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Bournemouth
Town in Dorset, England

Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a coastal resort town and civil parish in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, on the south coast of England.

Plan a trip to Bournemouth→From Bristol

At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest town in Dorset.

Get in

Getting to Bournemouth

Unless travelling from the South-West of England most journeys by road will be via the M27 which turns into the dual-carriageway A31 and passes through the New Forest. At Ringwood look for the (A338) Bournemouth exit. Care is necessary when entering into Bournemouth on the Wessex Way as there are numerous speed cameras.

  1. 01
    Bournemouth

    Served by South Western Railway trains from London Waterloo and other locations on the South coast, such as Poole and Weymouth.

  2. 02
    Bournemouth Airport

    A few airlines fly directly into Bournemouth Airport from various destinations throughout Europe.

See

Worth seeing

Bournemouth is famous for its 7 miles (11 km) of golden sandy beaches and clean seas. The beach has retained the international Blue Flag award status since it was introduced in 1996 and in 2011 also secured

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Oceanarium Bournemouth

    Pier Approach, BH2 5AA,.

  2. 02
    Pavilion Theatre

    Explore a series of picturesque ravines in the cliff.

  3. 03
    Bowl Central

    A large arcade, slot machines, bowling and entertainment centre.

  4. 04
    AFC Bournemouth

    King's Park Drive BH7 7AF (one mile east of centre off A338),.

  5. 05
    Bournemouth International Centre

    Exeter Rd, BH2 5BH.

  6. 06
    Bournenmouth Air Festival

    Bourne Free (Bournemouth's Pride Festival), Town Centre,.

Eat

Where to eat

Bournemouth has many different restaurants suiting different tastes and budgets. The Old Christchurch Road at the "top" of the main shopping area has a string of low to mid-range eateries alternating with your orientated bars and clubs. There is another crop of eateries in the West Cliff area (around the International Centre), and in the Triangle, and in Westbourne.

  1. 01
    Oriental Delight
  2. 02
    Kokoro

    53 Old Christchurch Rd.

  3. 03
    Roosters Piri Piri

    Flirt Cafe, 221 The Triangle, BH2 5RG (in the Triangle district),.

  4. 04
    Aroma Bournemouth

    14-16 Holdenhurst Rd.

How locals move

Getting around Bournemouth the local way

  • Go nextOne option is to take the open top bus via the Sandbanks ferry in the summer for approx £5 from central Bournemouth and change at Swanage.

From Wikivoyage: Bournemouth, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Alchemist-hp (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.