Blog & Guides

Welcome to the Visit Bristol blog, your one-stop shop for ideas, inspiration and handy tips to make your time in Bristol that bit better!

From suggested itineraries to festival round-ups and unmissable things to do, our guides aim to showcase the best of the city, whatever the time of year. We publish new blogs every week and keep our blog posts up-to-date with the latest information, so you can trust that you’re getting the most accurate and useful tips for your trip.

Planning a trip with the family? Check out our guides on Places to stay with kids in and around Bristol and Things to do with teenagers. We’ve also got a list of 60 free things to do to keep costs down.

Coming here to sample as much of the food scene as you can? Have a read through our list of Bristol’s Michelin-starred restaurants, top cocktail bars and pub gardens, or find the best places to go for vegan food while you’re here. We’re sure you’ll also want to try a tasty Sunday roast while you’re here – we've rounded up a few of the best of those too!

If you’re local to Bristol, or here for a few days, we’ve also got plenty of suggestions for day trips to the north, south, east and west of the city so that you can experience as much of the region as possible. Maybe you want to tick off all of the World Heritage Sites near Bristol, or discover our most accessible outdoor attractions.

We’ll also have seasonal guides to help you get the most out of Summer in Bristol, from rooftop bars to scenic cycle routes, or find out what’s on for Christmas in and around the city.

Keep checking back for more brilliant Bristol inspiration!

Latest blogs

Tag: Sacred

Interior of Bristol Cathedral during the Luxmuralis light installation - credit Bristol Cathedral

Luxmuralis returns to Bristol Cathedral this Christmas

Sep. 25, 2024

This Christmas, a stunning display of festive light and sound is coming to Bristol Cathedral, transforming this ancient building into a dazzling spectacle of light and sound as the Nativity story is retold like never before. In The Beginning is a stunning visual display, bringing a contemporary…

Bristol Cathedral alter with Christmas trees and candles - Credit Bristol Cathedral

Sacred Bristol at Christmas: Carols, concerts and services

Dec. 01, 2023

If you’d like to add a touch of the spiritual to your Christmas celebrations, we’ve put together a list of the most enchanting and unique, sacred spaces around Bristol. Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral is an extraordinary building filled with secrets of Bristol’s past. Christmas is a busy time…

A women dressed in a red robe showing a doll to a small child - Credit Brunel's SS Great Britain

24 Festive things to do in Bristol

Nov. 21, 2023

Christmas markets, winter wonderlands, enchanting light trails, festive events and experiences, not to mention the magnificent theatre productions – Bristol is brimming with exciting things to do this Christmas. Everyone's welcome to our place this Christmas. Here's our round-up of what’s on this…

Interior of John Wesley's New Room, Bristol - credit John Wesley's New Room

The story of John Wesley's New Room

May 10, 2023

Learn about the life and legacy of John and Charles Wesley and the history of John Wesley's New Room, a museum in the centre of Broadmead and the oldest Methodist building in the world at over 280 years old. John Wesley was an Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and founder, with his brother Charles, of…

Exterior of John Wesley's New Room, Bristol - credit John Wesley's New Room

A Wesley walk in Bristol

Sep. 21, 2022

Follow in the footsteps of two of the founding Methodists, John and Charles Wesley, on this walk that takes you from place to place in their Bristol story. Who were the Wesley brothers? John and Charles Wesley were the most significant figures in the religious revival in Britain during the 18th…

Graves at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Brislington, Bristol

Itinerary: A guide to Bristol's historic cemeteries

May 11, 2022

Bristol-based author Charlie Revelle-Smith offers an insight into the unusual inspiration that led him to write the first installment of his Bristol Mysteries series. A graveyard may not be the first place to come to mind when imagining a perfect day out in the city, in fact, admitting that you’d…

Grave of Raja Rammohun Roy at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Brislington, Bristol - credit Visit West

The story of Arnos Vale Cemetery

Feb. 14, 2022

A cemetery is just a place where people are buried, right? Not Arnos Vale Cemetery. Set across 45 leafy acres just outside the city centre, it is so much more than ‘just’ a cemetery, with plenty of activities to get involved in and stories to discover. Here are 10 facts you might not know about the…

An aerial view of Castle Park and St Peter's Church in central Bristol

Itinerary: The secrets behind Bristol's oldest churches

Mar. 09, 2021

It's easy to walk past Bristol's many magnificant churches and appreciate them just for their beauty, but these historic buildings have also built up centuries of stories and secrets. Bristol-based author Charlie Revelle-Smith has curated the popular @WeirdBristol books and Instagram feed in which…

Vicars' Close and Wells Cathedral in the City of Wells

Itinerary: A day trip to medieval Wells

Dec. 17, 2020

Within an hour’s drive of Bristol is England’s smallest city – Wells. Popular with film-makers and tourists for its medieval architecture and quaint streets, Wells sits at the foothills of the Mendips within easy reach of the bigger cities of the region as well as the beautiful Somerset coast. Wells…