Shopping in Bournemouth
Bournemouth's main shopping centre has three major department stores together with a large number of national chains. Supplementing these are many independent shops offering the full range of goods and services you would expect from a town of this size. Also close to the town centre you will find the Bournemouth Eye. This is helium filled balloon which gives you the opportunity to view Bournemouth and is surroundings from a height of 500 feet.
On the outskirts of Bournemouth are the suburbs of Boscombe, Westbourne and Winton, where you can find a wide variety of smaller specialist shops. Also away from the town centre is the new Castlepoint shopping centre containing 40 top name stores. There are also some restaurants and plenty of free parking.
Eating out in Bournemouth
Wherever you go in Bournemouth you are not far away from one of its 250 restaurants, cafes, bistros and wine bars. And not only that, you can enjoy dining out while being surrounded by gorgeous countryside, fabulous beaches or the historic town centre.
Culture in Bournemouth
Close to the pier is the Oceanarium, which is home to all your favourites from flamboyant clownfish and tiny terrapins, to stunning sharks and the infamous piranha. Here you can immerse yourself in a sea of colour, with 10 spectacular recreated environments. Just down the road is the Russell Cotes Art Galley and Museum. This is a Victorian villa which houses some fine art and artefacts in a beautiful setting overlooking the sea.
Bournemouth has three major entertainment venues, where top class shows can be seen throughout the year, together with numerous bars and clubs many of which also offer live entertainment. Family events in town include weekly 'Flowers by Candlelight' and fireworks displays on summer evenings.
Bournemouth's cliff top air show
This year Bournemouth will again be the venue for Britain's largest free summer event - the "More Bus" Bournemouth Air Festival. This will bring four days of spectacular air displays including the Red Arrows, along side the RAF Falcons, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight of the Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire and the Typhoon.
In addition the festival will feature the Black Cats Helicopter Display Team, beach assaults, demonstrations from the Royal Marines Commando Display Team, music from The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines and exiting evening entertainment programmes.
In the 2009 display, the areosuperbatics, the world's only formation wingwalking team put on a great show. The Eurofighter Typhoon also put in an appearance - a very noisy one at that and is expected to show up for the 2010 event. No airshow is complete without the Red Arrows putting in an appearance - and last year they didn't disappoint.
For more information about this year's event see: Bournemouth Air Festival.
Bournemouth's accommodation
There are many great places to stay, and enough variety to suit every taste and preference, from 4 star hotels through to the famous British B & B. Many of the larger hotels are on the sea front and give splendid views of Poole Bay stretching from the Isle of Wight to the Purbeck Hills.
Bournemouth's transport links
Bournemouth enjoys good rail connections with the rest of the country, being on the main line from London Waterloo just 100 minutes away. The M3 motorway, A31 and A338 roads give dual carriageway access into the town centre. Bournemouth International Airport is served by Ryanair flights from Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but announced on 14 July 2010, that they are temporarily suspending Bournemouth flights between November 1 2010 and January 31 2011. RyanAir). Nearby Poole and Weymouth are ferry terminals for journeys to France and the Channel Isles.
