Love London? Try Bristol

Hip hotels, cool restaurants serving every imaginable cuisine, a pulsing cultural scene and museums that are the envy of the world. Bristol has it all – and in a far more compact centre than London. No tube pass is necessary here and most places are within walking distance of the city centre. 

Bristol is the western gateway of the Great West Way, but there is far more to this vibrant city than just an international airport and a useful train station. It all starts at the Floating Harbour, an area of tidal river that was once a busy commercial port but today is more about strolling awhile, enjoying the atmosphere and visiting some of the city’s top attractions. 

This includes the SS Great Britain, one of Brunel’s masterpieces. This was the world’s first propeller-driven, ocean-going iron-hulled ship, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1843, and she chalked up over a million miles at sea. Today you can step on board to see restored cabins and the immense engine, as well as climb the rigging that rises 25 metres in a lattice of ropes up from the deck. For those who dare there are cracking views of Bristol harbour.

Also this side of the water, in an area called Wapping Wharf, is M Shed, a museum dedicated to Bristol itself and featuring stories and anecdotes from local people throughout history. It’s a fascinating place to spend an hour or two and provides a good overview of the city. Just outside there are steam train rides on the Bristol Harbour Railway. 

Across the water from here is Millennium Square and an area of waterfront attractions, shops and restaurants that includes Bristol Aquarium and We the Curious. The aquarium is home to a native shark collection that features a cast made up of some of the 33 different species found in UK waters, while We the Curious is one of Europe’s best science museums, with plenty of hands-on exhibits, plus model making workshops with Aardman Animations, based in Bristol and known for their popular Wallace and Gromit films.

Further west is the Georgian House Museum, which reveals what Bristol life was like both above and below stairs during the 1790s when the city was a powerhouse of trade within the British Empire. Nearby, in Bristol’s oldest park, Brandon Hill, is the red sandstone and creamy Bath stone spire of Cabot Tower, which you can climb for views out over the city. 

Another of Brunel’s world-famous designs is found a couple of miles down the River Avon. The Clifton Suspension Bridge extends across the plunging Avon Gorge – which is a great spot for some challenging rock climbing – and can be crossed on foot for free. Also in Clifton is Bristol Zoo, opened in 1836 by Henry Riley, a local physician. This is the world’s fifth oldest zoo and offers encounters with red pandas and the chance to hand feed an Asiatic lion or to be a zookeeper for the day. 

Bristol is also home to some of western England’s leading cultural venues. Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continuously working theatre in the English speaking world and lays on a line-up of mainstream and more cutting-edge productions at the Theatre Royal in the heart of the city centre. Nearby, the Bristol Hippodrome has big-name comedians and an annual Christmas pantomime, while the Arnolfini offers up a programme of avant garde contemporary arts on the harbourside. 

But a visit to Bristol is not all about rushing from attraction to attraction. The city is increasingly known as a dining hotspot, with restaurants to rival those in London. Leading the charge is chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, who opened three restaurants in quick succession on the harbourfront, earning a Michelin star for two of them. Book a table at his Casamia for upscale fine dining or pull up a stool at Paco Tapas for laidback small plates. 

Also on the waterfront is Cargo, an area of ex shipping containers stacked up and reimagined as restaurants. Cargo Cantina has zingy Mexican dishes, Salt & Malt serves gluten-free fish and chips and Woky Ko offers a menu of hearty noodles and steaming bao buns. In the city centre it’s worth booking a table at The Ox, for top notch steaks and cocktails, while the hip Bristol Harbour Hotel serves fresh local seafood at its Jetty restaurant.

Most of Bristol’s attractions are within the city centre but one site worth travelling out to is Aerospace Bristol. This ex-airfield in Filton, just to the north of the city, was where every British Concorde made her maiden flight and the museum here gives the last Concorde ever built the home she deserves. Her name is Alpha Foxtrot and visitors can stroll aboard for a look around the interior of a plane that once flew the rich and famous across the Atlantic faster than the speed of sound.

HOW TO:
By car: Bristol is just five miles south of the M4 motorway. The M32 brings you most of the way into the city centre but traffic and parking can be a headache so leaving the car outside the city centre is advisable. If you’re visiting for the day the best place to park is in one of the four Park & Ride car parks. Parking is free with no ticket needed; you just pay for the bus into the city.
By bus: National Express and Megabus both run non-stop coach services from London to Bristol. National Express also have a daily non-stop service from Swindon and Bath. 
First Group run local bus services and have an app which can plan your route for you. The most useful routes are the A1 airport flyer to Bristol Airport and the T2 which runs north to Filton Gipsy Patch Lane, half a mile from Aerospace Bristol. 
By train: Bristol Temple Meads train station is a 20min walk east of the city centre. There are regular direct trains from London Paddington on the Great Western Railway, which stop at Great West Way gateways Bath Spa, Chippenham, and Reading. Great Western Railway also run trains from Bristol Temple Meads to Filton Abbey Wood, which is a one-mile walk from Aerospace Bristol. 
By bike: Bristol was the UK’s first official cycling city and there are bike paths around the city centre. The 13-mile Bristol & Bath Railway Path connects the two cities along the route of a disused railway line and the course of the River Avon. Bristol Cycle Shack and Cycle the City both offer bike hire. 

To find out more about Bristol and what you can get up to, visit our See & Do and Plan Your Way pages.