10 Best Things to Do for Couples in Bournemouth

Boscombe Pier is a landmark pier that’s wildly popular with visitors, offering spectacular views of the seashore and Isle of Wight along with lots of entertainment opportunities. After capturing the perfect selfie for your social media feeds, you can relax and feel the ocean air before heading for the onsite cafe that features a wide range of great dishes. For a quirky, fun and exciting activity while here, you and your partner can hit up the ocean-themed mini-golf course.

The pier was massively renovated to make it even more attractive for visitors to walk, relax and enjoy some romance. It’s right in the heart of the city centre.

The Bournemouth Parks Lower Gardens lie at the base of a nearly 2-mile-long string of green parkland and feature gloriously colourful floral displays. The onsite aviary is a birdwatcher’s dream, and you can also take romantic walks among groves of cedar and pine trees. The park features an outdoor art exhibition and has a historic bandstand that hosts regular free concerts.

It’s also famed for its events and attractions, such as the August Candlelight Nights and the winter ice rink. The gardens are in the heart of the city centre, a few minutes’ walk from the beach, pier and main shopping area.

Brownsea Island is an offshore site that’s popular with visitors for its campsites, live entertainment, summer events and opportunities for outdoor adventure. Visitors here love to pitch tents under an endless blanket of stars and watch the bats and nightjars fill the sky while glow-worms move across the land. Before you turn in for the night, you can sit on a blanket and enjoy a picnic while watching the Brownsea Island Open Air Theatre Players perform a variety of live plays.

During the day, the island offers miles of hiking trails with guided tours or self-guided walks to view a variety of wildlife. The island can be reached by a ferry ride of about 1 hour.

Bournemouth couple spas allow you and your special someone to take a wellness day for yourselves to get pampered like royalty so you can feel your absolute best. Most hotels and resorts in the area have a spa, and many offer a range of spa packages that include everything from massages to saunas, swimming pools, workout rooms, mani-pedi treatments and full health club amenities. Most even have a Jacuzzi-style hot tub.

The best news is that many of these health spas don’t require you to be staying at the resort to take advantage of what they have on offer. Just find the one closest to you and book your treatment to feel like a royal.

Hengistbury Head is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, offering scenic gold-sand beaches, a visitor centre and a museum overlooking the English Channel with natural history exhibits. The northern and western beach is backed by an unspoiled wilderness reserve and lined by the Christchurch Harbour waters. The southern beach is composed of sand and shingle with soft, cold sands, bays and groynes at the Mudeford Sandbank.

The region has been inhabited by humans since the Stone Age, and the visitor centre showcases exhibits dedicated to the archaeology of the region as well as its ecology and geology. It’s also a sustainable building and has hands-on exhibits from the Stone Age and beyond. It’s just 15 minutes east of the city centre.

The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum atop the East Cliff showcases classic and contemporary art exhibitions in a stunning art nouveau building from the early 20th century. The building was once a villa owned by Merton Russell-Cotes and contains a collection of artworks from all over the world that he and his wife, Annie, collected in their travels. It’s famed for its collection of Japanese ceramics as well as its Pre-Raphaelite paintings and Henry Irving memorabilia.

The gallery also hosts rotating and temporary exhibits all year long. The Café allows you to grab a bite and play some games to relax. It’s in the heart of the city centre.

The Boscombe Chine Gardens just behind their namesake pier offer a delightful collection of colourful flora that dates to the Victorian era and have undergone a major revitalisation. The garden was overgrown at one point and had become the victim of urban decay until a concerted effort towards revitalization made them a positively enchanting attraction. The gardens host 2 spa shelters and a lodge, with colourful, intricately tended flowerbeds between. The park hosts a splash park and a mini-golf course in the summer.

At the upper end of the gardens, you will find the Clock Cafe where you can sit and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee to recharge your batteries. It’s right in the city centre.

LEVEL8IGHT The Sky Bar is among the highest bars in England’s South West region and features gorgeous views, creative craft cocktails and great food. Even the cocktails here are Instagrammable with a presentation as powerful as the flavour mixes from the seasoned mixologists behind the bar. The bar also offers 360-degree panoramic views of the region. The food is tapas-style small plates, with afternoon tea daily. For a real treat, try one of the signature cocktails like the Easy Rider, made with Hennessy, Cointreau, lemon, pear and orange bitters.

From a relaxing afternoon timeout to a whirlwind date night you’ll never forget, this is sure to become a repeat spot on your visit list. It’s in the city centre.

Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar offers creative cocktails, fine dining and an award-winning alehouse in a flamboyant and fun garden setting with craft cider, ale and top-shelf liquors. The bar is original and artistic, showcasing a 1920s style that’s not quite speakeasy, but more a living Dr. Seuss fairy tale with fairy lights, elaborate lampposts, balconies overlooking the garden and a fantastic live music scene showcasing genres as diverse as rock and jazz by acts from all over the world.

The food is organic and locally produced, both British and Continental in style. While here, don’t forget to try the house apricot and sloe gin cocktail, aptly named the Charlie Chaplin. It’s in the heart of the city centre.

The Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre is a historic theatre offering regular big-production touring shows in a wide variety of styles and genres. The theatre was built in the 1920s and today serves as a multipurpose event centre hosting product launches, corporate presentations, gatherings and regular live performances. It’s a venue that regularly hosts West End stage performances including musical theatre, plays, concerts, stand-up comedy, operas and ballets.

The theatre is renowned for its beautiful presentations as well as its historic and elegant art deco architecture. You can even catch a bite at the cafe before or after the show. It’s a wonderful spot to catch a matinee with your partner and is centrally located in the heart of the city centre.