One of the great things about running a travel website is other travelers you meet. While in England this summer, I received an offer to explore the English city of Bristol by Heather. Around England, I’d explain my route through the country and people would universally go “Bristol? There’s not much there.” Needless to say, I had low expectations.
I’m not sure what Bristol people were referring too because I found a hip college town with amazing eateries, great ethnic food, wonderful places to see, and great parks to relax in. Bristol is the English Seattle. Most travelers seem to use it as a base for trips to Bath and never fully explore this city, giving it a brief glance before heading back to London. This is a mistake.
With a population of around 400,000, Bristol is the largest city in south England after London and the largest shipping port in England. It received a royal charter in 1155 and, until the rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, was one of England’s largest cities. Bristol suffered extensive bombing during World War II and a steep decline in its manufacturing industry.
The port of Bristol grew up in medieval times because of its location near the rivers Avon and Frome. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, this area was turned into the enclosed Floating Harbour by the construction of locks. With the advent of larger ships, the Avon Gorge became too much of a liability and commercial shipping moved downstream to modern docks at Avonmouth and Portbury.
The city is no longer an industrial center but a vibrant college town. The University of Bristol dominates the city and the students provide a lot of income and jobs for the community. Spending the day walking around, I found the city pretty easy to get around. Almost everything was within walking distance from somewhere. If it wasn’t, the city has an easy to use bus system that can take you anywhere you need to go.
The waterfront area has a nice collection of restaurants and art galleries. It’s been cleaned up in the recent years and has become a residential hot spot. It’s a real fashionable area and you could see the renovation was not completed. More condos were being built, more restaurants going up, more galleries in the works. I suspect this will be a very upscale place within the next few years.
What I really enjoyed the most about Bristol were all the parks. Bristol is filled with great parks. I particularly liked Castle Park. Castle park is located near the river and features a bombed out church from World War Two. The church has been left in ruins as a monument to the destruction of the war. Around the church are beautiful gardens and grassy fields were locals gather for lunch. I sat there during lunch time and watched the park fill with office workers enjoy the fresh air while they eat. It was a great place to people watch.
The main natural attraction in Bristol is the Avon Gorge. The gorge features the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Built in the 19th century, this bridge is free to walk across and provides excellent views of the surrounding countryside. There is also an observatory tower next to it. Right next door are the Clifton Downs. The Downs are simple a huge open space. During the summer months, people are out playing sports, catching some sun, picnicking with their loved one, or just napping. The Downs offer views of the gorge and the suspension bridge. Best of all: it faces west, making for excellent sunsets.
I thought Bristol with its old industrial turned Bohemian charmed made for a great place to spend a few days. There were historic houses to visit, a few good museums, and some wonderful parks. Its image as an industrial center still lingers on in most of England, making it a place few go or want to explore. That works out for the rest of us. For while everyone else heads off to Bath, we can enjoy the city of Bristol to ourselves. I suspect one day the word will get out but, at least for now, Bristol remains a hidden gem and a city that is well worth a visit.
Cool. So many places are underrated simply because they are not ‘touristic’ enough. Thanks for the info on Bristol
Bristol is easily the biggest city in the British Isles I’ve never been to (although that’s not because I’ve ever heard anything bad – I’ve always heard great things about the place, mostly from all the ex-Bristol University students I know).
I prefer visiting the non touristy towns..there is always a charm there..thanks for the info
Non touristy places are always the best. I am not a fan of crowds!
Admit it, you picked this city because it shares a name with Sarah Palin’s daughter.
Is there really a girl out there called Bristol? I do know a Paris and of course there’s a Brooklyn Beckham.
Great post Matt, managed to read it at last as was getting error messages trying to open with Internet Explorer on the http://www.nomadicmatt.com address but managed to open it with http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/ so you may want to check that out.
You know, one of my best friend just move there this summer, so even more incentive to visit her now. I will def. tell you how it goes!
As a native Bristolian I’ve always felt a little frustrated at how Bristol’s smaller neighbouring city of Bath overshadows it as a tourist attraction, and at how Americans passing through Bristol on their way to Bath have looked at me quizzically when I’ve suggested that they should spend more time looking around the city. It’s a little know fact that there is a wider range of classical Georgian architecture in Bristol than there is in Bath, but because it’s more scattered around the city than the Geogian part of Bath is few people are aware of this. I am of course extremely biased but I think Bristol is a much more rounded city than Bath (which is still beautiful nonetheless) with a greater variety of things to do and places to see. I was very pleased to read the above article which I think will correct quite a few misleading impressions.