You're in for a few surprises at this classic old Edwardian museum. Look out for the Paint-Pot Angel by world-famous street artist Banksy in the entrance hall; a funerary statue with an upturned pink paint pot on her head, she's designed to challenge our expectations of museum exhibits and the value of art. It's also a reminder of the artist's hugely popular 2009 exhibition here. Just above sits the Bristol Boxkite, a prototype propeller-powered biplane, which dangles from the ceiling.

　　Other displays encompass everything from dinosaurs and Asian antiques to Assyrian reliefs. The art sections are particularly strong: especially paintings by Pissarro, Lucas Cranach, Giovanni Bellini, Thomas Gainsborough and John Constable.