2 Best Sights in The South, England

This unique museum tells the story of the British Army's Gurkha brigade, whose Nepalese soldiers have fought alongside the British since the early 19th century in virtually every deployment, through tableaux, dioramas, uniforms, weapons, artifacts, and interactive touch-screen displays. A program of lectures includes a Nepalese curry lunch (£35) on the last Friday of the month.

Perched on East Cliff, this lavish late-Victorian villa overflows with sculpture, paintings, and artifacts, including cases of butterflies and an exquisite suit of Japanese armor—just a few of the treasures collected from around the world by the Russell-Cotes, a widely traveled Victorian couple. The house, a combination of Italian Renaissance and Scottish Baronial, with added Moorish-, Japanese-, and French-themed rooms, was designed to showcase the collection. There's also a small landscaped garden and café. The museum hosts temporary exhibitions as well, such as ones devoted to the legacy of the Pre-Raphaelites or to the role of fans in Victorian society.