Despite being a little town towards the central-southern end of Lake Windermere, Bowness is a popular resort which attracts thousands of visitors every year. Its busy hilly streets, lined with elegant stone and slate houses, hotels and gift shops bear that clean fresh look which is typical of the Lake District. Bowness is in many respects like an inland seaside resort with all the atmosphere that this engenders.

The town's popularity is evidenced by the many restaurants which it has, catering for all tastes - from Fish & Chips, various Chinese, Greek and Indian cuisines, to the more expensive gourmet restaurant. There are also many small cafés offering beverages and snacks. Local shops offer local Lakeland crafts goods including linen, woollen, paintings, glass, slate work, horn goods and pottery, as well as the many small bookshops found in the town.

A few hundred yards from the town centre is Bowness Bay, a small lakeside beach front with an adjacent marina. Lake Windermere attracts boaters, and the many moored launches and sailing vessels add to the picturesque quality of the district. During the summer season, several large passenger boats run cruises along the lake to Ambleside, either for single journeys or for a more leisurely round trip. Small rowing craft may also be hired from this beach. Less adventurous visitors find pleasure in sitting and watching, or feeding the large numbers of gracious swans which reside here.

Both Windermere and Bowness have many sources of accommodation, including large elegant Victorian hotels, old inns and small guest houses with a range of bed & breakfast and half board facilities. There is ample parking in off centre car parks (mostly paying), and some side street parking, though they tend to fill up early. Tourist Information Centres can be found in Bowness at the Lakeside, and in Windermere next to the railway station.