Three days in Cornwall — the itinerary for people who plan.

Twenty minutes north of Fowey, the Eden Project is Cornwall's most visited attraction and one of the few that genuinely justifies the entrance fee. Built in a reclaimed china clay pit, it houses two enormous biomes — one tropical (hot, humid, and full of rainforest plants), one Mediterranean (warm, dry, and fragrant with lavender and olives) — plus extensive outdoor gardens. It's an education in global ecology disguised as a day out, and it's considerably more interesting than it sounds in summary. Allow two to three hours. The outdoor gardens are excellent in their own right, and the viewing platform above the biomes gives you the best perspective on the scale of what Tim Smit and his team achieved. Book tickets online in advance — it's cheaper and avoids the queue. If you're visiting on a summer evening, check whether the Eden Sessions (outdoor concerts) coincide with your trip.

Thirty minutes south of Padstow, Bedruthan Steps is the single most dramatic coastal view in Cornwall. Enormous sea stacks — some sixty feet high — stand in a wide sandy beach below cliffs that glow orange in the afternoon light. The National Trust car park at the cliff top has a cafe and a viewing platform that gives you the full panorama without any effort. If you want to reach the beach, there's a steep staircase cut into the cliff — it's manageable but not easy, and the beach is inaccessible at high tide (check times before descending). The coast path in both directions is superb — south towards Mawgan Porth or north towards Park Head. Allow forty-five minutes for the viewpoint and car park, longer if you descend to the beach or walk the coast path. This is the view that appears on every Cornwall guidebook cover, and for once the reality exceeds the photograph.

The Minack is an open-air theatre carved into the granite cliffs above Porthcurno, four miles from Land's End. It was built by one woman — Rowena Cade — starting in the 1930s, and it's one of the most remarkable places in England. The stage is a natural shelf of rock with the Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop. If you're visiting between May and September, check the performance schedule and try to see a show — watching a play as the sun sets over the sea is an experience that stays with you. Even without a performance, the theatre is open to visitors during the day (£7.50 adult) and the gardens are beautiful — exotic plants growing in the shelter of the cliff, with views along the coast to Logan Rock and the Lizard. Allow an hour for the visit, more if you linger in the gardens. The exhibition in the visitor centre tells Rowena Cade's extraordinary story and is worth ten minutes of anyone's time.

End your three days at the most iconic landmark in Cornwall. St Michael's Mount is a tidal island in Mount's Bay, crowned by a medieval castle and a subtropical garden, connected to the mainland village of Marazion by a granite causeway that's only passable at low tide. At high tide, a small boat ferries visitors across (£2.50). The castle has been home to the St Aubyn family since the seventeenth century, and the interior is a mix of medieval great hall, Victorian drawing rooms, and a remarkable collection of arms and armour. The gardens, clinging to the steep south face of the island, are extraordinary — Mediterranean plants thriving in the Gulf Stream microclimate, with views across the bay to Penzance and the Lizard. Allow two hours for the castle and gardens. The walk across the causeway at low tide is part of the experience — cobblestones worn smooth by centuries of pilgrims and traders, with the castle growing larger with every step. It's the perfect final image of Cornwall.