City Guide: Bournemouth

Bournemouth is your introduction to the classic British beach holiday.

As one of the largest seaside resorts in Britain, Bournemouth is tourist filled from its beautiful seafront to its sun-baked beaches, yet retains its own exceptional charisma. When it comes to a trip to Bournemouth, the British know this is a destination with heart and its own character.

Bournemouth is the right place to indulge in a truly British atmosphere. But before you go you should take care of where to stay in the city. Be it a room in cheap hotel in Bournemouth to a luxury one all are available at Booked.net. Check out our offers with maps, photos and secure forms.

Stretching along the coastline for more than 11km, Bournemouth is world away from a sleepy seaside village. Locals say their city has many faces and one day it can breathe with nostalgia for the Victorian era, while the next it will introduce you to the life as it comes in the 21st century. Pulsating parties, active clubbers and ''white-collars'' on the conference to the city this is how Bournemouth takes the role of chic tourist destination. 

In Bournemouth there is no piece of shore that will leave you without places to see and things to do. Sunbathing, surfing, diving and snorkeling and so on to a cluster of sites to take you back to how Bournemouth used to be.

Attractions include; 

• Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum has collections of 19th century art

• The Atrium Gallery, a comprehensive showplace of art at Bournemouth University

• St.Peter's Church with a graveyard and tomb of famous author Mary Shelly

• Bournemouth Oceanarium is your thing to enjoy if you are interested in maritime world

• Bournemouth International Centre, a location for concerts and exhibitions held in the city

Touring Bournemouth's attractions, you are on a right track to discover that its strength is in its history. From the early years Bournemouth served as an escape for the rich and famous. This is the reputation the city earned thanks to Mary Eleanor Bowes, the richest heiress in England who turned Bournemouth into remote retreat.

This remote feel that the city originally earned was severely guarded by local government. In the very beginning shops were banned in the city and the railway arrived there under a big secret and was only for a stop there for limited group of people. It was the time when Bournemouth exploded with luxury villas, but the only lack was sufficient infrastructure in the city.

Even though Bournemouth was long a well kept secret, it could not be kept that way for long and soon it became available to enjoy for everyone. Since then Bournemouth has expanded greatly with new transportation system and new buildings. The first spa hotel arrived there in 1885 and was known as the Mont Dore Hotel and afterwards followed a building boom. 

Today you have a wide choice of hotels to stay in Bournemouth and they are listed at Booked.net.