MP3 Audio Tours

Discover Bristol at your own pace with our free MP3 audio tours.

Browse the tours below and simply click on the title of your choice to download and save it straight to your computer. From there, you can save it to your iPod, portable MP3 player or mobile phone and follow the tour as it guides you through different parts of Bristol for a truly unique way of exploring our incredible city.

(These tours were produced in collaboration with The Podfactory - click here to view their latest audio tours and video productions)

The Bristol Quayside Adventure

Discover Bristol's pirate past with a tour around the city's ancient harbour. Discover Bristol's famous people, places and buildings which are said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to pen his classic tale Treasure Island.

Where does it start?

The Trail starts at the Merchant Venturers' Almshouses at the bottom of King Street, in Bristol's Old City area.

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Merchants Venturers Almshouses, King Street
• Chapter 3: The Theatre Royal, King Street
• Chapter 4: The Llandoger Trow
• Chapter 5: Welsh Back and the Captain's Papers
• Chapter 6: Queen Square
• Chapter 7: Woodes Rogers, Merchant and Privateer
• Chapter 8: The Hole in the Wall pub
• Chapter 9: Setting sail from Bristol
• Chapter 10: Redcliffe Caves
• Chapter 11: The Ostrich Inn
• Chapter 12: Return to Bristol

Click on the link below to select this MP3 audio tour.

The Brunel Mile & City Docks

The tour follows part of the Brunel Mile to Brunel's ss Great Britain, taking in many of the great engineer's most famous creations. It should take around 2 hours to complete, but you may wish to explore specific sites or take a detour along the way. In this case, simply pause the tour and then play it again when you're ready to rejoin the trail.

Where does it start?

The tour starts at Temple Meads train station and ends in the Cumberland basin near the floating harbour.

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Temple Meads & Redcliffe Way
• Chapter 3: Queen Square & Millennium Square
• Chapter 4: The Dockside
• Chapter 5: Brunel's ss Great Britain and Beyond
• Chapter 6: Underfall Yard & The Cumberland Basin

Click on the link below to select this MP3 audio tour.

The Bristol Heritage Trail 

Take an informative tour of Bristol's rich and colourful history with the Bristol Heritage Trail. The full tour lasts around 3 hours, however you can miss out certain chapters to avoid hilly routes (handy for those with mobility difficulties), the details of which are outlined below.

Where does it start?

The trail starts in Bristol city centre - look out for the brass plaques in the floor, which are used throughout the tour as a guide.

• Part 1: Neptune's Statue - Pero's Bridge - Arnolfini - John Cabot Statue - The Shakespeare
• Part 2: Queen Square - King Street
• Part 3: Welsh Back - Bristol Bridge - Castle Park - St Nicholas Markets - Corn Street
• Part 4: Broad Street - Edward Everard Building - St John's On the Wall

Detour: to avoid a hilly route, skip to part 8 to miss out parts 5, 6 and 7.

• Part 5: Christmas Steps - Red Lodge - Wills Memorial Building - Bristol 's City Museum
• Part 6: Berkeley Square - Cabot Tower - St George's Bristol - Park Street
• Part 7: College Green - Lord Mayor's Chapel - Bristol Cathedral
• Part 8: City Centre - Denmark Street

Click on the link below to select this MP3 audio tour.

The Bristol Churches Trail 

This intriguing tour explores many of Bristol's most beautiful churches, including Bristol Cathedral, St Mary Redcliffe and John Wesley's Chapel. The trail should take around 3 hours to complete.

Where does it start?

The trail starts and finishes at Bristol Cathedral, College Green.

• Part 1: Bristol Cathedral
• Part 2: Walking to St Mary Redcliffe Church
• Part 3: St Mary Redcliffe Church
• Part 4: Walking to Temple Church
• Part 5: The Temple Church
• Part 6: St Thomas's Church
• Part 7: St Nicholas Church
• Part 8: Christchurch
• Part 9: St John on the Walls
• Part 10: The New Room
• Part 11: St James' Priory
• Part 12: St Peters Church
• Part 13: All Saints' Church
• Part 14: St Stephens' Church
• Part 15: The Lord Mayor's Chapel

Click on the link below to select this MP3 audio tour.

The Slave Trade Trail

Explore Bristol's associations with the slave trade, including famous figures and true stories from hundreds of years ago. The tour should take you approximately 1 - 2 hours to complete.

Where does it start?

The trail starts on College Green at the bottom of Park Street and ends at The Ostrich pub on the harbourside.

• Part 1: The Georgian House
• Part 2: Orchard Street and City Centre
• Part 3: Broad Street and Corn Street
• Part 4: King Street
• Part 5: Queen Square
• Part 6: Quaker Burial Ground and Redcliffe Parade

Click on the link below to select this MP3 audio tour.