The ancient parish of St Blaise was once defended by an iron age fort and was a centre of industry in the 18th - 19th centuries. Now the area has moved along, with the death of local mining, a new industry has taken over. The Eden Project is located within the civil parish, and about 2 kilometres from the centre of the town. The large number of visitors this attracts has led to the development of tourism in the town. Other attractions, such as the Treffry Viaduct and the Luxulyan Valley are also close by, although actually within the adjoining parish of Luxulyan.

Tywardreath is a small hilltop village located in a sheltered spot overlooking a silted up estuary opposite Par and near the beach of Par Sands. It sits on the Saints' Way trail.

Tywardreath translates from the Cornish language as House on the Strand, and was featured by Daphne du Maurier in a novel of that name. Although a fictional tale of drug-induced time-travel, the history and geography of the area was carefully researched by du Maurier who lived in a house called Kilmarth, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south.

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