Hotels near the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum

Bournemouth's Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum offers visitors the chance to enjoy a variety of exhibitions and activities in grand surroundings.

East Cliff Hall, formerly the home of Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes, houses the museum of artefacts the intrepid couple amassed on their ambitious travels. It opened in 1922. It is a mixture of an Italian villa and a Scottish castle and sits on top of a cliff overlooking Poole Bay and the Isle of Wight.

The museum has a fine collection of paintings, sculpture, ceramics, pottery and prints. Highlights include an extensive Japanese collection and many Victorian paintings, including Venus Verticordia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. There are several galleries, which house exhibitions taken from the collections as well as temporary shows.

The museum has recently undergone a major refurbishment, and there is a full programme of events and activities for all ages including mask-making, portrait drawing and design projects, concerts and films.