The perfect weekend in Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a seaside town through and through. With one of the nicest town beaches in the UK, there’s no better place to go for a summer break. If you are thinking of booking a weekend away, find a room in our Bournemouth hotel and take family or friends for a lovely trip. Here are the highlights of what there is to do:

Culture

The Russell-Coates Art Gallery and Museum is one of Bournemouth’s top attractions. The last ever Victorian mansion to be built is chockablock with interesting Victorian artefacts and art. But most of Bournemouth’s culture is centred around its seafront, so at the top of your To Do list should be renting a beach hut down by the sea. The city has more of them than anywhere else in the world and it is also home to the oldest beach hut still standing.

Sight-Seeing

Bournemouth pier is the first place you should head to when you arrive in town, and it’s a lovely stroll from there to the city’s other pier at Boscombe. A free walking tour from the tourist information centre will take you to all the places you need to see, and teach you all about the smugglers that used to operate from here.

Bournemouth Beach and Pier

Family Fun

Bournemouth is one of the best towns for family activities, with the Oceanarium, the Treehouse Family Play Area, a great Laser Quest and Littledown Park with its high ropes course and its paddling pool. That’s not to mention the beach, and all the fun you can have in wetsuits in the sea.

Nightlife

The Funnybone Comedy Club is a great place to spend the evening, as is the Opera House if you can get tickets to see a live show there. Horseshoe Common can be a little wild, but there are some great places like cafe flirt in The Triangle. For something a bit different book tickets to Rubyz, a spectacular cabaret show led by Dame Kitty. Most of the audience will be here for stag parties but you can bet that will add up to a brilliant atmosphere.

Food

Generally Bournemouth has a very laid back vibe and a restaurant scene to match. You’ll find plenty of people hanging out in beachside cafes all day long. Here’s where you should be at each time of the day:

Breakfast: We may be proud of our brunches, but the Americans make a pretty good job of breakfast too, as you’ll discover if you make your way to Starz Diner. Think huge stacks of pancakes, huevos rancheros, or even a burger, as their whole menu is served all day.

Lunch: There is a new pizza restaurant in Bournemouth and it is being heralded as the best pizza outside of Italy. Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but the thin bases and excellent toppings are very good and modestly priced. A takeaway pizza from the Bournemouth Pizza Co is ideal for lunch especially if you take it down to the beach.

Tea: It’s impossible to go the quaint little Frieda’s Tearoom and not love it, with all its kitsch and coziness and proper tea towers. If the hearty tea isn’t enough to fulfil your appetite, the eggs here are excellent.

Dinner: You can’t eat supper in Bournemouth without a view of the sea, or something on your plate that was fished out of it. Urban Reef has a fantastic location on the Boscombe seafront and an excellent menu to match. Try the mussels, the crab or the whole roasted sea bass.