Torquay

Worth seeing in and around Torquay

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Kents Cavern

   Kents Cavern is a cave system in Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable both for its archaeological and geological features.

   1.9 km · show cave in Devon, England, UK · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Compton Castle

   Compton Castle in the parish of Marldon in Devon, is a fortified manor house in the village of Compton, about 5 miles west of Torquay on the southern coast of Devon, England. The estate was home to the families of Compton, de la Pole, Doddiscombe, Gilbert and Templer.

   5 km · Grade I listed historic house museum in South Hams, Devon, England, UK · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Plainmoor

   Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football.

   800 m · football stadium · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Paignton Zoo

   Paignton Zoo is a zoo in Paignton, Devon, England, operated by Dutch leisure company Libéma since January 2026. The zoo houses a collection of approximately 1,876 animals representing nearly 189 species, and cultivates about 1,600 different species of plant across its 80-acre site.

   6 km · zoo in the UK · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Torre Abbey

   Torre Abbey is a historic building and art gallery in Torquay, Devon, which lies in the South West of England. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons, and is now the best-preserved medieval monastery in Devon and Cornwall.

   1.1 km · house museum in Torquay, United Kingdom · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Goodrington Sands

   Goodrington Sands is a sandy beach on the English Riviera, located at Goodrington, a coastal village on the outskirts of Paignton. The beaches are gently shelving with a promenade at one end and rocks leading around to Oyster Cove at the other.

   5.5 km · beach in Devon, England, UK · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Living Coasts

   Living Coasts was a coastal zoo at the site of Torquay Marine Spa in Devon, England. It was owned by South West Environmental Parks as part of the Wild Planet Trust, formerly known as Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust, which also operates Newquay Zoo and Paignton Zoo.

   1.4 km · zoo in Devon, England · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Oddicombe Beach

   Oddicombe Beach is a popular beach, noted for its interesting breccia cliffs, below the Babbacombe district of Torbay, Devon in England. The beach is linked to Babbacombe town by the Babbacombe Cliff Railway.

   1.8 km · beach in Devon, England · Wikipedia
9. 09
   Kirkham House

   Kirkham House is a late medieval stone house in Paignton, Devon, England. It is believed to be a 14th- or 15th-century building.

   4.5 km · late medieval stone house in Devon, England, UK · Wikipedia
10. 10
    Oldway Mansion

    Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon, England. It was built as a private residence for Isaac Singer, and rebuilt by his son Paris Singer, in the style of the Palace of Versailles.

    4 km · house in Paignton, Devon, England, UK · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

1. 01
   Kents Cavern

   Home to early man for some 700,000 years, tourists can visit this subterranean wonderland.

2. 02
   Babbacombe Model Village

   This is considered one of the best examples of a model village in England.

3. 03
   Torre Abbey

   A Premonstratensian monastery founded in 1196.

4. 04
   Babbacombe Cliff Railway

   Babbacombe Downs Rd, TQ1 3LF,.

5. 05
   Cockington Court and Country Park
6. 06
   Torquay Museum

   A Victorian museum centred around Agatha Christie though with many other exhibits throughout the ages.

From Wikivoyage: Torquay, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

1. 01
   English Riviera Wheel

   A 60 m (200 ft) tall Ferris wheel, similar to the London Eye, offers souvenir photographs.

2. 02
   Harbour Amusements

   As with any seaside town, there is an amusement arcade which provides a great way to get rid of loose change.

3. 03
   The Princess Theatre

   Torquay's main theatre overlooking the waterfront.

4. 04
   Babbacombe Theatre

   Babbacombe Downs Rd, TQ1 3LU,.

5. 05
   Little Theatre

   Torquay is also set along a coastline renowned for its 9 main beaches.

6. 06
   Maidencombe Beach

From Wikivoyage: Torquay, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

Chefs in the area are spoilt for choice when it comes to locally sourced seafood and meat. The cuisine has a distinctive West Country flavour. Adventurous diners can take a culinary journey around the world, sampling everything from French, Italian and Spanish, to Indian, Thai, Moroccan, Mexican and Lebanese cuisine.

1. 01
   Bamboo Sandwich & Coffee Bar

   A small cafe, with a great sandwich selection.

2. 02
   Hanbury's Famous Fish and Chips

   Fish & chips shop and restaurant, winner of several awards including Best Fish & Chip Shop 2007.

3. 03
   The Room in the Elephant
4. 04
   The Orange Tree

   14-16 Parkhill Rd, TQ1 2AL,.

From Wikivoyage: Torquay, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Torquay

Airports

Cardiff (CWL), 104 km · Bristol (BRS), 116 km · Brest Bretagne airport (BES), 234 km

Stations

Paignton railway station, 4.6 km · Torquay railway station, 1.3 km · Torre railway station, 1.2 km · Goodrington Sands railway station, 5.5 km

• Cardiff → Torquay

  116 km · quickest by road, 3h 14m · £19–25
  GuideToday
• Bristol → Torquay

  128 km · quickest by road, 2h 30m · £14–19
  GuideToday
• London → Torquay

  265 km · quickest by road, 5h 5m · £28–37
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Torquay

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Torquay. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Torquay – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.