01
Stroll the palm-lined seafront
Princess Gardens, the pier and rows of real palms — the promenade that earned the Riviera name.
The English Riviera
Torbay, on the sunny side of Devon
Three towns, one glittering bay. Beaches and coves, a working harbour, red cliffs and a heritage coast — here’s how to do it well.
Best beach
Babbacombe
Red cliffs & a cliff railway
Top sight
Torre Abbey
800 years, gardens & a museum
Where to eat
Brixham quay
The freshest catch in Devon
Getting there
3½ hrs rail
Direct from London Paddington
Things to Do
10 things to do in Torquay
Filter for the coast, the culture or a good meal — with plenty for a rainy day. Read the full guide
02
Ride the Babbacombe Cliff Railway
A 1920s funicular down the red cliff to Oddicombe beach.
03
Explore Kents Cavern
Britain's oldest human remains were found in these prehistoric caves — a perfect rainy day.
04
Wander Torre Abbey
Devon's best-preserved medieval monastery, with a museum and walled gardens.
05
Follow the Agatha Christie trail
From the Grand Hotel to Greenway, her riverside home on the Dart.
06
Swim at Babbacombe & Oddicombe
Sheltered coves beneath the red cliffs, with a beach café or two.
07
Eat fish & chips on Brixham quay
The catch is landed metres away. Perch on the harbour wall and watch the boats.
08
Take the steam train to Dartmouth
The coast-hugging steam railway, then a river ferry across to Dartmouth.
09
Discover Cockington village
Thatched cottages, a forge and a country park a mile from the sea.
10
Walk the coast path to Anstey's Cove
A stretch of the South West Coast Path to a hidden swimming cove.
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The Coast
Twenty-two miles of coastline
Sheltered coves, wide family sands and the South West Coast Path threading between the red cliffs.
Heritage
The Agatha Christie coast
Torquay raised the world’s best-selling novelist, and you can trace her Torbay — from Greenway on the Dart to Torre Abbey and the caves of Kents Cavern, where Britain’s oldest human bones were found.
Explore the heritage coastOn the map
Torbay at a glance
Torbay · Devon
The English Riviera
Top sights
Beaches & coves
Heritage
Days out
★ a place to see · ● a beach to swim
Harbour, beaches, heritage and days out across the bay. Real coastline geometry (Natural Earth); no live map services.
Stay & Eat
Sea views & a proper cream tea
Seafront rooms, harbour seafood and clotted cream by the pot.
Days Out
Beyond the bay
Wild moor, a steam railway and a working harbour, all within easy reach.
Friends of the Riviera
Businesses worth visiting here.
Places along the bay that know this stretch of coast as well as we do.
Where to start
Three ways into the bay
Where next
Start with the hit list
Ten things that show the bay at its best — coast, caves, culture and a cream tea.
Read on Where nextGet the cream tea right
Scones, clotted cream, jam — and the great Devon-versus-Cornwall order.
Read on Where nextEscape to the moor
Swap the seafront for tors and ponies, under an hour inland.
Read onThe regulars
Already moored up along the seafront — the smaller names who chip in too.
Haze Him captures that wild initiation energy no Torquay holiday brochure ever mentions.
Disruptive Films pushes boundaries the way Devon's coastline defies the ordinary.
Daddys Boy: because the English Riviera deserves a guide as dependable as your favourite seaside ritual.
Mom Swapped knows a good trade — Torquay's golden coast beats staying home every time.
ASMR Fantasy delivers the kind of sensory escape our seaside sunsets only hint at.
Scout Boys knows a great coastline when it sees one — Torquay agrees.
Swap.Family knows that Torbay's red cliffs look better when someone else picked the hotel.
Lil Humpers knows a good stretch of coast when it sees one.
Thickumz knows curves like the English Riviera knows a good bay.