Top Rated Attractions in Plymouth

This modern theater is one of the best in Britain, producing large mainstream events with performers such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company. The theater has a good education department and also the Young Company, which gives theater training to youngsters. The large, attractive building on Royal Parade is a popular meeting place for shoppers as well as theater buffs, as the huge windows of its excellent restaurant and cafe look out over the city.

Near the town of Totnes, Woodlands is full of thrills and spills and well deserves its many awards. From the Alpine Dash to the Tornado the emphasis is on action and adventure for all ages. For rainy days there is a huge indoor complex with venture centers, a Circusdrome, ball-pools and inflatables, soft play for tinies and drop slides. Outside, the grounds bristle with commando-type courses and cafes. There is a farm area, with hands-on access, boating lakes and a wildlife walkabout, if you can pry the children away from the rides. Woodlands has won five national awards and if you can't tear yourself away, there's even a campsite attached. Wheelchair users need a strong pusher, as it's very hilly.

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.

This large venue is a very versatile event hall, capable of hosting many different sorts of activities. International sporting events, particularly snooker and basketball, are held here and there are also facilities for orchestral concerts, pop and rock music and light entertainment, with a concert hall holding up to 3,000 people. There is also a skating rink and leisure pool on the same site.

The former river port of Morwellham Quay is a prominent tourist attraction of the Dartmoor National Park today. Home to the famous Tavistock Canal, this one-stop destination packs in an array of fun recreational opportunities. Travel several meters underground into the dripping old copper mine, learn the ropes on board the restored sailing ship, Garlandstone, take a carriage ride drawn by magnificent Shire horses or enjoy games from the Victorian era. An open-air museum offers you a glimpse of a restored 19th-century village. Given its stellar location in the heart of Tamar Valley, one can take in unmatched views of an azure riverfront and rendezvous with rare wildlife and birdlife.

A remarkable George II mansion whose landscaped park overlooks the Plym estuary, Robert Adam worked here on two occasions to create the magnificent state rooms. There are gorgeous Adam ceilings throughout, and three rooms have exquisite hand painted Chinese wallpaper. The original contents also include Chippendale furniture, Wedgwood ceramics and many portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Angelica Kaufman. A very popular feature is the Great Kitchen, where authentic 18th-century banquets are sometimes prepared. Saltram is often seen on film and TV and was Norland Park in the film Sense & Sensibility. A spectacular Jazz Picnic is held here every summer.