Bristol
Discover Bristol
Bristol is a city in the West Country of England. Famous for its maritime history it also offers a great and diverse range of attractions, hotels, bars and events. Bristol is one of England's top visitor destinations, and the best time to visit is in the summer when major festivals are held in the city. Although cursed by some horrible post-war buildings, Bristol is nevertheless an amiable, grooved, laid-back city whose mellow vibe is reflected in the music of Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky that perfectly captures the sultry, lean burn atmosphere of a warm summer's evening in this historic and cultured city.
What to Experience in Bristol
Taste of Bristol...
Bristol has a huge choice of bars and restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. There are many around the Harbourside and the West End's Park Street and Whiteladies Road, but do not be dissuaded from trying those outside the centre as many are superior to those that attract passing trade due to their location. After a night out, or if your hotel allows food delivery, you will also be able to find many takeaways in Bristol, with different varieties of food. The fact that it's the home to around 44,000 students probably says a lot for the quality of the city's nightlife. Surprisingly, though, it's relatively expensive, with prices similar to those in London. Mainstream nightlife centres around 3 main areas - Corn Street in the 'old city', Park Street/Whiteladies Road, and the Harbourside. These areas get extremely busy, if not rowdy, at weekends, however there are plenty of places in Bristol where you can have a good time without mixing with more student type crowds. Venue magazine is a good source of information. The eastern end of King Street in the old city provides a slightly more relaxed, but popular, outdoor drinking area on sunny summer evenings, surrounded by historic pubs such as the 17th-century Llandoger Trow (reputed to have been the haunt of pirates and the model for the Admiral Benbow in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel "Treasure Island").
Festivals & Events
Experience the vibrant festivals and cultural celebrations of Bristol.
Bristol has a widespread range of festivals throughout the year. The most significant include: There are various websites publicising these events, but probably the best thing is to pick up a copy of Venue Magazine (analogous to London's Time Out) from a stockist. Venue is no longer weekly and paid, but has been merged with the Folio free monthly lifestyle magazine, and new editions are usually available on the last Friday of the month. Saturday's edition of the Bristol Evening Post has a free pull-out supplement called Seven that lists much of what is on offer in the city during the following seven days. Alternatively you can check out Bristol Music & Theatre listings online on Bristol Music which also has contact details for all local venues and music contacts and reviews. Headfirst is a local website and mobile app that offers detailed listings of what's going on in many of the bars and late night venues around the city, with an emphasis on live music.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThere is no train link between Bristol's airport and the city, but there is a very useful bus service (bus A1) that takes about 35 min and has a frequency of up to every 8 min. It costs £15 for an adult return ticket (the second part of which can be used up to a month after the first), £9 for a one-way to the city centre, and £25 for a family return. There are student discounts on this service if you have a valid student photo ID. The Flyer bus is useful because route A1 takes you to Temple Meads station, then to the bus station at Marlborough Street. There is a cheaper Falcon service by Stagecoach (£8.10 return) booked a week in advance via Megabus.com. The Falcon service terminates at Bond Street. There is also a cheaper U2 service by First (£3 single under the England bus fare scheme), the bus station is The Airport Tavern, a 10-15 minute walk from the Terminal. The bus will get you to the city centre but watch out the timetable and the day of service....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Visit Bristol, the official tourism website for Bristol has maps of the city to download. Distinctive blue A3 tourist maps which cover the city centre, the Harbourside and Clifton, are available for free from locations such as libraries, shops, Temple Meads railway station, hotels and the YHA hostel. These really are excellent maps and you should obtain a copy or two. They indicate main streets, attractions, hotels and areas of the city in the central area and in Clifton. You can also buy commercially produced maps before you leave from sites such as Amazon. The pocket-sized "Bristol Pop-Out Map" is useful, as are the pocket-sized A-Z maps. Bristol is also home to a branch of Stanfords, a very large supplier of maps and tour guides (e.g. their store at Covent Garden in London is the largest such store in the world). Maps of Bristol with all the city centre street names and destinations marked sell from £1.50.
Where to Stay
There are a lot of hotels and guest houses in the Bristol area. A selection is listed below. Like many other big cities in the UK, Bristol has its rough areas. Use common sense while getting around. While some of the following information may sound a little scary, many locals insist that Bristol is a lovely and safe city. In the 2020s problems with drunken violence have become worse. Drunken brawls can occur in the centre of town on Friday and Saturday nights as pubs and clubs close, especially near the waterfront area, the Centre, taxi queues and fast food joints. This has been reduced somewhat by a heavy police presence and security guards monitoring the taxi queues. Avoid Baldwin Street at the 11PM and 2AM kickout times. Go somewhere else to hail a cab from some of the smaller, less busy ranks. There are also specific areas that have a reputation after dark.
Money & Budget
Broadmead and Cabot Circus are the two major precincts in the city's central shopping district. 51.459-2.5852 Cabot Circus, Central, ☏ +44 117 952-9360. A large and architecturally impressive shopping centre in central Bristol, opened in 2008. The name was chosen by public vote after it was decided that the name 'Merchants Quarter' brought with it too many connotations to Bristol's slave trade past. It is a large, and mostly under-cover shopping centre, containing over 120 shops including Hugo Boss, Berska, Lush, Stradivarius, and Rituals. (updated Dec 2024) Broadmead remains a pretty dire indictment of post war planning and architecture; it contains The Galleries, Bristol's city centre mall. It is large, though the range of shops doesn’t offer much.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Like many other big cities in the UK, Bristol has its rough areas. Use common sense while getting around. While some of the following information may sound a little scary, many locals insist that Bristol is a lovely and safe city. In the 2020s problems with drunken violence have become worse. Drunken brawls can occur in the centre of town on Friday and Saturday nights as pubs and clubs close, especially near the waterfront area, the Centre, taxi queues and fast food joints. This has been reduced somewhat by a heavy police presence and security guards monitoring the taxi queues. Avoid Baldwin Street at the 11PM and 2AM kickout times. Go somewhere else to hail a cab from some of the smaller, less busy ranks. There are also specific areas that have a reputation after dark. The inner city districts of St Pauls and Easton are said to be rife with drugs and gangs but should not pose any danger to people outside the narcotics trade.
Glimpses of Bristol
Balloons over the bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
people walking on bridge during daytime
The Floating Harbour, Bristol docks, the Brunel's Great Britain steamship was built, and lies in dry dock
An evening at Bristol Harbourside
a group of boats floating on top of a river
on the Cabot Tower
brown concrete building
The iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel bathed in the warm glow of the setting autumnal sun.
Angel on the Street
Balloons over the bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
people walking on bridge during daytime