EPIC Things to Do and See in Bristol, England
There are so many things to do in Bristol that it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite cities in the UK. There’s literally something for everyone to enjoy, whether you are traveling solo, with a partner, or with your family!
It’s a very trendy and urban city with lots of street art, museums, maritime history, aviation history, and a great foodie scene!
Epic Things to Do in Bristol
How to Get to Bristol
- By Car: Conveniently located off the M4 and M5, it’s easily accessible from any direction. Bristol is about 2 1/2 hours from London via the M4. Once you are in the city, there are plenty of parking lots with reasonable prices.
- By Train: The train station is called Temple Meads and is located in the city center, and is easily accessible. From London Paddington, it takes about 1 hour 41 minutes by direct train and will cost you about £70.00 round trip for a last-minute ticket and £35.00 if booked well in advance. Manchester takes about 3 hours direct, direct trains from York are 4 hours, and trains are only a short 12-minute journey from Bath.
- By Bus: The Megabus runs from Victoria Bus Station in London to Bristol direct every hour and takes about 2 hours 45 minutes to get there for about £5.00 one way.
- By Plane: Bristol is an international airport (although not huge) with over 100 destinations flying in. To get to the city center, you can take the airport flyer shuttle straight into the city center; it takes about 30 minutes.
- Getting Around Bristol: It’s easy to walk around the city and see all the hot spots; however, there are some steep hills walking away from the harbor. Uber is everywhere and reasonably priced, or you can always hop on the local bus or check out the hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus! If you are exploring around the harbor, then there are a couple of water taxis that run frequently.
Best Things to Do in Bristol
Banksy & Street Art Tour
Banksy is probably the most famous street artist in the world.
Always painting controversial and political scenes on buildings, fences, sheds, boats, and everything else around the world, Banksy is famous for his stencil style and you will probably recognize his work when you see it (even if you don’t know his name).
Banksy grew up in Bristol, so most of his early works (even some before his stencils) can be found throughout the city.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to say how long these works will be around as some have already been destroyed by other street artists, accidentally been painted over by oblivious homeowners, or are starting to fade.
If you’re not dead set on finding all his pieces around the city, then you can just check out the ones in the city center and around the places you will probably already be visiting.
Not a big Banksy fan but love street art?
You’re in luck!
Bristol was one of the first cities to truly embrace street art and even holds Europe’s largest street art and graffiti festival, UPFEST.
Stoke’s Croft and Bedminster are the big art areas, but you can find some great art throughout the city.
Christmas Steps
These steps have nothing to do with actual Christmas, but just a bunch of theories that led to the name. This used to be a slippery, muddy, steep trail in medieval times until the steps were erected in 1669.
It’s not an attraction, but probably some of the most attractive steps you’ll ever see.
Oh, and at the bottom of the steps, there is a board game cafe!! With over 850 board games for you to enjoy while drinking your pint and eating from the seasonal menu.
Bristol Cathedral
This cathedral was founded in the 12th century as an abbey, but became the seat of the Bishop of Bristol after the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s and stands tall over the city as part of Bristol’s skyline.
The Gothic cathedral is free to visit and open all year round, and is definitely worth visiting to see the architecture and stained glass windows throughout.
SS Great Britain
Visiting the SS Britain is one of the best things to do in Bristol! This impressive passenger ship was designed by Brunel and built right here in Bristol in 1843 (in the same dockyard where the SS Great Britain resides today)! At the time, it was one of the world’s greatest inventions!
This long-haul passenger ship’s first voyage was from Liverpool to New York, making the journey many times and then moving on to trips to Australia, where she helped over 16,000 people immigrate within 32 voyages.
The innovation of mixing steam with the screw propeller made the trips the shortest in the world!
Eventually, the ship was converted into a cargo ship to make trips to California and then was eventually left in the Falkland Islands to rot and fall into disrepair. In 1970, the SS Britain was salvaged and towed back to Bristol to be refurbished into the ship you see today.
Allow at least 3 hours for your visit because there is so much to do and see within the museum.
You can enter below the ship in the dry dock, tour the top deck and lower decks, explore the Grade II listed dockyard, tour the dockyard museum, and learn all about Brunel’s life.
Before you enter the ship, don’t forget to pick up your passenger card and learn all about their life on the ship and what voyage they took!
M Shed
This museum is free to enter (donations welcome) and it’s right on the water of the harbor.
The first floor is a history of Bristol and the surrounding areas, everything from an old local bus and traffic signal to old fire watch shelters and pub signs… you’ll find it here.
The second-floor hallway has the Banksy that was painted on the side of Thekla boat, now preserved in glass.
Some of the real stars of Bristol’s maritime history are right outside the M Shed… the four massive cranes that are outside are the only surviving ones out of the 40 that used to be around the harbor in the 1950s.
They still work today, and you can even take a tour of one on select days!
Cabot’s Tower
This tower was built in the 1890s and is located in Brandon Hill Park in the city center. It was built to commemorate the discovery of North America by John Cabot 400 years prior and is free to visit.
This is the best view of the city and it’s not a bad climb to the top (a little over 100 steps). The romantic balconies give a very Romeo and Juliet feel to the tower and it’s hidden until you enter the park!
Walk Around the Harbor
This harbor used to be a bustling port for merchants and fishermen, but now it’s modernized with attractions, museums, water sports, riverside cycling, great restaurants, and trendy bars.
Harbor Tour
Now that you’ve seen the harbor on foot, you should check out a different perspective and take a boat trip. Touring the harbor by boat is one of my favorite things to do in Bristol!
There are plenty of options when it comes to touring the harbor by boat. If you want a quick trip, then opt for one of the water taxi ferries, which frequently run, and it’s a quick way to get from one side of the harbor to the other.
The Matthew is a replica of John Cabot’s tall ship that he used to discover Newfoundland. Tours depart outside the M Shed and last up to 4 hours. Refreshments are served on board and you are welcome to bring your own food.
This trip will take you all the way up the River Avon, under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and through the Avon Gorge. It’s £40.00 per adult and trips are only during the season on weekends and sell out fast!
The Matthew is free to visit when it is docked in the harbor.
The Bristol Packet boat trips run from 3 different docks throughout the harbor and take 45-minute trips with commentary throughout. They only run during the season and cost a little under £10.00 per adult. They run every day during the season with several trips a day.
You can even extend your boat trip with an afternoon cruise or a trip to Bath by water (which takes 6 hours one way!!).
Explore Bristol’s Famous Pubs
You might not know this, but Bristol is home to some iconic pubs, and hanging out in them is definitely one of my favorite things to do in Bristol.
I have to admit, when I was younger, I thought that Blackbeard was a fictional pirate or a legend… kind of like King Arthur, but then I found out Blackbeard was actually a real pirate who called Bristol home!
The Hatchet Inn is Bristol’s oldest pub and the regular haunt of Blackbeard… I mean, the man had good taste!
The Hatchet Inn is now a local pub with a rock vibe to it. The door of the pub is said to be made of layers of human skin with layers of tar on top… do I believe it? Well, they did some weird things in the 1700s, so possibly. I guess you’ll just have to see/touch the door for yourself.
The Llandoger Trow, which is one of my favorite pubs in Bristol (you gotta try the frozen cider!), is said to be the location where Alexander Selkirk shared his outrageous (yet true) story of being stranded on a deserted island for 4 years and 4 months… little did he know that Daniel Defoe was in the crown listening. He drew his inspiration from Alexander for his classic novel, Robinson Crusoe.
The final pub on your famous pubs pub crawl (say that 5 times fast) is the Hole in the Wall. This pub is Robert Louis Stevenson’s inspiration for The Spyglass Tavern, where Long John Silver meets Jim Hawkins… haven’t figured it out yet? It’s Treasure Island!!
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
This museum is free to enter but it is an uphill walk from all the attractions by the harbor. Banksy famously did his art exhibition here in 2007, where you can still see his paint pot angel (his Parliament monkey painting was auctioned off in 2019 by the owner, so no longer on display).
There’s lots to see on the three levels of the museum, including Egyptian exhibits, dinosaurs, and plenty of paintings, pottery, and glass.
Clifton Observatory + Clifton Suspension Bridge
The Clifton Bridge is the symbol of Bristol and another great engineering feat by Brunel, crossing the Avon Gorge. The bridge took several years to build and was officially opened in front of a crowd of 150,000 people in 1864.
The bridge is free to visit and walk across, but the Observatory on the hill above the bridge charges a small fee. You can climb to the top of the tower and view the camera obscura or head down to the observation deck carved into the gorge.
You can take an Uber or taxi from the city center or take the 20-30-minute walk. Clifton is a great area to explore with colorful houses and cute cafes, so walking isn’t that bad!
Aerospace Bristol
This isn’t in the city center (located in Filton) and will require extra effort for transport here (about 20 minutes), but it’s worth it! The main attraction here is the last Concorde to take flight!
You can see the British Airways plane that traveled at supersonic speed to be able to travel between England and the US within 3 hours…. walk under it, around it, and through it and check out all the Concorde memorabilia in the mini museum next to the plane… the cockpit is INSANE… seriously, so many buttons – it took pilots 6 months of intense training to fly Concorde!
Aside from Concorde, there are plenty of other planes and rockets to see and lots of aviation history from both the world wars to modern travel to space travel. Your ticket is a boarding pass with your name on it and it’s good for entry for the entire year!
Are you heading to Bristol? Let me know in the comments below!! If it’s your first time in the UK, you’ll find everything you need to know before you visit here!!
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