16 Unique Things to Do in Bristol, the UK’s Coolest City

I had a feeling that I’d fall in love with Bristol, and when I recently visited for the first time, I was struck, not only by the number of incredible things to do in Bristol, but also by how cool this city is!

I’m someone who cares less about ticking off the most famous sights, and more about finding the best coffee shops, quirky boutiques, and the pubs the locals love the most.

I knew that Bristol was home to many of my favourite things – world-class street art, an incredible foodie scene, countless second-hand book stores, and more coffee shops than you could ever visit. I also knew that Bristol was a city of legends, from the rumours that swirl around Banksy, to haunted inns, pirate lore, and so much more.

In this blog post, I’m going to share the absolute best things to do in Bristol – it’s going to be a long one, so make a cup of coffee, grab a snack, and get comfy, because we’re about to get into it.

Top Things to Do in Bristol at a Glance

I’ve created this guide with travellers like me in mind: people who love discovering quirky coffee shops, independent boutiques, and colourful street art rather than working their way through the major tourist attractions.

With that being said, if you don’t want to spend your entire trip drinking coffee and window-shopping, here are the main things to see in Bristol:

• Clifton Suspension Bridge
• Bristol Cathedral
• St. John’s Gate
• Cabot Tower
• Christmas Steps
• St. Nicholas Market
• Brunel’s SS Great Britain (buy your tickets here)

Best Tours in Bristol

• Entry to Brunel’s SS Great Britain, Bristol’s Iconic Victorian Steamship
• Blackbeard to Banksy Guided Walking Tour
• Bristol Harbourside History Tour
• Air Raid Shelter & St. Nicholas Market Walking Tour
• Ghosts, Ghouls & Gallows: The Original Bristol Ghost Walk

16 Best Things to Do in Bristol

1. Blackbeard to Banksy Walking Tour

One of my favourite things to do whenever I visit a new city, especially if I’m travelling alone, is to find a good walking tour.

Walking tours not only give you a cultural and historical insight into a city, and allow you to see most of the major sites, but they also help orient yourself within that city, as well as providing you with the opportunity to ask your local guide questions about where to go and what to do.

The Blackbeard to Banksy tour has been named by The Times as the ‘#1 thing to do in Bristol,’ as well as being one of the seven best walking tours in the whole of the UK!

The tour lasts for two hours and it’s packed full of Bristolian history, and not the dull stuff either!

On this tour, you’ll learn about notorious pirates, visit a pub with a front door wrapped in human skin, see some of Banky’s most famous art works, and so much more.

From Bristol Cathedral to St. Nicholas Market and the buzzing harbourside, you’ll see it all on the Blackbeard to Banksy walking tour, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

At the time I’m writing this article, the Blackbeard to Banksy tour has almost 2000 5-star ratings on GetYourGuide and costs just £13.

2. Visit Bristol’s Cat Pub

Yes, you read that right, Bristol has its very own cat pub.

Bag of Nails isn’t some gimmicky social media sensation like many viral cat cafes you may have been to; it’s a regular pub that serves a wide range of cask ales and ciders, hosts weekly pub quizzes and board game nights, and just so happens to be home to about 15 cats!

The cats come and go as they please, but there’s usually at least two chunky cats sprawled out along the bar. When I visited, I was lucky enough to meet four of the resident felines, including the one and only Sally, who is the most famous and is an absolute unit of a cat.

I think my favourite thing about Bag of Nails (aside from the obvious), is the fact that unlike cat cafes, which are crammed with people trying to get the perfect Instagram photo and bothering the cats, Bag of Nails just feels like a normal pub (that happens to be home to a lot of cats).

I think the best way to explain Bag of Nails is that it’s a ‘pub with cats,’ rather than a ‘cat pub.’

It’s also very affordable. I got a 500ml bottle of German lager for £5.50, and in this economy, that’s pretty bloody cheap!

Bag of Nails address: 141 St George’s Rd, Hotwells, Bristol BS1 5UW (Google Maps link).

3. Discover Bristol’s Independent Bookshops

Bristol has a fascinating literary history, with novels including Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and Gulliver’s Travels having been inspired by (and even set in) the maritime city of Bristol.

Bristolians are famous for being creative types, so if you’re a book lover looking for things to do in Bristol, the plethora of independent bookshops will have you spoilt for choice.

There are countless bookshops in Bristol, from stores specialising in radical politics or art and culture, to second-hand and antiquarian treasure troves, and even a bookshop specialising in all things spooky and strange.

Here are some of the best and most unique bookshops in Bristol:

• Beware of the Leopard Books: Bristol’s oldest and largest second-hand bookshop, home to 25,000 books, ranging from sci-fi and crime thrillers to local history and vintage comics. It might not look it, but it’s incredibly well-organised. Perfect if you like the feeling of hunting for treasure! Cash only. Google Maps link.
• Second Page: Independent second-hand bookshop on the top floor of The Galleries. Home to a huge selection, ranging from manga and contemporary fiction to rare and first editions. Google Maps link.
• The Last Bookshop: Every book here is under £5, and they’re not even pre-owned! The Last Bookshop buys returns, remainders, and samples, which is why they’re able to sell them so cheaply. Large range of contemporary fiction, classics, political and sociological non-fiction, and history. Google Maps link.
• The Haunted Bookshop: Female-owned indie bookshop in Stokes Croft specialising in witchcraft, occult, folklore, fantasy, and horror books. Also home to a ‘coven’ of spiritual practitioners, specialising in tarot, reiki, energy healing, tasseomancy (tea leaf reading), and more. Google Maps link.
• Bookhaus: An independent bookshop specialising in radical politics, reflecting Bristol’s tradition as a centre of radicalism. Expect anti-imperialism, feminism, socialism, environmentalism, and abolition, as well as fiction in translation, poetry, and contemporary fiction. Google Maps link.
• Anolfini: An extension of one of Bristol’s best art galleries, Anolfini’s bookshop showcases the best titles across all areas of art and culture, with dedicated sections on art, theory, design, film, and music. Google Maps link.

4. Explore St Nicholas Market

Arrive hungry, because Bristol’s St Nicholas Market is the perfect place to grab a tasty lunch on the go.

Established in 1743, St Nicholas Market is the oldest and most famous market in Bristol, and it’s where you’ll find some of the best street food in the city, as well as dozens of independent retailers.

After agonising over what to choose for longer than I care to admit, I settled on Get Dipped, who specialise in foot-long French dip sandwiches. I went for the one with braised mushrooms, Good Chemistry stout onions, blue cheese sauce, and a huge pot of steaming beef jus gravy to dunk my sandwich in.

It wasn’t the most photogenic sandwich ever, but it was certainly one of the tastiest, and it only cost me £7.50.

If a giant saucy sandwich isn’t what you’re after, other options include homemade pastéis de nata from Portuguese Taste, authentic Moroccan tagine from Café Atlas, Kurdish wraps from Matina, or a comforting pie and peas from Pieminister.

When you’ve finished eating, have a nosy around the independent retailers of St Nick’s.

As well as the aforementioned Beware of the Leopard Books, you’ll find the Hot Sauce Emporium (self-explanatory), Japonicat (Japanese-inspired gifts, many imported from Japan), as well as stores selling vinyl records, silver jewellery, crystals, hand-painted ceramics, and just about anything else you can think of.

St Nicholas Market address: The Corn Exchange, Corn St, Bristol BS1 1JQ, Google Maps link.

5. Get Spooked on the Original Bristol Ghost Walk

If Blackbeard isn’t dark enough for you, put your bravery to the test on the Original Bristol Ghost Walk, the Ghosts, Ghouls & Gallows Walk.

It’s a 1.5 hour guided walk that takes you round some of the city’s oldest and most haunted pubs and buildings, with a local guide dishing out grisly local history along the way. Expect tales of hangings, plague, and the kind of Bristolian horror that makes the human-skin-covered pub door I mentioned earlier look tame by comparison.

The Ghosts, Ghouls & Gallows Walk has a 4.6-star rating from over 80 reviews on GetYourGuide and costs around £20 depending on when you book, so it won’t break the bank.

Evening slots run through the darker months, so if you’re visiting Bristol during spooky season, make sure to do this tour after dark – doing a ghost walk at 3pm in blazing sunshine just isn’t the same.

6. Coffee in Clifton Village

If your idea of the perfect day involves wandering around aimlessly, discovering independent shops, drinking iced coffee, and not a lot else, you’ll love Clifton Village.

Exploring Clifton Village is easily one of the best things to do in Bristol, and it’s only a short walk from the city centre.

Clifton Village is home to an array of colourful shops (be sure to pop into Clifton Arcade for a poke around), cafes, coffee shops, and bars, and it’s the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon.

I enjoyed an iced mocha from Mercy Mercy Mercy (Google Maps link) while reading my book in the sunshine, and it was one of the most enjoyable parts of my trip.

As the name would suggest, this is also where you’ll find Clifton Suspension Bridge, which first opened in 1864 to accommodate horse-drawn carriages, and has been the symbol of Bristol ever since.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge links Clifton to Leigh Woods in North Somerset, and it’s one of the most famous things to see in Bristol. For the best views (and photo ops), head to Clifton Observatory (Google Maps link) at sunset.

7. Seafood Dinner at Harbour House

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to go to as many restaurants in Bristol as I would have liked, but I was very happy with the one I did end up visiting!

Harbour House is a riverside restaurant specialising in locally-caught seafood, and trust me when I say that these guys aren’t messing around.

Taking a seat on their gorgeous terrace, I ordered the Porthilly Oysters (three for £12), followed by south coast scallops with grilled chorizo, chilli, and garlic butter (£15), and the seafood linguine with mussels, clams, and prawns, cooked with cherry tomatoes, olive oil, and lemon (£23).

Everything was absolutely delicious, and so fresh.

I finished off my meal with an espresso martini (£9.50), which was probably the best espresso martini I’ve ever had.

This was some of the best food I’ve had in a long time, and if you’re looking for somewhere a little bit special for dinner, Harbour House is it.

Harbour House address: The Grove, Bristol BS1 4RB, Google Maps link.

8. Christmas Steps

Bristol’s Christmas Steps look like something out of Diagon Alley, and I don’t say that lightly!

Built in 1669 by a wine merchant called Jonathan Blackwell, this steep, narrow, cobbled street connects Colston Street to Perry Road and is lined with 18th century buildings that now house a cluster of independent businesses including a board game café, a bridal boutique, a cosy pub, and a music shop.

It only takes a couple of minutes to walk the whole thing, but it’s a great photo spot, and you can make it extra worthwhile by paying a visit to Ahh Toots (Google Maps link), a tiny cake shop with a dark academia aesthetic and some of the best sweet treats in the city.

9. Have a Pint at Blackbeard’s Favourite Pub

Bristol is full of traditional timber-framed pubs, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s a good pub!

Something that makes Bristol’s pubs extra special is that some of them have their own legends attached to them!

Take, for instance, The Hatchet Inn (Google Maps link), the oldest pub in Bristol. Not only was it a favourite haunt of infamous pirate Blackbeard, but this is the pub that allegedly has a door wrapped in the skin of a hanged convict!

Another Bristol pub worth checking out (I enjoyed a lovely £5.50 pint here) is The Llandoger Trow (Google Maps link).

This 17th-century boozer was not only another favourite of Blackbeard’s, but it also has a fascinating literary history, with two of England’s greatest adventure stories being inspired by the pub!

It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson based Treasure Island’s ‘The Admiral Benbow Inn’ on The Llandoger Trow, while Daniel Defoe basing his most famous character, Robinson Crusoe, on Alexander Selkirk, a shipwrecked sailor he met here.

Oh, and did I mention that this pub is also haunted? Yep, The Llandoger Trow is apparently home to at least 15 ghosts, with paranormal activity frequently being recorded here!

10. Shopping on Park Street

Park Street is one of the best places to go shopping in Bristol, and it’s packed with independent and boutique shopping.

On this majestic Georgian street, you’ll find quirky gift shops, homeware shops, record stores, vintage thrift stores, bookshops, and tonnes of restaurants, cafes, and cocktail bars.

I wandered down Park Street on my way from the city centre to Clifton Village, and it was this street that made me fall completely in love with Bristol.

Don’t miss: Banksy’s Well-Hung Lover is here! Here’s a Google Maps link.

11. Explore Bristol’s Harbourside

Bristol’s Harbourside is one of the best places to visit in Bristol, especially on a sunny day when the seagulls are laughing and the sailboats bob gently on the water.

I saw so many people taking their lunch breaks on the harbour wall, dangling their feet above the water and chatting with friends and colleagues.

It’s home to many of the most popular Bristol attractions, including Anolfini, the art gallery I mentioned before. It’s a free gallery and the exhibitions are always changing, so it’s definitely worth popping in for a look.

There’s also the M-shed (Google Maps link), a free museum about Bristol’s history and culture, the Brunel’s SS Great Britain (Google Maps link), and the Upside Down House, which is a fabulous spot for taking unique photos.

If you didn’t get lunch at St Nicholas Market, Wapping Wharf (Google Maps link) is another fantastic choice if the weather permits. Wapping Wharf is home to a bunch of independent food outlets housed in shipping containers, and is where you’ll find some of the best street food in Bristol.

12. Search for Street Art

Bristol is the birthplace of Banksy and you can still find some of his work dotted around the city.

However, there’s a huge street art scene in Bristol that goes way beyond the UK’s most secretive street artist.

A good place to start is Nelson Street, which we visited on our Blackbeard to Banksy walking tour. Nelson Street got a total makeover during the 2012 See No Evil festival and it still has huge murals from international artists like ROA and Aryz.

Follow the road down to Quay Street, where you can find the 2011 Welcome to Bristol mural by Bronx-based artists, Tats Cru, as well as Vandal by Nick Walker, and other interesting pieces.

By St. John’s Gate, you can find The Duel of Bristol by Conor Harrington, who is known for blending classical Renaissance and Baroque aesthetics with contemporary touches.

There are also some small works dotted along nearby Frogmore Street and Culver Street, including a very cute cat!

If you want actual Banksy, his Well Hung Lover mural on Frogmore Street is one of the few early pieces still standing, and it’s best viewed from the bridge on Park Street looking down.

There’s also his Girl with the Pierced Eardrum on the Harbourside, where he’s turned an alarm box into an earring on a Vermeer-style portrait.

If you have a bit more time in the city, the best street art in Bristol is in Stokes Croft, the unofficial heart of Bristol’s street art scene, where nearly every wall’s been painted, and North Street in Bedminster, home to over 100 large scale murals. These murals are repainted constantly, so what you see one visit won’t be there the next.

12. Hunt for Bristol’s Hidden Cocktail Bars

One of the most unique things to do in Bristol at night is unwind in one of Bristol’s hidden speakeasy-style bars.

The Milk Thistle (Google Maps link) is probably the most famous. Tucked inside a four-storey Georgian townhouse on Colston Avenue, it’s got an unmarked door and a dark academia interior full of taxidermy, dark wood, and candlelight.

The Library (Google Maps link) is another one to visit if you love dark academia. From the outside it looks exactly like an antique bookshop.

Once you enter, you must find the secret bookcase door, and step through into a 1920s style lounge with leather armchairs and low lighting.

13. Coffee at Bristol’s Oldest Coffee House

For something a bit less boozy, Café Revival (Google Maps link) has been serving coffee since the 1780s, making it Bristol’s oldest coffee house and a real piece of the city’s Georgian trading history.

Back in the day, this was where Georgian merchants would gather to do business deals over coffee, but today it’s one of Bristol’s most popular independent coffee shops.

The building is spread over three floors, with the best big being the top floor ‘Snug,’ which is the perfect place to curl up with a book.

You can grab a bite to eat here (the menu is pretty basic, comprised of toasties and breakfast foods), but reviews for the food are a bit mixed, so I’d recommend stopping for a coffee and enjoying the building itself.

14. Indulge in a Chocolate Tour of Bristol

Bristol’s legacy isn’t just pirates and street art – it’s also chocolate!

Fry’s, one of the world’s first chocolate makers, was founded here. Fry’s made history by creating the UK’s first mass-produced solid chocolate bar in 1847, and the world’s first chocolate Easter egg in 1873!

The Bristol Chocolate Tour winds through the Old Town taking in hidden rivers, 300-year-old sugar houses, medieval streets, and the 18th century financial district, all while your guide explains how sugar and cocoa shaped the city’s wealth.

You’ll get five sweet stops along the way, finishing up at Treasure Island Sweets in St Nicholas Market.

The tour lasts for about 1.5 hours and costs around £18.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do this tour while I was exploring Bristol, but it’s definitely on my list for next time!

15. Immerse Yourself in the UK’s First Amazement Park

If you’re looking for something really unique, this is it.

Built inside a former paint factory, Wake the Tiger calls itself the UK’s first ‘Amazement Park,’ and this immersive art experience is definitely one of the quirkiest things to do in Bristol.

Wake the Tiger is a self-guided journey through over 40 immersive rooms, all created by local artists, taking you from an ‘abandoned paint factory’ through the Dream Factory and into something called the OUTERverse – think interactive sculptures, strange environments, and more than a few WTF moments.

Ticket prices vary depending on when you plan to go, but prices start at around £17. You’ll want to give yourself at least 90 minutes here.

Also, if you’re like me and don’t particularly love other people’s children, there are evening opening hours that are adults-only!

16. Attend a Smoke & Mirrors Comedy and Magic Show

If you’re after some evening entertainment, why not go and see a magic show with a twist?

Smoke & Mirrors is a pub with a hidden 1920s-style theatre at the back which is home to The House Magicians Comedy & Magic Show.

The House Magicians Comedy & Magic Show features two resident magicians performing close-up magic and illusions for 90 minutes, with plenty of comedy and audience participation thrown in (stay away from the front two rows if you don’t want to get singled out!).

There’s a full bar, and you can order a stone-baked pizza to enjoy while you watch the show. After the show ends, it’s worth staying in the main pub for their magic-themed cocktails, acoustic sessions, and cosy atmosphere.

Things to Do in Bristol FAQ

Things to Do in Bristol | Final Thoughts

As you can see, Bristol is fun of weird and wonderful things to see and do, and you could easily spend your entire life exploring this city.

I hope that you’ve found this blog post helpful (it took me a very long time to write!), and that I’ve given your some inspiration for your Bristolian adventure.

As always, if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to ask in the comments section below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Until next time,

XOXO

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