iKnow Cornwall
Looe Accommodation
Looe Harbour Scene - Looe is still a thriving Fishing Harbour
Quieter West Looe Quay
Looe Specialist Shopping and Arts and Crafts
Looe Harbour Scenes 
Looe Guildhall & MuseumTourist Information Looe Harbour West East Looe Cornwall UK
Beautiful Looe in South East Cornwall is extremely popular with holiday makers, especially families on a budget. It's all here - a holiday seaside feel, a stunning fishing harbour, numerous arts and crafts shops, tea rooms, pubs, Looe hotels and cottages, opportunities for scuba diving and fishing or pleasure boat trips (particularly out to off shore Looe Island), sailing on Looe River and glorious coastal walking and beaches not just around Looe but in the surrounding picture postcard villages of Polperro. Looe caters for families well, with a choice of Looe Caravan Parks, great beaches and a choice of local museums and attractions - easily missed if you don't know the area, Looe is a pleasant surprise and more!
Looe Tourist Information Centre, The Guildhall, Fore Street, East Looe, Cornwall. PL13 1AA. Tel: 01503 262 072. Looe is great for parking, with a mammoth car park provided on the West Quay side of Looe within easy walking distance of the harbour and East Looe Beach - just follow the parking signs as you reach Looe.
Shopping & Things to Do in Looe
Looe's heritage and history centres around it's harbour and the industries of fishing, farming and indeed tourism. Looe has a mixed identity, largely due to the river which divides it into East Looe and West Looe, both of which are connected by a historic arched bridge to great effect. West Looe is quieter with less bustle, yet with a superb choice still of harbour inns, accommodation and the odd specialist arts shop. East Looe is where the crowds head, with the good beach on this side, wonderful specialist arts and crafts shops, renowned Looe pasty shops (this area of East Cornwall has some excellent bakeries) and numerous family cafes, restaurants, fish and chips and more!
The attractive fishing harbour and surrounds of Looe are tops for shops. As you wander around the pretty narrow streets of Looe you'll discover a choice of antique shops, old bookshops, arts and crafts shops at their Cornish best and some of the best bakeries in Cornwall are to be found here in Looe. Nearby Polperry has also become somewhat of a tourist mecca for arts and crafts shops too.
For old books, antiques and collectables head to Bosco Books, Shutta Road, Looe. Tel No: 01503 263700. Dowling & Bray, 1666 House, Fore Street, Looe, Tel No: 01503 262797. Expectations, Talland Street, Polperro, Nr Looe, Tel No: 01503 272552. Tony Martin, Fore Street, Looe, Tel No: 01503 262734. Past & Present, 1 Lansallos St, Polperro, Nr Looe, Tel No: 01503 272737. Rod & Line, The Little Green, Polperro, Nr Looe, Tel No: 01503 272361. Ian Cooper Gallery, Buller House, East Looe. Tel: 01579 348954.
Looe and surrounds are renowned for their bakeries. Here's a list of the best: Cornish Bakehouse, Fore St, East Looe, Looe. Tel No: 01503 265524. Looe Bakery, Fore St, East Looe. Tel No: 01503 265377. Martins Dairy, Fore St, East Looe. Tel No: 01503 262525. Polperro Bakery, Little Green, Polperro. Tel No: 01503 272000. Presto, The Coombes, Fore Street, East Looe. Tel No: 01503 272962.
Looe Heritage & Old Guildhall Museum
The Looe Heritage Town Trail is well worth doing (takes about an hour and a half), taking in some of Looe's most significant historical buidings, many relating to it's fishing history. The trail is well marked, with 5 trail map guides dotted about the town. The trail takes in significant buildings including St Nicholas Church and the Jolly Sailor Inn on the West Looe side. The trail then navigates across to the East Looe side, taking in Looe's famous shipbuilding past and the site of Looe's old Luggars. It then moves down Banjo Pier which extends down to the popular family beach at East Looe. Banjo Pier has a circular end which serves both as a break and to stop the harbour silting up, hence it's apt name derived from it's shape. The trail also takes you through the charming narrow streets of Looe, one of it's main attractions, past numerous delightful arts and crafts shops and several notable historic buildings. Pick up a Looe town trail leaflet from St Nicholas Church, the Discovery Centre or the Tourist Information centre.
The Old Guildhall on Higher Market Street in East Looe is now the site of a splendid local history museum delving into Looe's fishing history and harbour particularly. Looe is still a bustling busy fishing harbour and renowned particularly for it's shark fishing. The old Guildhall dates back to around 1500 and is Looe's oldest building. Well worth a look to explore Looe's shipbuilding history particularly. From the 1850s to the 1920 Looe was a key centre for Lugger building.
Looe's growth as a Cornwall holiday resort really started to take off with the coming of the railway in the late 1870s. Find out more about tourism, fishing and luggar making at the Old Guildhall Museum in Looe.
Old Guildhall and Gaol, Higher Market Street, East Looe, Cornwall, PL13 1BP. Tel: 01503 263709.
Looe Monkey Sanctuary
Looe Monkey Sanctuary is both a rescue centre, mostly for South American primates - the woolly monkey, and a visitor's centre where you can find out more about not just the colony of 14 monkeys but also Horseshoe Bats also resident here at the sanctuary in the cellar under the main house. Other attractions in the complex include extensive gardens and woodland trails, plus a gift shop and the eco-friendly Tree Top Cafe overlooking the sanctuary.
Conservation and education is important here, and the sanctuary is involved in several campaigns, for example one to stop the pet trade of monkeys. Check the website for details and take time to visit if you're in the area.
The Monkey Sanctuary has good disabled access, plus opening hours are Sunday to Thursday during peak season (usually April to September) from 11am - 4.30pm. (closed on Friday and Saturday). Check the webslite for entrance fees and an interactive map of the sanctuary.
The Monkey Sanctuary Trust, The Monkey Sanctuary, Looe, Cornwall, PL13 1NZ. Tel: +44 (0)1503 262532.
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