A Beautiful Port Of Call: 20 Things To Do In Bristol

The largest city in the south west of England was settled in Anglo Saxon times, became a key Roman port before becoming a leading Commonwealth commercial harbour.

Its name comes from the old English word for “place at the bridge”, Brycgstow, and its most renowned landmark remains one of the finest feats of Victorian engineering, the Clifton Suspension Bridge.

While the city’s wealth was originally built on trade, its now tourism that makes it one of the UK’s most visited cities.

Find out more about its wonderful waterfront, historic pubs and famous landmarks with our guide to where to eat, drink and play “shipshape and Bristol fashion”.

1. Head to the harbour

Thanks to the natural geography of the Bristol Channel, which has the second biggest tidal range in the world, Bristol’s port and harbour became one of the most influential trading places in the UK.

The commercial port closed in 1975 but the has now been transformed into a 21st Century development with bars, restaurants and watersports on offer.

Take a ferry around the harbour to get a feel for what it must have been like in its trading heyday or sit back in a bar or restaurant and watch the world go by.

2. Visit the local landmarks

Clifton Suspension Bridge (c) Walter Dirks

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is one of the most iconic bridges in the world, and the symbol of the city, noted for its beauty and engineering excellence.

Now a Grade I listed structure the Victorian bridge was opened in 1864, and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to rise 245 feet above the River Avon.

If you visit at night you can see the bridge illuminations, installed in 2005, or go by day and take a one-hour guided tour of the bridge (Easter-October). To find out more head to the visitor centre.

You can discover more about Brunel’s genius at the  SS Great Britain,  and visit the steam ship he designed that revolutionised the industry and created the most luxurious, and largest, passenger vessel of its time.

Brunel’s SS Great Britain Deck (c) Brunel’s ss Great Briatin

The Grade I listed, Bristol Cathedral, was originally founded as an Augustinian Abbey (1140), and you can visit its Romanesque, Chapter House, to see some original features.

Despite extensive rebuilding across the centuries, it is still a fine example of a medieval church.

The gothic splendour of St Mary Redcliffe was allegedly described as “The fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England.” by none other than Queen Elizabeth I – and its soaring ceiling and stained glass windows are still to be marvelled at 800 years after it was built.

3. Sample the local restaurant scene

Bristol has two fine Michelin starred restaurants for a fine dining experience.

Both Casamia and Wilks offer a seasonal modern European menu – using local produce wherever possible.

As you’re by the coast, try some seafood at The Spiny Lobster in Clifton and see what the catch of the day is.

If you’re after pizza, Flour & Ash‘s sourdough offerings  made with locally milled flour is a good option, or if Indian food is your thing, the Thali Cafe prides itself on its authentic street food.

Zazus on Gloucester Road also has a seasonal menu, with chef’s specials depending on the local produce on offer and The Canteen has free live music every night of the week to enjoy with your food.

The Glassboat restaurant has a prime location down on Bristol’s floating harbour, and you can dine on European cuisine while you enjoy the fine views.

The Glassboat restaurant (c) Glassboat

4. Have a meal and a pint

Bristol has plenty of gastro pubs to keep you fed and watered, like The Grace in North Bristol.

They have a tapas menu during the week, and also put on a roast dinner on a Sunday – when the weather is nice sit outside in their back garden.

The Kensington Arms,  known affectionately as The Kenny,  has posh bar food available as well as a separate dining menu and is another great weekend destination.

If you love jazz, The Old Duke is the place to visit for free live music every night of the week.

The Avon Gorge Hotel’s bar has some of the most spectacular views across the countryside. See the sun set over the Clifton Suspension Bridge from their large beer garden.

 

View from the Avon Gorge Hotel

5. Have a drink in one of Bristol’s bars

The Haus Bar in Clifton has a great reputation for cocktails, and its late night opening hours (until 2am) makes this a popular spot to sip an Old Fashioned or sample a Martini in its dark and moody bar.

The Milk Thistle has a prohibition-era style to it and you can drink in their clandestine cocktail bar until 3am at weekends.

If you love gin, you can visit Bristol’s only distillery and take the The 6 O’clock Gin Distillery Tour at Bramley & Gage – for tour dates and booking see website.

6. Take some time for a coffee

If you’re in the city centre and after a caffeine hit, try Small St Espresso or Full Court Press , who both serve up excellent coffee.

Bakers & Co in Gloucester Road also do great coffee and brunches, and if you’re in a rush, they do a nice line in take away sandwiches.

The Gloucester Old Spot pub is also a lovely place for a bit of breakfast.

7. Visit and feed some exotic animals

Bristol Zoo Gardens (c) Bob Pitchford

It might be the fifth oldest zoo in the world (1836), but Bristol Zoo Gardens is firmly placed in the 21st Century when it comes to research, conservation and looking after their pandas, penguins and pythons.

Over the decades they’ve help save more than 175 species from becoming extinct and you can get up close to their gorilla family, monkeys and Asiatic lions, among the hundreds of animals they take care of.

8. See some spectacular sea creatures

Bristol Aquarium tunnel (c) Bristol Aquarium

Bristol Aquarium is naturally based down near the harbour and you can see thousands of fish, amphibians and marine creatures in specially created habitats.

Pop your head into one of the bubble windows in the underwater walk-through tunnel to get as close to their reef display as you can without getting wet.

9. Browse for bargains in Bristol

You can visit covered shopping centres or find the most fashionable streets within the Bristol Shopping Quarter. There are more than 500 stores, ranging from big name luxury retailers to more independent local shops.

They have a guide you can download before you visit to help you find the stores you’re looking for in the centre.

St Nicholas Markets have been serving Bristolians since 1743, and there are three covered markets,  The Glass Arcade, Covered Market and the Exchange – some of the finest buildings in the city.

You can visit every day of the week, and they have specialist markets operating as well, like a street food offering on Wednesday and Fridays and a weekly Wednesday Farmers Market.

Clifton Arcade has been restored to its former Victorian glory and is a great place to find small, independent shops selling vintage clothing, jewellery and antiques.

Bristol Shopping – Clifton Arcade (c) Morgane Bigault

10. Find out more about Bristol’s literary links

Famous poets, William Wordsworth and Thomas Chatterton had strong links to the city, and in more recent times, the author J.K. Rowling was brought up just up the road in Chipping Sodbury.

However it is Bristol’s links to pirates and its seafaring past that have influenced two of the major books in English Literature.

Robinson Crusoe author, Daniel Defoe, met the shipwrecked Alexander Selkirk in The Llandoger Trow pub, after he was rescued from his desert island and brought to Bristol.

If you’ve read the children’s classic, Treasure Island, you might want to pop into the Hole in the Wall pub, just off Queen Square, as it is here that Robert Louis Stevenson based the Spyglass Tavern on. The pub was once an infamous recruitment place for the Royal Navy.

11. And it’s famous pirates

Most people will have heard of the notorious Blackbeard, however you might not know he originally hails from Bristol.

The infamous Edward Teach was born in 1680 and at the height of his reign of terror had a 400 strong gang roaming the ocean wave.

Save up your pieces of eight for Pirate Pete, who can take you on a swashbuckling weekend tour of some of the most famous and shady Bristol pirate sights.

Banksy Masked Gorilla (c) Destination Bristol

12. See some street art

The most famous street artist in the world hails from Bristol, and you can see some of the mysterious and mercurial Banksy’s works in the city.

You can take a self-guided tour around some of the original murals, that haven’t been painted over.

You should also visit the Stokes Croft area, which is home for scores of murals and lays claim to be the cultural quarter of the city.

Street Art – Stoke Croft Murals (c) Morgane Bigault

13. Make time for some museums

Open seven days a week, the free to visit Bristol Museum & Art Gallery has archaeological objects like Egyptian mummies and the famous Bristol dinosaur to peruse – a particular favourite with children is the large stuffed gorilla, Alfred.

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery (c) Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

To find out more about the city, visit the free state-of-the-art, M Shed, which pays tribute to the cities seafaring and industrial past. They have some large exhibits, like the Fire-boat Pyronaut, which shows off its water-spraying capacities at the harbour while you’re on board.

@Bristol Science Centre has the UK’s only 3D Planetarium, so if you want to learn more about the night sky, this is the place to visit.

The Georgian House Museum is open during the spring and summer (see website for dates) and you can go behind the scenes to find our more about a former slave owner’s home in the 18th Century.

@Bristol Planetarium and Bristol Cathedral. Image via Destination Bristol

14. Take a tour

You can see Bristol from the sky or take a more sedentary route on a bus or boat.

You can head out into the harbour or go up the Avon with the Bristol Packet Boat Trips – all four boats in their fleet have a bar.

You can also hop onto one of the Bristol Ferry Boats – which has drop offs at some of the main attractions on the Floating Harbour, like the Aquarium and Brunel’s ss Great Britain.

Bristol Balloons offer flights between March and October – although they do have some options over the winter months.

Take an open-top bus tour of Bristol and see the sights over an hour and a half tour – you can hop on and hop off at various attractions around the city.

15. Go see a play or film

Bristol Old Vic Theatre (c) Bristol Old Vic

You can see a play at the longest continuously-running theatre in the UK if you visit the Bristol Old Vic.

In 2016 it will celebrate its 250th anniversary, however the Grade I listed Georgian auditorium has undergone significant refurbishment to mean you can watch ground-breaking theatre productions, starring some of the biggest names in theatre, in 21st Century comfort.

Bristol Hippodrome is the place to see the top West End Shows, think Cats, Dirty Dancing and Mary Poppins, as well as opera, ballet and comedy performances.

It’s Victorian design means it has the only operating domed roof in the UK, allowing it to be opened to the elements, however it is rarely used today and you’re more likely kept cool by the air conditioning.

DID YOU KNOW?: Legendary Hollywood actor and Bristolian, Cary Grant, got his first theatrical experience at the Hippodrome as a Call Boy, and was inspired to move from backstage to front of house when he ran off with a troupe of acrobats.

 

Bristol Hippodrome auditorium (c) Bristol Hippodrome

If you want to see films you won’t find at the multiplex, then visit the independent picture house, Cube Cinema.

They also do comedy nights, children’s events, live music and cabaret as well as making their own cola.

16. Time your visit for festival fun

Bristol Balloon Fiesta Morning Launch (c) Gary Newman

Europe’s largest ballooning event, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, sees the skies above the city fill with colour over four days of fun.

This fabulous free festival has been going strong for three decades and is usually held in August, with more than 100 hot air balloons taking part.

However organisers say the best time to see the balloons is when they first go up, at 6am at Ashton Court (they will have breakfast on the go).

Bristol Harbour Festival fireworks (c) Bristol City Council

The Bristol Harbour Festival takes place over a long weekend in July, and you can enjoy all things nautical, top food and drink and live entertainment down by the historic waterfront for free.

Supported by Bristol City Council, there are live performances on the main stage in Queen Square and plenty of aquatic action with the annual cardboard boat race always a highlight.

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion put on the Queen Square Festival every summer, with their tipi village catering for thousands of diners. They put on fine dining, British tapas and live music to entertain the crowds and showcase the best local produce.

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion (c) Jon Craig

17. Choose between The Gas and The Robins

There is a fierce rivalry between the two football teams in Bristol, with Bristol City Football Club (The Robins) in the red and white corner and Bristol Rovers  (The Gas) in blue and white one since they were established in the 19th Century.

They’ve played each other more than a hundred times in the Bristol Derby and you can watch City at their home ground of Ashton Gate or Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

18. Take a dip outdoors

The Lido in Clifton is one of the oldest in the UK, and since undergoing a refurbishment, this Grade 2 listed building, has become a popular destination for swimming, eating and drinking.

You can do a few lengths before taking lunch or afternoon tea at the poolside restaurant or try their spa facilities, including a sauna, steam room and massage room.

Clifton (c) Destination Bristol

19. See Bristol by bike

The Better by Bike website has scores of cycling trails to try, with varying lengths and for different abilities.

They also offer advice on where to hire bikes and even pump up your tyres if you get a flat.

20. Go for a stroll

Bristol is blessed with plenty of lovely walks to stretch your legs out on.

Take a walk alongside the river from Snuff Mills to Oldbury Court, which has a great playground at the end of the walk as well as a little cafe to have a cup of tea or coffee in.

The Grade II* registered parkland at Blaise Castle has a huge kids play area (divided into age groups) and plenty of picnic and barbecue areas for eating alfresco.

Pick up a walk leaflet and discover more about these beautiful grounds – which has giant’s footprints, a lily pond, caves and a castle to explore.

Head to The Downs for wonderful views over Avon Gorge and the Severn Estuary – there’s plenty of picnic spots if you want to make a day of it.

It’s also one of the best places to fly kites in the area and great for outdoor activities from walking to birdwatching.

Bristol from above (c) Destination Bristol

Staying there

Has our guide inspired you to stay a little longer? In that case we have plenty of hotels in Bristol and the surrounding area.

The beautiful city of Bath is also close by, and we’ve put together a guide of the best things to do when you visit, whether it’s to see the Roman baths or discover why Jane Austen was so take with it.

Here’s some more weekend break destinations to visit nearby if you want to head off to pastures new.

Getting there

It takes around an hour and 45 minutes to get to Bristol from London by train via Great Western Railways.

If you’re driving, it can take between two and two and a half hours (depending on traffic). There are three different places to Park & Ride into the centre if you don’t want the hassle of finding a parking spot.

Where would you visit in Bristol?

If you live in Bristol or have visited the port before, we’d love to hear what your favourite things to do in Bristol are.

Please share your recommendations and experiences by leaving a comment below.

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