Step back in time as you walk along the harbor-side and through the two oldest streets of Plymouth. See the real Elizabethan House in New Street, and tour the 200 year old Plymouth Gin distillery. The Mayflower Steps are a must, to see where the Pilgrims embarked in 1620. You'll find them at the entrance of Sutton Harbour, which you will find filled with small craft of all kinds. Visit the Island Tourist Information Centre and discover the Barbican's history. This small harbor area has some very fine restaurants and shops which offer a wide range of goods, from local art and antiques to crystal and crafts.
This is Britain's largest and most up-to-date aquarium, with many spectacular underwater displays. A visit to this ultra-modern center alongside Sutton Harbour on the historic Barbican will be an unforgettable adventure, with wide screen viewing windows giving you an amazing close-up view of the fish. The most spectacular displays have to be the sharks at feeding time, but there are many fascinating exhibits, including Europe's largest collection of seahorse species.
Bearing inextricable ties with Sir Richard Grenville the Younger and Sir Francis Drake, the antiquated Buckland Abbey is a stirring relic of England's Cisetrcian past. The abbey was built in 1278 as a Cistercian monastery, however, in the wake of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey, too underwent a restoration and today stands strong as a charming house burrowed in dense woods, with a stirring history to tell. Inside, the Treasures gallery boasts the iconic Drake's Drum, while the glorious self portrait of Rembrandt and Georgian-style rooms make the house more atmospheric. Accentuated by a lovely Elizabethan garden, and a monastic barn, Buckland Abbey regularly hosts craft workshops, events, and insightful country trails which unveil the hidden histories of the abbey and its early inhabitants. Complete with myriad mementos and exhibits that chronicle Drake's legacy, Buckland Abbey is shrouded in equal parts history and heritage.
One of the least altered medieval houses in England, Cotehele was owned by the Edgcumbe family for 600 years. They moved on to Mount Edgcumbe House in Tudor times, using Cotehele for family getaways and to show off to visitors, who marveled at this medieval gem, just as we do today. The ancient granite walls house a fine collection of textiles, tapestries and early oak furniture, while the chapel contains the oldest working domestic clock in England. Warning - Cotehele weaves a magic spell, so that once you've been there you want to go back again and again. The open times of the house and the restaurant vary greatly every week.