A great ship, a great bridge and a harbourside that never stops: Bristol is creative, hilly and full of surprises, from Banksy to balloons.
Bristol is one of the most enjoyable cities in Britain. It is a port city that grew rich on trade over many centuries, including, shamefully, the trade in enslaved African people, a history it now confronts openly. It is also a city of engineers, artists and musicians, where the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel left some of his finest work, and where a street artist called Banksy first painted on the walls.
The city is built on hills around a winding harbour and the dramatic Avon Gorge, which means there are views at every turn and some steep walks. It is known for its independent spirit, its food, its music scene and its festivals. This guide covers eight things we would put on any visit, followed by where to eat, where to stay, a plan for a weekend and how to get there and around.
1. SS Great Britain
The SS Great Britain was the most revolutionary ship of her age. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in Bristol in 1843, she was the first ocean going ship to combine an iron hull with a screw propeller, and for a time she was the largest ship in the world. She carried passengers to New York and later to Australia, served as a troop ship, and ended her working life as a storage hulk in the Falkland Islands.
In 1970 she was brought home to Bristol on a floating pontoon and returned to the same dry dock where she was built. Today she has been beautifully restored and is one of the best museum ships in the world. You can walk through her decks and see the cabins, dining saloons and kitchens as they were for Victorian passengers.
The most remarkable part of the visit is going beneath the ship. The dry dock is sealed under a glass plate covered with a thin layer of water, so it looks as though the ship is floating. Below it, in a dry, controlled atmosphere that protects the iron from rust, you can walk right around the hull and the huge propeller.
The ticket includes the Being Brunel museum, which tells the story of the engineer’s life and work, with drawings, models and his own belongings. Allow at least three hours for the whole site. Tickets usually let you return for free for a year, which is useful if you want to come back. The ship is on the south side of the harbour, and the harbour ferry stops right outside.
2. Clifton Suspension Bridge and Clifton Village
The Clifton Suspension Bridge is Bristol’s most famous landmark. It spans the Avon Gorge high above the river, and it was designed by Brunel when he was still in his twenties. Work began in 1831, but money ran out and Brunel died before it was finished. It was completed in 1864 as a memorial to him.
You can walk across the bridge for free and look down into the gorge, where the river is a long way below and ships once sailed up to the city. The views up and down the gorge are spectacular. On the Leigh Woods side, there is a visitor centre that tells the story of how the bridge was built, and paths lead through the woods along the edge of the gorge.
On the Clifton side, the Clifton Observatory sits on the hill above the bridge. It houses a camera obscura, a Victorian device that projects a live image of the surroundings onto a table, and a passage down to a cave in the cliff face with a viewpoint over the gorge. The grassy Clifton Downs stretch away behind it, a huge open space loved by walkers, dog owners and picnickers.
Clifton Village, a short walk away, is one of the most attractive parts of the city, with Georgian terraces, crescents, independent shops, delis and cafés. Royal York Crescent is said to be the longest crescent in Europe. It is a lovely place to spend a slow afternoon, and it is especially pretty in spring and at Christmas when the shops are lit up.
3. The Harbourside
Bristol’s Floating Harbour, the old docks in the centre of the city, is the heart of Bristol life. It was created in the early nineteenth century by holding back the tides so that ships could stay afloat all day. Today it is lined with museums, galleries, restaurants, bars and boats, and it is the best place to begin exploring the city.
M Shed, in a former transit shed on the quayside, tells the story of Bristol and its people, from its trade and industry to its music and protests. It is free to enter, and it now looks after the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston, which protesters pulled down in 2020, and tells the story of that day. Outside, working cranes, steam trains and tugs bring the docks to life on some weekends.
Nearby, the Arnolfini is a contemporary arts centre, and the Watershed is a cinema and media centre with a popular café. At Millennium Square and Anchor Square, We the Curious is a science centre full of hands on exhibits for children and adults, with a planetarium. Beside the water you will often find a replica of the Matthew, the ship in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol to North America in 1497.
The best way to get around the harbour is by the small yellow and blue harbour ferries, which stop at points around the water, including the SS Great Britain, the city centre and Temple Meads station. In July, the Bristol Harbour Festival fills the harbourside with music, boats and food. Walking the whole loop of the harbour takes a couple of hours at a relaxed pace.
4. Street art
Bristol is one of the great cities of street art, and it is the home city of Banksy, the anonymous artist whose work is now famous around the world. He started out painting on walls in Bristol in the 1990s, and several of his works can still be seen in the city. Seeing them is a favourite activity for visitors.
Among the best known are Well Hung Lover, painted on the side of a building at the bottom of Park Street, and The Mild Mild West, a teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb at riot police, in Stokes Croft. Girl with a Pierced Eardrum, a playful version of the Vermeer painting, is on a wall near the harbour. Some works have been damaged, removed or covered over the years, so it is worth checking which are still visible.
Banksy is only part of the story. Bristol has hundreds of street artists, and neighbourhoods such as Stokes Croft, Bedminster and the area around Nelson Street are covered in large, colourful murals. Many of the walls are repainted regularly, so the city’s street art changes all the time.
Upfest, one of the largest street art festivals in Europe, is held in Bedminster and brings artists from around the world to paint walls across the area. Guided street art walking tours run regularly and are a great way to understand the stories behind the works. In 2009, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery held a famous Banksy exhibition, and the museum still has one of his works on display.
5. The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
Every August, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta fills the sky above the city with hot air balloons, and it is one of the largest balloon festivals in Europe. It takes place over several days at Ashton Court Estate, a large park on the edge of the city with views across Bristol. Entry to the main site has traditionally been free, with a charge for parking, but check the latest arrangements before you go.
The highlight is the mass ascent, when dozens of balloons rise into the air together, usually early in the morning and in the early evening. Seeing them drift over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the harbour is unforgettable. Special shaped balloons, from animals to famous characters, are always a favourite with children.
On some evenings there is a night glow, when the balloons are tethered on the ground and fire their burners in time to music, lighting up like giant lanterns, often followed by fireworks. The ascents depend entirely on the weather, especially the wind, so flights can be cancelled at short notice.
The fiesta draws huge crowds, and the roads around Ashton Court become very busy. Plan to arrive early for the morning ascent, and think about where you will be picked up afterwards. If you cannot get to the site, the balloons can often be seen from all over the city, especially from high points such as Brandon Hill and the Clifton Downs.
6. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and Cabot Tower
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, at the top of Park Street, is a large and varied museum that is free to enter. It has collections of natural history, archaeology, Egyptology, art and much more. Families enjoy the dinosaurs and the gallery of stuffed animals, and art lovers will find paintings from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.
The museum is also famous for the Banksy work in its entrance hall, Paint Pot Angel, which was left behind after his 2009 exhibition. Next door is the Wills Memorial Building, a huge Gothic tower that is part of the University of Bristol and one of the city’s landmarks.
A short walk away, on top of Brandon Hill, is Cabot Tower, built in the 1890s to mark four hundred years since John Cabot’s voyage to North America. You can climb the narrow spiral staircase to the top for a wonderful view over the city and the harbour, although the tower is sometimes closed for repairs. The park around it is one of the oldest in the city.
Nearby, Park Street is one of Bristol’s most famous shopping streets, a steep hill lined with independent shops, cafés and bars. At the bottom, College Green and Bristol Cathedral are worth a visit. The cathedral has an unusual hall church design, where the aisles are the same height as the nave.
7. St Mary Redcliffe and the old city
St Mary Redcliffe, a short walk from Temple Meads station, is one of the most beautiful parish churches in England. It is so grand that people often mistake it for a cathedral. Queen Elizabeth I is said to have called it the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church in England.
Its tall spire and richly decorated stonework date mostly from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Bristol’s merchants paid for it with the money they made from trade. Inside, the soaring stone vaults, with more than a thousand carved bosses, are breathtaking. It is free to enter, and it is a peaceful place away from the city bustle.
The old city, around Corn Street and St Nicholas Market, was the centre of Bristol’s trading life for centuries. Outside the Exchange building on Corn Street stand four bronze pillars called the Nails, where merchants are said to have paid their debts, giving rise to the phrase to pay on the nail. It is a lovely example of how Bristol’s history is still written into its streets.
King Street, beside the harbour, has some of the oldest pubs in the city, including timber framed buildings from the seventeenth century, and the Bristol Old Vic, one of the oldest working theatres in the English speaking world. It is a lovely area for an evening drink by the water.
8. Aerospace Bristol
Bristol has a long history of building aircraft, and Aerospace Bristol, in Filton on the northern edge of the city, tells the story of more than a century of flight. The museum stands on the site where aircraft were designed and built, from early biplanes to modern airliners. It is a fascinating visit for anyone interested in engineering.
Its star is Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, the last Concorde ever built and the last to fly, which landed at Filton in 2003. You can walk through the cabin and see the seats where passengers crossed the Atlantic in about three and a half hours. The museum explains how Concorde was developed by Britain and France together, and why it was retired.
The collection also includes aircraft, engines, helicopters and space technology, many of them made in Bristol. There are hands on exhibits and plenty to keep children interested. Allow at least half a day.
Filton is not in the city centre, and public transport links are limited, so a car is the easiest way to get there. It combines well with a visit to the north of the city or with a journey to or from Bristol Parkway station.
Where to eat and drink
St Nicholas Market, in the old city, is one of the best places to eat in Bristol. Under its Georgian glass roof are stalls selling street food from all over the world, from pies to curries, alongside stalls of books, records and gifts. It is at its best at lunchtime, and it is closed on some days, so check before you go.
Wapping Wharf, beside the harbour near M Shed, is a small neighbourhood of independent restaurants, cafés and bars, many of them in converted shipping containers. It is a lively place for a meal or a drink with a view of the water. Gloucester Road, north of the centre, is lined with independent shops, cafés, bakeries and pubs, and it is one of the longest stretches of independent shops in the country.
Bristol is in the West Country, and cider is a local speciality, along with a thriving craft beer scene. The city also has a strong restaurant scene, from neighbourhood bistros to places with national reputations.
Where to stay
For a first visit, stay near the harbour or in the old city, where you can walk to most of the sights, restaurants and bars. Clifton is quieter and more elegant, with boutique hotels and guest houses in Georgian houses, and it is close to the bridge and the Downs, although the walk back up the hill from the harbour is steep.
There are also plenty of hotels near Temple Meads station, which is convenient for arriving by train, and around Cabot Circus, the city’s main shopping centre.
A weekend in Bristol
On the first day, start at the SS Great Britain, then take the harbour ferry to the city centre and visit M Shed. After lunch at St Nicholas Market, walk up Park Street to the museum and Cabot Tower, and finish with dinner at Wapping Wharf or in the old city.
On the second day, head to Clifton for the suspension bridge, the observatory and a walk on the Downs, then have lunch in Clifton Village. In the afternoon, take a street art tour of Stokes Croft or visit St Mary Redcliffe, and end the day with a drink by the harbour. With a third day, Bath, Wells and the Cheddar Gorge are all within about an hour.
Getting there and getting around
Bristol Temple Meads is the main railway station, a short walk or ferry ride from the harbour, with fast trains from London Paddington in around an hour and forty minutes, and direct services to Birmingham, Cardiff, Bath and the South West. Bristol Parkway, on the northern edge of the city, is handy for trains to Wales and the North.
Bristol Airport is about eight miles south west of the city, on the A38, and there is no railway link to it, so most people arrive by road. The city is close to the M4 and M5 motorways, and it is around two hours from London by road in normal traffic.
Bristol has a Clean Air Zone in the centre, where some older vehicles have to pay a daily charge, so check before driving your own car. The centre is walkable but hilly, and parking is expensive. A car booked ahead is the easiest way to get to and from the airport, to reach Aerospace Bristol and Ashton Court, and to visit Bath, Wells and Cheddar.
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