Things to do in Bournemouth
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Bournemouth Surf School
Bournemouth Surf School operates from the beach just east of Bournemouth Pier and runs surf lessons and half-day bodyboarding sessions.
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Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum
The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is an ostentatious mix of Italianate villa, Scottish baronial pile and Japanese gardens. It was built at the end of the 1800s for Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes as somewhere to showcase the remarkable range of souvenirs gathered on their world travels - look out for a plaster version of the Parthenon frieze by the stairs, Maori woodcarving and Persian tiles.
The house is also dripping with Victorian art and paintings by Rossetti, Edwin Landseer and William Frith.
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7-Mile Beach
Backed by 3000 deck chairs, Bournemouth's big draw is its 7-mile sandy beach. Regularly clocking up seaside awards, it stretches from Southborne in the far east to Alum Chine in the west - an immense promenade backed by ornamental gardens, cafés and toilets. It also prides itself on two piers (Bournemouth and Boscombe).
Around Bournemouth Pier you can be part of centuries of tradition and hire beach chalets, deck chairs, windbreaks and parasols, as well as sit-on-board kayaks.
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Artificial Surf Reef
Bournemouth has been busy building itself an artificial surf reef - the first one in Europe. It involves 60m-long sausage-shaped bags being lowered into the sea just east of Boscombe Pier, then being pumped full of 1000 tonnes of sand. The aim is to produce heavy-breaking, barrelling 3m waves - a challenging ride.
The accompanying around £8 million redevelopment at Boscombe Spa Village is set to add a new wave of surf shops and restaurants to the mix.
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West Beach
A firm favourite with Bournemouth's foodie crowd, this buzzy eatery delivers both top-notch dishes and the best views in town. Try monkfish medallions with Parma ham or a seafood platter crammed with crab claws, lobster, razor clams and crevettes – best enjoyed on a decked dining terrace that juts out over the sand.
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Dorset Belle Cruises
Between April and September Dorset Belle Cruises operates a range of trips from Bournemouth Pier. The pick is a 2½-hour cruise (two to three daily) to the sheer white chalk cliffs at Old Harry - the start of the Jurassic Coast. It also runs ferries to Swanage (one to three daily), Poole (one to two daily) and Brownsea Island (two to four daily).
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Landmarc
The preacher wouldn't recognise it. This vibrant bistro-cum-music venue is set in a massive former church - now the stained glass merges with red neon. Acts are a mix of acoustic and tribute bands, with comedy on Wednesdays. The menu's full of tasty café staples: Swiss burger and fries, grilled tuna steak and Thai chicken curry.
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Oceanarium
Underwater tunnels bring you eye-to-eye with mean-looking sharks, massive moray eels and giant turtles in watery worlds ranging from Key West and the Ganges to Africa and the Med.
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Basilica
The menu at this groovy bistro visits more Mediterranean countries than your average InterRailer - expect meze, Parma ham parcels, grilled haloumi and pasta with chorizo. The brick-lined interior is dotted with jars of olives bigger than your head and tables hacked out of single chunks of wood.
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Bournemouth Eye
Tucked into the Pleasure Gardens is the Bournemouth Eye. Some say a trip in this hot air-balloon cures vertigo. As ascents to 150m last only about 15 minutes, at least you'll find out fast if they're right. The views from the top encompass 25 miles and are amazing.
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Pleasure Gardens
Bournemouth's Pleasure Gardens are one bit of the Victorian town that have survived - they're even Grade II-listed. This colourful belt of greenery, shrubs and herbaceous perennials stretches one and a half miles north west from the seafront.
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Indian Ocean
Unusual karai and Bangladeshi specials as well as tried and tested Indian favourites.
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Ciao
A cool hang-out with slabs of red paint on the walls, a huge glass-backed bar piled high with bottles and tables that spill out onto the street. The food is firmly focused on pizza, pasta and gourmet panini.
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Opera House
This gorgeously renovated 19th-century theatre mixes Victorian design with an ultracool lighting system. The line-up features a cross-section of music (jazz meets rude-boy punk) and comedy.
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Chocol8
Heaven: a café that doubles as a chocolatier. Sip your cappuccino surrounded by shocking-pink walls, tiny tables and hundreds of multicoloured, gift-wrapped sweet temptations.
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Kayaks
Around Bournemouth Pier you can be part of centuries of tradition and hire beach chalets, deck chairs, windbreaks and parasols, as well as sit-on-board kayaks .
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20:20
Former casino with varied programme - DJ sets and rock, breakbeat, house and hip-hop.
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Elements
Massive queues and club anthems are the mainstays at Bournemouth's biggest club.
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Sorted Surf School
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East Cliff Lift Railway
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Bournemouth Beach Huts
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Sixty Million Postcards
A hip crowd inhabits this quirky drinking den. The worn wooden floors, battered sofas and fringed lampshades are home to everything from DJ sets (including indie, synth-pop and space disco), to board games and impromptu Sunday jumble sales.
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Russell-Cotes
This ostentatious mix of Italianate villa and Scottish baronial pile was built at the end of the 1800s for Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes as somewhere to showcase the remarkable range of souvenirs gathered on their world travels. Look out for a plaster version of the Parthenon frieze by the stairs, Maori woodcarvings and Persian tiles. The house also boasts fine art, including paintings by Rossetti, Edwin Landseer and William Frith.
reviewed
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Print Room
This charismatic brasserie exudes Parisian chic, from the black and white tiled floors to the burnished wooden booths. Dishes are well travelled, too; try the beetroot gnocchi, grilled calves livers, or steak with black truffle potato. Or that most excellent French tradition: the plat du jour, including wine, for only £10.
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