Things to do in Bristol

[nancy75]

On the advice of mumsnet we are having a few nights in Bristol at the end of August. Would love some recommendations for what to do while we are there.
Dd (15) likes vintage/secondhand shopping & art galleries
DH & I just like eating so we’re happy anywhere!
Not big on scenery & countryside stuff (unless there is something amazing must see)
So we want arty stuff, shopping & food
All suggestions gratefully received!

Arnolfini and the harbourside, Cabot Circus, Clifton Village with its lovely shops, cafes, restaurants and architecture (and the wonderful Suspension Bridge) Concorde Museum at Filton...you will not be disappointed with the huge number of things to see and do in Bristol

And Clifton Lido well worth a visit for the food and swimming (assuming operational in Covid times?)

St Nicholas Market then for your DD. There’s also a street market around the corner but I can’t remember when that’s on but I’m sure someone here will

St Nicholas market, and there are vintage shops on Park row too

Some nice arty shops also dotted around Colston Yard (opposite the BRI) - end of Park Row - and up Gloucester Road, but these aren't the most scenic to wander round.
Clifton arcade in the village used to be really nice.
Park St in general is quite nice for shopping.

I’m taking notes ready for a googling session!
This is a daft question but how big is Bristol? Could we walk to all of these places (one to another) we live in London & I base everything on that size wise (it was a shock when I went to York & booked a cab for a journey that would have been a 10 min walk!)

You could walk to all the places in the central area. Cabot, St Nicks, harbourside but you couldn’t walk to Clifton (well you could but it’s be a loooonnng day, especially if you had to walk back again)
Concorde museum is miles away from any of those places. Bristol is huge.
Brandon Hill/Cabot tower is a good place to visit as well.
Blaise castle estate for the walks. Think the museum is closed right now but you can go on a blaise castle hunt.

So we would be better to stay in the central bit? I’m trying to make my mind up between 2 hotels one says it’s right in the city the other is in Clifton. We don’t mind driving/getting the bus to get around but I’d prefer to stay close to where most of the things to do are (if it’s anything like London I’m guessing traffic & parking are a nightmare?)

Park Street well worth a wander up too! Lovely shops that would appeal to your daughter

I'll confess I'm out of touch with what's actually open at the moment with COVID, but

• St Nicholas Market for DD
• BS8 shop on Park Street for DD (other shops on the same street too). Swoon Gelato on Park St has a good reputation.
• Clifton Village is nice for independent shops / eateries. The arcade on Boyce's Avenue, which is a little tucked away, would probably be good for your DD. Clifton Village is a naice area of Bristol so the charity shops tend to have nicer brands, if she's up for a rummage. It'd be an excellent place for her to go off and have an independent wander while you and DP have a coffee. If you want to see the Clifton Suspension bridge then it's a short walk.
• Watershed / Arnolfini / M Shed are all artsy / museum places around the harbourside
• Gloucester Road has a lot of independent shops - reputedly the highest concentration in the country. The bit nearest the city centre (known as Stokes Croft) is a bit rough edgy / up and coming, but once you get past the Arches it starts to become nicer.
• North Street in Southville has emerged as something of a hub of foodie things. Tobacco Factory is an arts hub (whether or not anything will be on, I don't know). You can also follow the trail of Upfest - some of it is temporary, but a lot of the street art remains year-round.

Don't bother with Cabot Circus unless you want all the big chains you get in London. Likewise Broadmead / the Galleries TBH.

In terms of walking, the entire city centre is readily walkable. You may want to get a bus up to Clifton Village though, as while entirely doable it's uphill and definitely more than a ten minute walk. Likewise you might want to walk up Gloucester Road and get a bus back down.

@nancy75

So we would be better to stay in the central bit? I’m trying to make my mind up between 2 hotels one says it’s right in the city the other is in Clifton. We don’t mind driving/getting the bus to get around but I’d prefer to stay close to where most of the things to do are (if it’s anything like London I’m guessing traffic & parking are a nightmare?)

If anything, parking in Clifton is worse than it is in the centre - it's all residents parking zones, whereas the city centre has designated car parks.

Do you need to take the car? The trains from Paddington to Temple Meads are pretty good.

Normally we’d get the train but we are SE London so got to get across London first & we’re not keen on using the tube at the moment (also don’t fancy a few hours on trains with masks on)
The central hotel has a car park - quite happy to leave the car in it the whole time & use public transport while in Bristol.
looking at doing a day/night in Bath on the way home so it will be handy to have the car

Clifton Suspension Bridge (there's a small museum by the tower on the Somerset side of the bridge).
Durdham Downs for a walk and to view the suspension bridge. There's also the Camera Obscura on the downs.
Clifton village (not actually a village, but an area in Bristol) for a mooch around.
SS Great Britain
M shed museum
Cabot Circus/Broadmead for shopping.
Millennium Square has WetheCurious science museum and loads of restaurants nearby.
Banksy hunting/graffiti tours.

The Mall at Cribbs Causeway has all the usual high street shops but is on the edge of town. The Concorde museum is probably closest to this.

Are you bringing a car? Bristol is very hilly. We don't have an underground system. If you are spending time around the harbourside then consider using the ferry service. There are a couple of services. One goes from behind Temple Meads station all the way to the Pump House pub at the Cumberland basin end of the harbour, with drop offs at various locations. You can get a hop on hop off ticket. There is also a cross harbour service that goes from SS Great Britain to the opposite side of the harbour.

Bristol is also quite big. I live on the south east side of town and DM lives on the north west side. It's about 15 miles away.

Thank you for all the great ideas, seems like the central hotel will be best & then get a bus when we go to Clifton Village. Ferry service sounds good, that’s definitely the kind of thing we would do.
Sounds like lots of vintage shopping for DD do she’ll be happy (we won’t bother with Cribbs Causeway - we’re 40 mins from Bluewater & it’s probably all the same shops)
Off to google all the suggestions.

Now any must do restaurants? We’re not fussy & we’ll give anything a go!

I live in Bristol, do check the ferries before you go as we were in town last week and the main one (Bristol Ferry Co) had not reopened. There were boat tours going on, but those might need to be pre-booked.

Cabot Tower is definitely closed, as are all museums run by Bristol City Council.

Swoon Gelato at the bottom of Park Street is open for takeaway and the ice cream is amazing.

The 8 and 9 buses go up to Clifton, they are single deckers and are carrying limited passengers due to SD, but as we don't seem to have many tourists at the moment you should be fine!

You must do lots of eating in Bristol! The food's amazing! St Nick's market, Pinkmans on Park Street for awesome doughnuts and loads more. Don't go near a chain, you don't need to. Every time I go to Bristol I'm sad that I can only fit in so little eating into the time . If you go by train, there's Hart's bakery underneath the arches out the front which is just the best. Flour and Ash do amazing pizza, they are closing due to covid but I don't know if they have closed yet.

Bristol's brilliant, I hope you have a great time

Bristol is all easily walkable, even Clifton village! It is uphill from the centre though. They also have hireable “Borisbikes” if you fancy that!

All suggestions above are good. Is the zoo open again?
Not far to Clevedon which is a lovely little coastal town.

My DD has been there 3 years and uses the Megabus to and from London, with fares as low as £3 one way but driving from SE London is pretty easy, though watch for roadworks and closures on the M4 especially at weekends.

If you stay in the centre then you won’t use your car to see anything else. Clifton is walkable or bus/Uber. It’s not worth the hassle of trying to park really.

I’d say
-Clifton and the suspension bridge. Walk up to the observatory too.
-Wapping Wharf for food. Most of the outlets there are good, it’s quite a young vibe, shipping containers so your daughter will like it. Cargo Cantina, Gambas, Wokyko and Seven Lucky Gods would be my first picks. I don’t know if Box E is reopened but you probably wouldn’t get in now anyway. Booking essential. Book ALL restaurants before arrival. Capacity is reduced and the good places are busy.
-If you want to head out of the city by car The Pig near Bath is lovely for lunch or drinks outside. Ethicurian also fab.
-not sure what museums are open but I like the Georgian House. Shows how the houses looked and were lived in when originally built and it’s free.

• personally hate shopping at the moment so hard to recommend but Park Street and Clifton Village far more appealing than Cabot Circus. Pinkmans on Park Street is my favourite place to stop for coffee and pastries. Amazing bakery.
• A lot of good restaurants haven’t reopened yet sadly

If you’re doing a day trip to Bath you are much better off getting the train from temple meads. Parking in Bath is a mega pain and the train is fast and regular. Train is about 15 minutes. Driving is about an hour and then a nightmare trying to find parking which will really cost.
Sounds like your DD would like a wander along Gloucester Road. Lots of independent shops inc vintage. Plus cafes and restaurants are great. I agree with PP that the only way to eat badly is to waste a meal on a chain!
Have a wonderful time.

Parking in Bath is not too bad at the moment as it’s like a ghost town compared to a usual summer. It’s actually a good time to see it.

If you do want time out of the city cheddar gorge is beautiful, there's a huge outdoor swimming lake fed by the sea at Clevedon if it's hot. The city is hot and stuffy in the city at the moment!

So many great ideas, thank you all!
Definitely will be avoiding chain restaurants, not our kind of thing at all. Well prepared for not everything to be open & booking early. You can’t get a table in any pub or restaurant where I live at the moment!
We are coming Monday 24th so I’m going book as much as I can today, that should give us a bit of choice with restaurants & anything else that needs a booking.
Thank you all, if we don’t have a plan we just wander around missing everything- it’s so helpful to have recommendations

Just seen mention of hire bikes 😂that definitely won’t be happening! Not been in a bike in about 35 years - up a hill in Bristol is not the time to start 😂😂

You absolutely can walk from Park Street top to Clifton Village - it's no distance at all! Takes about 10/15 minutes. The whole of central Bristol is walkable (assuming you're reasonably fit and wearing sensible shoes)

Food tips - try Swoon Gelato (bottom of Park Street) or Ahh Toots cafe/cake shop at the bottom of Christmas Steps!