Laser Doppler anemometry and flow visualization were employed to provide a detailed description of the flowfield around an in-line tube bundle in steady and pulsating crossflow of water. The steady flow results indicate that the amplitude of velocity fluctuations associated with vortex shedding and the turbulence levels in the bundle increase with increasing Re. A single mode of alternate vortex shedding with a constant Sr of 0.14, was found in all rows but the first one in steady flow. Pulsating flow incited vortex shedding from the first row and lock-on. As a result, vortex shedding was more pronounced and turbulence levels increased considerably downstream. It is envisaged that heat transfer in the tube bundle might be augmented by pulsating flow.