Bristol for a weekend break with kids?

[supersun23]

I'm thinking of a night away next weekend with dd9 and ds12.. we live 2 hours from Bristol. Is it a good place to visit as have never been? Recommendations to stay, eat and do? TIA

Loads of good stuff in Bristol for children of that age - the SS Great Britain is fantastic, and my kids always enjoyed the Bristol Museum for the ancient Egypt room and dinosaur fossils. They also loved visiting the Forbidden Planet shop near the museum and walking over the Suspension Bridge. There's lots of good places to eat, we like some of the restaurant boats around the harbour side and street food from St Nick's Market.

Thank you!

Wake the Tiger is FAB!!
https://www.wakethetiger.com/

They have a free city farm too.

Oh yes definitely this OP! Lots of fun

Yes, we did this in the summer. Mine are nearly 5 and 8 and We The Curious (a science museum) was really good, they loved it. Genuinely one of the best museums I've taken them to (we live in London and go to all the London museums). We spent the whole afternoon in there but I regretted not going earlier - we could have spent the day there.

The Bristol museum was also good although we only visited briefly, that was free and had various children's activities to do. The city farm was nice enough but I wouldn't go out of my way for it again.

We did this last weekend for the women’s rugby - but also enjoyed a self guided Banksy tour having listened to a really interesting podcast last year. Then spent a lovely couple of hours at Clifton Suspension bridge and at the park / lookout and just mooching around some excellent charity shops and amazing food places in Clifton.

The Banksy tour took in a lot of the main city but also some off the beaten track places so was a great way to
do it. A couple were in museums too so spent a while looking around the whole museum.

Definitely do it!!

The Aerospace Museum is worth a visit. Its where Concorde is kept. Its on the northern edge of the city so you'll need to catch a bus or taxi if you're accommodation is in the city centre.
It's also worth catching the ferry around the harbour.
The Matthew (replica of the ship John Cabot sailed the Atlantic in) is moored in the harbour. If its not being used for corporate events then sometimes the crew will let you on board.

Thank you! Where is the best, safe area to stay?

We the Curious, ss Great Britain, take a ferry trip across the harbour or a ride on the Matthew if it’s running. M shed museum is good and free as is the main city museum though it’s more dead animals, though lots of rocks too. Places to eat are down to budget, from Michelin star to basic, if they like a buffet, Za Za Bazaar won’t disappoint, it’s got a huge selection, more in evening but price is higher - do book online to save queuing though fine to book just a few hours ahead usually. No idea about staying because I live just outside, I would say that (I’m bias) where I live is a decent option if you are driving because it’s cheaper than Bristol it’s self, free parking and bus stops outside into the city, downside is it’s 50 minutes on the painfully slow bus due to 20mph speed limits!

We stayed at the Premier Inn at Finzels Reach, which is walking distance from the centre of town and Temple Meads station.

Travel lodge central, any of the central are safe areas.

Check out the congestion charge and the resident parking zones on Bristol City Council website before you travel.
It might be cheaper to use trains, buses and harbour ferries or renting scooters.

The Premier Inn at Finzels Reach is a great location. Close to everything.
There's a bar a minute away called Bocabar which does lovely pizzas, quite an array of toppings!
St Nicholas's market is definitely worth a visit and lots of food stalls.
I really like Bristol as a place to visit. Some parts are a bit hilly but it's all quite walkable.