5 min readTreasure hunting, road tripping, street art spotting, fact-finding, beer tasting – you can try out all these activities and more via self-guided experiences in Bristol. Great for exploring the city safely and at your own pace, here’s an introduction to some of the best on offer.
Race Across the World: The Experience
Race through Bristol’s city centre streets and solve physical puzzles across a range of checkpoints - if you've seen the TV show, you'll know the rules, including that no public transport is allowed!
Image - Race Across the World: The Experience
Lindle: Self-Guided Treasure Hunt
Another way to see the city while you put your brain to work is in one of Lindle's Treasure Hunts in Bristol. As well as solving clues and following beautiful maps via your phone, find out all kinds of fascinating facts about Bristol along the way. It can be played at your own pace and is easy enough that kids aged eight and over can join in, yet challenging enough for teens and adults.
Image - Treasure Hunt Bristol
A Piece of Banksy by Where The Wall
Street art tour guides Where The Wall developed this fully narrated audio and visual exploration of Banksy, so you can have a Banksy day out on your own schedule. The elusive Bristol-born artist’s story is told through 13 significant stop-offs, covering many of his works around the city, from early pieces to more recent activities.
On top of this, you get to view exclusive and archive photos, with local street art legend John Nation – an internationally recognised authority on the global graffiti art movement – providing the commentary.
Image - Where The Wall
Bristol Old City Self-Guided Drinks Tour
Explore Bristol’s top drinking establishments, all while discovering the history of this iconic area. The tour features three wines, three beers, and three locally distilled gins, with tasting notes and insights into each venue.
Bristol Murder Mystery Trail by Killer Trails
Explore the historic streets of Bristol’s Old City while solving a swashbuckling murder mystery. The Curse of Calico’s Compass is a puzzle-filled, immersive treasure hunt with a buccaneering adventure theme. Take a self-guided journey through Bristol’s Old City and solve escape room-like puzzles to ultimately deduce which wannabe-pirate is the culprit.
Image - Bristol Murder Mystery Trail by Killer Trails
Go Quest Adventures
Explore the streets of Bristol and unlock a hidden trail by finding clues, solving puzzles & completing challenges and earning points along the way. In the Go Quest app, you'll see the area's highlights and learn some interesting facts.
Discover Bristol's film & TV locations
Star in your very own Bristol adventure with our self-guided tour of the city's most notable filming locations, including cameos in Rivals, Skins, The Outlaws, Wolf Hall and many more.
- Download the SetJetters app for an interactive map of Bristol film & TV locations
- View Bristol Film Office's map of filming locations
Image - The Outlaws filming in Bristol, credit Big Talk Studios / BBC
CityDays Urban Adventures
Solve riddles and listen to fun facts about some of Bristol's top attractions and landmarks in this puzzle-filled city tour.
The Banksy Walking Tour
We've listed some of Banksy's most famous Bristol works, which together make for a great self-guided walking tour of the city. Locations include Park Street, Harbourside, Easton and two city museums.
Image - Banksy's 'The Girl With The Pierced Eardrum'
Best of Bristol with Yuup
Learn some top trivia about the city's history, street art and landmarks on this audio tour from Yuup. Using your location, this clever app plays audio automatically, exactly at the right time and place.
Black Bristol Trail
This 1-mile walk takes in some murals and memorials to key figures in Bristol's black community and local black history. The route includes the Alfred Fagon Statue, the Windrush mural, and the 50 years of St Pauls Carnival Mural. Some of these locations are also featured on The Seven Saints of St Pauls Trail.
Image - Owen Henry Mural in St Pauls
Bristol and Romanticism Walk
Choose from two tour routes, one from the top of Park Street to St Mary Redcliffe, the other around Clifton and Hotwells. Learn about key figures of Romanticism, including William Wordsworth, Robert Southey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who all spent time in Bristol. You'll hear about where they lived, worked, visited, lectured and wrote poetry in the city.
Rosie The Elephant Heritage Trail in Clifton Village
This trail, inspired by Rosie the Elephant, Bristol Zoo's much-loved resident, brings Clifton's history to life through hidden landmarks, fascinating stories and fun elephant facts!
Old City Heritage Trail
Follow the former route of Bristol's medieval city walls in this 1km circular walk in the Old City. Although the walls are no longer visible (except in one area on Broad Street at St John on the Wall Church), this route is full of rich architectural heritage and elements that often go unnoticed.
Image - St John on the Wall Church
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