Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Bristol

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You're in for a few surprises at this classic old Edwardian museum. Look out for the Paint-Pot Angel by world-famous street artist Banksy in the entrance hall; a funerary statue with an upturned pink paint pot on her head, she's designed to challenge our expectations of museum exhibits and the value of art. It's also a reminder of the artist's hugely popular 2009 exhibition here. Just above sits the Bristol Boxkite, a prototype propeller-powered biplane, which dangles from the ceiling.

Other displays encompass everything from dinosaurs and Asian antiques to Assyrian reliefs. The art sections are particularly strong: especially paintings by Pissarro, Lucas Cranach, Giovanni Bellini, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Steam rising off the hot mineral water in the Great Bath, part of the Roman Baths in Bath, UK

    Roman Baths

    11.8 MILES

    Welcome to one of Northern Europe's most significant Roman sites. Today more than a million visitors a year come to see its historic finds, atmospheric…

  • Glastonbury Tor Sunrise

    Glastonbury Tor

    21.91 MILES

    Topped by the ruined medieval Chapel of St Michael, the iconic hump of Glastonbury Tor is visible for miles around, and provides Somerset with one of its…

  • Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales

    Caerphilly Castle

    27.78 MILES

    You could be forgiven for thinking that Caerphilly Castle – with its profusion of towers and crenellations reflected in a duck-filled lake – was a film…

  • Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Wales, United Kingdom, Europe

    Cardiff Castle

    24.92 MILES

    There's a medieval keep at its heart, but it's the later additions to Cardiff Castle that really capture the imagination. In Victorian times, extravagant…

  • National Museum and Gallery at night, Cardiff, Wales

    National Museum Cardiff

    24.79 MILES

    Devoted mainly to natural history and art, this grand neoclassical building is the centrepiece of the seven institutions dotted around the country that…

  • bow of the SS Great Britain in Bristol harbour, UK; Shutterstock ID 81738850; Your name (First / Last): James Smart; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: LP.com destination image for Akureyri

    Brunel's SS Great Britain

    0.5 MILES

    This mighty, innovative steamship was designed by engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843. You get to wander the galley, surgeon's quarters and…

  • Tintern Abbey, Wales

    Tintern Abbey

    16.92 MILES

    The haunting riverside ruins of this sprawling monastic complex have inspired poets and artists through the centuries, most notably William Wordsworth,…

  • St Fagans National History Museum

    St Fagans National History Museum

    28.9 MILES

    Historic buildings from all over the country have been dismantled and re-erected in the semirural surrounds of St Fagans village, 5 miles west of central…

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Nearby Bristol attractions

1. Cabot Tower

0.16 MILES

Set in the small park of Brandon Hill, this 32m ornate red-brick tower was built between 1896 and 1898 to commemorate John Cabot's pioneering voyage in…

2. Georgian House

0.17 MILES

Once the home of the wealthy slave plantation owner and sugar merchant John Pinney, this 18th-century house provides an insight into aristocratic life in…

3. Red Lodge

0.23 MILES

Built in 1590 and remodelled in 1730, this red-brick house showcases a mix of Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian architecture and decor. The highlight is…

4. Well Hung Lover

0.26 MILES

One of Banksy's best loved pieces of street art features an apparently two-timing wife, an angry husband and a naked man dangling from a window. That it…

5. Castles Stencil

0.34 MILES

Hidden away down the side of the Central Library, hunt out the 2011 Banksy stencil that states 'you don't need planning permission to build castles in the…

6. Bristol Cathedral

0.36 MILES

Originally founded as a 12th-century monastery church, Bristol Cathedral was heavily remodelled during the 19th century. It's one of Britain's best…

7. We the Curious

0.43 MILES

Bristol's interactive science museum is a playful, hands-on space where 300 'exhibits' fly the flag for curiosity, scientific collaboration and creativity…

8. Bristol Aquarium

0.45 MILES

The underwater habitats you'll encounter here include a Bay of Rays, Coral Sea, Shark Tank and an Amazon River Zone. The underwater viewing tunnel adds…