Beware the animal mummies
F
rom Egyptian relics to biplanes, and works of art to stuffed deer, there’s something to excite everyone at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery – whatever your passion.
In fact it’s rather lovely to look at from the outside, too, the grand carved stone pillars above the Edwardian Baroque entrance giving you the feeling that you’re about to see something special (not to mention free).
One of our favourite ‘bits’ is the vast collection of ancient Egyptian treasures, which is spread across two areas of the gallery. Among the 600 or so fascinating relics, you’ll find the mummified remains of people living around 3,000 years ago – alongside mummies of animals – plus tools, jewellery, statues and loads more.
From there you could head upstairs for a dose of fine art, in the galleries. There are all sorts of paintings – from Romantic portraits by the likes of Delacroix, to more modern pieces like The Owl and The Pussycat by Peter Blake.
Even Bristol’s very own Banksy had a show here in 2009, where one of the pieces was a burnt-out ice cream van.