK! Expect us to keep shouting about this accolade until about forever.

‘One of the happiest places to live in Britain’ – The Guardian

When the Guardian scoured the whole of the UK for its best places to live guide, guess which town featured prominently?

(Actually, don’t guess – we’re pretty sure you can see the theme developing here…)

Here’s what it had to say about one of its headline destinations, Penzance:

‘With its two-and-a-half-mile seafront promenade and large harbour, it has the key features of a quintessential English seaside town. Plus cobbled streets and rows of Regency and Georgian terraces awash with independent shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants. There are also some prized cultural centres including Penlee House Gallery and Museum.’

The article also referenced our proximity to the stunning wilds of west Cornwall, ‘dozens’ of nearby beaches and its transport connections to the rest of the county and beyond. While the theme of our post is mainly about visiting and not living in Penzance, the Guardian accolade – and other similar ‘best place to live’ accolades referenced below – really shine a light on what’s great about our town.

‘The No 1 place in Cornwall’ – Muddy Stilettos

Muddy Stilettos bills itself as ‘an intelligent, witty and indispensable guide to the countryside’.

It has scoured the UK for the best places to live and visit, so any town that thinks it can just rock up and secure top spot better damned well think again.

Unless it’s Penzance.

In 2023, we featured prominently in its 250 Best Places to Live guide and Penzance actually topped the poll for Cornwall in a vote.

The website had a lot to say about Penzance food, art and architecture. It was also gushing about shopping in the town – Causewayhead, Chapel Street and Market Jew Street all got the big green tick for the vibrant independent retail scene.

Muddy Stilettos has also bigged us up in 2025 in a 56+ things to do on a rainy day in Cornwall piece, noting a range of indoor activities when the wet weather strikes, from gaming to seeing the celebrated Newlyn School artists at the Penlee House Gallery and Museum.

As Penzance reviews go, it’s an absolute beaut.

Meanwhile, also in 2025 it described our first Penzance Food Festival as ‘epic’ and trailed its second coming in September 2025 in glowing terms.

And – STOP PRESS! – in October 2025, Penzance was back AGAIN as one of its best places to live.

‘Best place in the South West’ – The Sunday Times

Gaw, this is getting embarrassing. 🫢

In 2023, The Sunday Times, no less, published its Best Places to Live in the South West.

Penzance was the ONLY destination in Cornwall showcased. The prestigious list mentioned many of the features others have raved about, but honed in on the town’s ‘wild spirit’ and ‘down-to-earth locals’.

Yes and YES!

We’ve talked again and again about the difference between Penzance and other popular Cornish spots. We are where people who want to see a bit of beautiful, REAL Cornwall come on holiday.

Thanks for bigging us up, Sunday Times. 👍

‘Top tourist attractions galore’ – TripAdvisor

Cornwall is filled like a plump pasty with memorable places to visit. So there’s some pretty stiff competition in TripAdvisor’s Top Attractions in Cornwall list. But guess what? TWO places just a pebble’s throw from Penzance appear in Cornwall’s top five. And one tops the list as the best Cornwall attraction of all.

The Minack Theatre, just nine miles from its nearest major town, Penzance, heads the list. Meanwhile, iconic St Michael’s Mount, a Penzance landmark in its own right, comes in at number four. To round off the compilation, we had to wrestle with the decision of giving another shout out to our beloved open-air, geo-thermally heated Lido Jubilee Pool here, but the fact remains that this Penzance landmark features on the list as well.

In other words, according to TripAdvisor, we’re front and centre for Cornwall’s finest tourist attractions.

‘Best place to explore Cornwall’s top attractions’ – goatsontheroad.com

Love the name of this website. Love what they’re saying about PZ even more.

When goatsontheroad.com asked the question ‘Where should you stay in Cornwall?’ it topped its list with… you guessed it… Penzance.

It says, ‘Charming Penzance is the best town to stay in Cornwall for first-time visitors as it has everything from top surfing beaches to some excellent restaurants, museums, coastal walks, and entertainment options.’

And, ‘Penzance is ideally situated for exploring some of Cornwall’s top attractions such as the Minack Theatre, St. Michael’s Mount, Land’s End, and much more.’

Enough! We’re so flushed with pride at these Penzance reviews we’re overheating.

Find out more about where to stay and what to do in the most celebrated town in Cornwall at www.lovepenzance.com.