Rainforest Biome
Billed as the world's largest indoor rainforest, tropical year-round and past 30°C in summer, with a canopy walkway over the treetops and a real waterfall.
Twenty-five years ago this was a worked-out china-clay pit some sixty metres deep with no soil in the bottom. Today two colossal domes of transparent hexagonal bubbles sit in it, designed by Nicholas Grimshaw and opened in 2001, and under the larger one grows what Eden bills as the world's largest indoor rainforest: banana, rubber and cacao trees, a real waterfall, and an aerial walkway that carries you across the canopy. It is tropical all year and climbs past 30°C in summer with heavy humidity, so expect to shed your jacket at the door and feel briefly transported to Malaysia in the middle of Cornwall. The second dome, the Mediterranean Biome, is lighter, cooler and far more familiar to anyone from the Levant: olives, pomegranates, vines and wild herbs set among sculpture, and the place to catch your breath after the rainforest. Around both domes, terraced outdoor gardens climb the sides of the pit; they are glorious from May to September and frankly drab in winter. Visit in December or January and the two biomes are the whole trip, which fills three hours rather than five. Practically: the entire site is on a slope, and walking down from the entrance to the biomes means a climb at the end, though a land train and lifts make it easy with pushchairs and older relatives. Entry is expensive (£39.50 for an adult at the gate, £35.50 booked online, £12.50 for children aged 5–15 online and £15 at the gate, under-fives free) but every ticket automatically becomes an annual pass, so a family spending a week in Cornwall can come back for a second day at no cost. Booking ahead is strongly advised in July, August and school holidays — it is cheaper, and busy days can sell out — and the Rainforest Biome gets packed after lunch. Food inside is varied with plenty of vegetarian options; no dedicated prayer room is advertised. Getting there: Eden is not in the heart of Cornwall but just outside St Austell on the south coast, about 5 km from the town; buses 26, 28 and 31 run from St Austell bus station in roughly 25 minutes, leaving a five-minute walk downhill to reception, and the drive is 30–40 minutes from Newquay or Truro and about an hour from Plymouth. Parking is free. In winter the site shuts early, at 16:00 or 17:00, and closes altogether on selected midweek days between January and mid-March, so check the calendar on the website before you drive. December evenings are the exception: the site stays open until 20:30 for the Christmas lights, which need their own pass on top of admission.
Billed as the world's largest indoor rainforest, tropical year-round and past 30°C in summer, with a canopy walkway over the treetops and a real waterfall.
Olives, pomegranates and vines among sculpture in cooler air, a familiar breather for a Levantine visitor after the rainforest humidity.
The terraced gardens on the pit walls shine from May to September, with a zip wire run by a separate company flying above them on its own ticket.
Bodelva, Par PL24 2SG, near St Austell
With children or on a wet day, pick Eden: both biomes are under cover and the experience lands harder for kids. A garden lover without children will find Heligan quieter, far cheaper (around £18.50 an adult) and finer for trees. If time is short, one day at either is enough; Eden is expensive, so do not double up without a reason.
Yes, if the two biomes are your goal: the rainforest is warm whatever the weather outside, but the outdoor gardens are bare and the site closes at 16:00 or 17:00. Allow three hours, check the closure days between January and mid-March, and an ice rink usually runs through the cold months, roughly October to February.