48 Hours in Plymouth

48 Hours in Plymouth

If you’re here for the weekend, follow our top tips to make the most of your visit, and have a weekend to remember.

Day 1

Start your visit by exploring the rich cultural heritage of Britain’s Ocean City at the award-winning museum and art gallery, The Box. Spend the morning exploring the city’s prehistoric origins and local history, before immersing yourself in one of the venue’s expertly curated exhibitions. Stop for a coffee and mid-morning snack in the museum café, surrounded by the beautifully restored maritime figureheads suspended overhead.

Once you’ve topped up your caffeine levels, head down the road for some retail therapy. With big name brands and high street favourites, as well as a vibrant indoor market, fantastic independent shops, art galleries and antique stores, Plymouth is the region’s capital for shopping.

Visit Drake Circus to get your shopping fix, before taking a wander into the City Centre and grabbing a cheeky pasty from one of our iconic bakeries.

Alternatively, you can order an authentic international lunch at Plymouth Market, home to some wonderful food, from Caribbean cuisine to some of the best Asian eateries you’ll find in the city.

In the afternoon, take a trip down the historic cobbled streets of the Barbican and walk in the footsteps of adventurers of the past, including Sir Francis Drake, Charles Darwin and the Mayflower Pilgrims, who left Plymouth in 1620 for the ‘New World’.

No visit to Plymouth is complete without a trip on the water, hop on the ferry from the Barbican and make your way round to Royal William Yard, the former naval victualling yard that is now home to a range of restaurants, shops and art galleries, the perfect spot for a glass of wine and dinner before taking in a show at Theatre Royal Plymouth, Plymouth Pavilions or the Barbican Theatre

Day 2

Enjoy some fresh air on your second day, out on the water. Spend your morning enjoying a cruise of the Sound with Plymouth Boat Trips, see the historic Naval dockyards or take a trip over to the idyllic Cawsand and Kingsand.

If being active on the water is more your thing, take a dip in Plymouth’s famous art deco salt water swimming pool Tinside Lido and work up an appetite for lunch.  Make sure to take some time on Plymouth Hoe, home to one of the finest views in the world (well, we think so anyway). Get your selfie at the top of Smeaton’s Tower and take a walk along the Hoe Promenade, with views of the Sound on one side, and the Naval War Memorial on the other.

Don’t forget to find the ‘Beatle Bums’ set into the grass on the Hoe to recreate your own version of the famous four’s postcard-worthy photo.

There are so many places around the Hoe and the Barbican to sample our city’s famous fish and chips. We recommend heading down to Rockfish to enjoy some spectacular sustainably-caught seafood, owned by famous chef Mitch Tonks.

Spend the afternoon at the National Marine Aquarium, discovering the wildlife that lives in the waters surrounding Plymouth, and learn more about our city’s deep blue connections as the UK’s first National Marine Park and the fantastic work of the Ocean Conservation Trust.

For dinner, book yourself into the Barbican Kitchen, owned by the Tanner brothers and based at the historic Plymouth Gin Distillery.

After your meal, enjoy a cocktail in the distillery Refectory Bar, rumoured to be the place where the Pilgrims spent their last night before sailing to America on the Mayflower - the perfect place to end your own Ocean City pilgrimage in style.