How To Spend A Day In Bristol, England

Last updated on 26 April 2021

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How to spend a day in Bristol

Bristol is a University city in South West England and has a population of around 467,000 (2019). It’s a buzzing city that very much reminds me of Wellington in New Zealand. It has the same water-side, student-filled artsy vibe as New Zealand’s capital, and while the river that runs through it isn’t quite the same as the Wellington harbour, the atmosphere and population are very similar.

During our time in England, I’ve definitely referred to Bristol as ‘England’s Wellington’.

Taking a trip to Bristol from Gloucester, where we are based, is an easy drive, taking around 45-minutes down the M5, or you can catch the train to Bristol from pretty much anywhere in the country. Thank you for your public transport, England.

Seeing as it’s so short a trip away, we headed down to Bristol for the day and had a grand time wandering around the streets, eating delicious food, catching up with friends, and even joining in on a boat tour.

Here are some of the things to do in Bristol.

Take a Boat Tour

If you want a quick and easy way to see some of the city, jump on a boat tour down the Avon River. I’ve always loved boats, so this was a really fun way to spend an hour or so. You sail past beautiful houseboats lined up along the banks, old warehouses storing equipment but also converted warehouses which are now art houses or cafes.

We even spotted a Banksy.

Boat tours | Bristol Ferry & Bristol Packet

Explore The Matthew

The Matthew which sits in the Bristol Harbour is a “modern reconstruction of the original Matthew that John Cabot sailed to Newfoundland in 1497”. Read more about The Matthew.

Millennium Square

Home to a giant silver sphere, Millennium Square (often just called ‘The Square) is at the heart of the city. In the summertime, children splash in the fountains and people fill the cafes and cars around the area. When we were there the Olympic Screen was up and ready to show the Paralympics, so I suspect the whole square would fill up with spectators, cheering England on.

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

It’s very hard to have a ‘quick look’ in a museum or an art gallery, but we did spend just an hour or so in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, taking in their exhibition on Ancient Eygpt and wandering through a few other halls.

If you do visit Bristol, be sure to set aside some time to check out the museum. As well as the few exhibitions we saw, they have dinosaurs, wildlife, geological exhibitions, film screenings, and a gallery featuring paintings and art from Asia (among many other amazing things to check out). They also have a nice wee gift shop and cafe.

Architecture

Something that always blows my mind about England is how a city can have both shining towers of glass and modern architecture, right next to buildings that are hundreds and hundreds of years old. New Zealand is a young country and it’s evident with every glimpse that England is not. You don’t really appreciate the extremes until you’re here in the midst of it.

Like most English cities, Bristol is full of both those shining towers and old stone and brick buildings, dating back to who-knows-when. Even if architecture isn’t your jam, you’ll still enjoy spotting the beautiful buildings and elements around the city.

Banksy spotting

The still-unknown artist Banksy hails from Bristol, and while he moved to London in the early 2000s, you can still do a Banksy walking tour his hometown. While this wasn’t something we did, we did spot one of his artworks on our boat tour.

Our trip to Bristol was a short one, but hopefully, this round-up of what we got up to will give you some ideas as to how to spend a day in Bristol.

Have you been to Bristol? What did you enjoy about it?

Updated: April 2021