Tips for Visiting Bristol

[superoz]

Planning a weekend trip to Bristol with dc (9 and 15) over the Easter holidays.

Ss Brunel and Clifton Bridge and Observatory are on our list so far.
Will be driving and looking at hotels, there are a few Premier Inns, but not sure whether to stay in the city or further out, somewhere like Cribbs Causeway? We’ve never been before so have no idea what it would be like to drive or park.

Any advice on must sees and areas to stay would be hugely appreciated!

Brooks Guest House is very central and has airstream-type caravans on the roof that you can stay in. A parking reduction is offered at a central NCP with overnight stays.
The Bristol Graffiti walk is a fun experience and runs most days I think. It is very reasonably priced.

Parking is expensive and pretty tricky.. driving through is frustrating too.
Brook guesthouse is an excellent choice and location and will save you lots of stress. It's in the middle of st nicks market in the centre. You will be able to fill two days easily and not have to use your car if you didn't want to if you base yourself there.

Mshed is good as is Bristol museum. Walks along the harbour are nice with good food. SS great Britain has had a referb and good for the age groups. There are escape rooms and 'wake the tiger' is getting excellent reviews if you want a more left field experience, very Bristol!

Thank You. Brooks Guest House looks amazing but sadly booked out on the dates we intend to go. Will carry on looking.

Oh yes M Shed, will put that on the list. Graffiti walk sounds interesting, will have a look.

Cribbs causeway is a bit far out and traffic can be bad.
Could you park at a park and ride? The central buses are good and the city center isn’t huge.

They have the clean air charge now as well for driving into the city. Check online to see if it will affect you.

Public transport is good there but cribbs is a far way out.

If you can I would suggest staying centrally. There is a car park near the aquarium which is fine.

Check out Wapping wharf, it is shipping containers made into restaurants and shops. If you're feeling brave you can paddle board on the river!

There's a Clean Air Zone in Bristol. Check if your vehicle will be chargeable on the Bristol City Council website. There's also some areas around the city centre and Clifton that are Residents Parking Zones.

Seconding "Wake the Tiger".

We went at Christmas - excellent fun. You do need to book in advance though.

Don't be put off by the introduction spiel which sounds a bit like a hard sell for apartments....it really isn't. Once you are inside it's amazing and you don't have to go round in the big group you started with.

https://www.wakethetiger.com/

There’s a refurbished hostel in the centre called the Bristol wing, I’m sure they have family rooms and reasonable rates

If your kids are anything like mine, they will love eating at ZaZaBazaar

MShed often has Wildlife Photographer of the year, for a charge.

The Lido in Clifton is a slice of heaven if you can get in for the breakfast and swim, it is the best way to start off any day.

Agree with parking we went in Friday to go to museum we were £10 for 4 hours if we'd been anymore it was £18!!! There is parking around waterfront but I'd definitely look for a hotel with or offering reduced local parking.

Definetely Recommend coconut tree on the triangle for dinner or lunch
Salt and malt on the waterfront for fish and chips

Avoid the aquarium its overpriced for the size of it but yes ss great britain, suspension bridge, the museum are good.
Wildplace project good if you like animals it's by cribbs

Do have falafels in St Nicks market, they are the highlight of any visit!!

I second all the recommendations above.

My grandson likes the Games Cafe on Christmas Steps
Chance & Counters

I like Bristol Folk House too for live music.

Have a lovely time ☺️

If you want to stay out near Cribbs Causeway, there's a Mollie's Motel there. It's lovely!

Oh wow, Thank You for all these suggestions, there’s so much I want to do! Would love to do them all.

Mollies was the main draw for me looking at Cribb’s Causeway, but looking at it on the map it is quite far out.

Wake The Tiger looks great.

Wake the tiger is excellent

Do not stay out near Cribbs! It’s not Bristol and you will spend half your time in car or on buses. There are a couple of guesthouse type places in Southville that are an easy 10 minute walk to the harbourside - with easy access to the main attractions eg SS Great Britain, MShed, Spike Island, Arnolfini, SUP paddle boarding. Wake The Tiger is just about walkable from here but Ubers are plentiful (buses are not good). Plus you will be very close to a local high street with cafes and restaurants and an Aldi for cheap packed lunches! The guest houses I know of are on Allington Road and Lower Sydney Street, but there are others around this area too

The Premier Inn at Finzels Reach is fine. There’s one on King St too which is in a buzzier area but wasn’t as nice imo.

Definitely go and find some of the Banksy art. You don’t need a tour, can just look online and find them yourself. We got a bit lost looking for the girl with the earring but the others were pretty easy to find.

The Cargo shipping container area is good for food.

Left Handed Giant brewery is good. I think I’ve seen families in there before.

Cribbs is isn't technically Bristol anyway, quite decent shops though and tons of chain restaurants, bowling, skating etc (ninja warrior place is popular with my friends 10 year olds) personally I'd stay in Bristol proper, there's premier inns very central, or stay out at the coast where you can wander around the boats in the evening (particularly good in this excellent weather!)