Born and bred in Bristol, I have spent my whole life living here and so I think I now know the city pretty well! Here I am going to share this 19 years(!) of experience and give you my thorough review of the city and what it has to offer!
A little Geography!
Situated in the glorious south west of England, the city and county of Bristol is the largest city in this area with its population at about half a million. It sits on the River Avon, which winds its way through the city and out into the Severn Estuary.
Getting to Bristol:
Bristol is easily accessed by road either on the M4 or M5 which intersect just outside Bristol at Almondsbury. It is then a short trip up the M32 (avoiding rush hour if you want to get there the same day!) which takes you into the heart of Bristol. Bristol also has its own international airport a few miles to the south of the city. The city is served by 2 main train stations, Temple Meads in the heart of the city and Bristol Parkway, a few miles outside. National Express coaches also run regularly to the bus station.
Firstly shopping, my favourite past time!
All in all, Bristol really has 3 main shopping areas and so I will cover each one. Firstly, in the heart of Bristol is Broadmead. At the minute this area is undergoing a huge redevelopment to improve this area and so does look a bit like a building site in places, but despite this, all shops are still open. There are a number of multi-storey car parks around this area, so you can usually find parking. The outside part of broadmead
has all of the usual shops and department stores you would expect in any major city. There is also the Mall Galleries which is an inside shopping mall! This also gives you a welcome chance to get out of the rain! The second main area is the Park Street/Whiteladies road area. I don't spend much time shopping in this area, but I can tell you that this has some of the 'cooler, funkier' shops as well as some more expensive designer type shops. This area is also where Bristol University is situated and so has a number of cafes, restaurants and bookshops. The third shopping area has to be my favourite! It is situated a couple of miles outside the centre immediately off junction 17(?) of the M5. This is the Mall at Cribbs Causeway and it also has a big cinema, bowling, some restaurant and bigger stores in the retail park. The mall has 7000 free parking spaces right outside the actual shopping complex. It has all the top names such as John Lewis, M & S, BHS, WHSmiths as well as all the clothing, bookshops, jewlers, electronics, games stores and all the other shops you need. A huge plus for me is that its undercover and also easy to find everything you need. There is also the usual food court as well as some larger restaurants and plenty of coffee bars spread all the way through. The opening times are good and I would say the best time to visit is either during a normal weekday or after about 5.30 in the evening. If I was you I would avoid the weekends as on Saturdays in particular, it has been known for the traffic to be queued all the way back onto the motorway!
Now some of my favourite attractions of the area:
Bristol Zoo - I used to love going here as a summer treat when I was younger and still really enjoy it! The zoo gardens are a very pleasant way to spend a summer's day and a great place to take the kids. The zoo is situated towards the Clifton area of Bristol and very close to the downs, this is an area of over 400 acres of grassland stretching from the avon gorge towards the village of Westbury-on-Trym. This is a great place to relax, play a game or just go for a walk!
Clifton Suspension Bridge - this is right by the zoo and downs and is Isambard Kingdom Brunels famous bridge, spanning the River Avon. This is a very famous landmark in Bristol and allows you to drive across from Bristol to the Somerset side of the River Avon. A small toll is charge to drive over it (40p I think?!) and you can also walk over it - but beware if you are afraid of heights!
@Bristol - This is still relatively new to Bristol and I have been here a few times and I really like it! It consists of 3 main attractions, Explore@Bristol, Wildwalk@Bristol and the IMAX theatre. Explore is a hands on interactive science attraction, wildwalk is an exploration of nature, with live animals and living plants in a walk through a forest. There is also a new walk through, tropicalcoral reef tank - the first of its kind in Europe! I'm hoping to go visit this soon! The IMAX theatre show a number of wildlife and animation films, it also showed one of the Harry Potter films which I wanted to go see but never got to! This is a great day out for the kids!
SS Great Britain - Brunel's steam ship was the world's first iron-hulled, screw-propeller driven, steam passenger liner and is now dry docked in Bristol. I haven't been here for a while, but it is definitely worth a visit.
British Commonwealth & Empire museum - again I haven't been here for a while, but I know that it brings over 500 years of Britain's commonwealth history to life. Again, a good place to take the kids.
Bristol has many other attractions, but these are my favourite.
Eating out:
Another thing I enjoy doing - and Bristol has a huge number and variety of restaurants to discover! The soil association hold its organic food festival here every year and there is also a farmers market every Wednesday. Bristol also has a number of award winning restaurants such as the Hotel Du Vin and Bistro and The Marriott Royal, both are also good hotels to stay in while visiting Bristol. A lot of the restaurants are situated around the centre on the streets which lead off of it such as park street, whiteladies road, Baldwin street and Corn Street. There really is something for everyone from American grills, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Thai, African, Spanish and more! Bristol is also the home of Harvey's Bristol Cream and I think that there is also a museum there as well. Would have to check with my dad though, more his sort of thing than mine!
Nightlife:
I have spent the last couple of years of my life exploring this aspect of the city! Bristol's night life is good. It was recently featured in one of the national newspaper for binge drinking though. As Bristol has two large universities, there are always a lot of people out to party with! Again, the majority of the bars and clubs are located around the centre, mainly park street, whilteladies road, Baldwin street and the streets off this area and on the Harbour front. Some of the best places to visit are the harbour front where there are clubs all the way along the watershed, with Bristol's newest club, Oceana, towards the end - this one is worth a visit. Another few favourites of mine are The Elbow room, Greenhouse and Reflex 80's Bar.
Other things worth a visit:
Bristol Hippodrome - This has all the top shows on in the country visit it and you can find something for everyone. Either enjoy an afternoon matinee or go along to she the show in the evening!
Bristol Cathedral - Situated at the bottom of Park street, off of College Green, Bristol's Cathedral is worth a visit.
Colston Hall - pop along to a concert, most of the top artists have a stop off in Bristol to perform at the Colston Hall.
Bristol International Balloon Fiesta - Held over 3 or so days in August, the fiesta combines a free music concert, craft fair, lots of stands and a fun fair, with the launch of over 100 balloons! Held every year at Ashton Court this is a must visit event! Pop along on the evening to witness all these balloons being illuminated to music!
Sporting Scene:
Bristol has a premiership Rugby team and Bristol City and Bristol Rovers are its football teams which are in league 1 and league 2 respectively. Despite its size though, it has not premiership football team to boast as yet! For the people who enjoy taking part, Bristol has a number of tenniscourts, leisure centres and a large number of golf courses and driving ranges!
Other places in the area worth a visit: The historic town of Bath is definately worth a visit - make sure you visit the Roman Baths! If you like walking, try the Mendips and pop into Cheddar to see the caves. Also there are some lovely trips around the Cotswolds. The city of Gloucester is another worth a visit. Also pop along to Cheltenham. There are many pleasant little towns worth a visit. Try Gloucestershire to the North and Somerset to the South! If your this far west, continue down to Devon and Cornwall, both definately worth a visit!
Well, this is all I can think of at the minute! Sorry about it being so long, but there was a lot to fit in if you ant to get the ultimate Bristol experience! If I think of anything else I will add it on! Hope this was helpful to you - any questions just ask!
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Advantages: Cheaper than a car (when you have a rail card - no need to pay over the bridge to wales) Disadvantages: No real late running of trains (last trains about 11:30pm)
Feb 14th, 2006
exceptional by (8%):
very helpful by (92%):
