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Sights and landmarks in Bristol

38 sights worth seeing in Bristol: landmarks, galleries, monuments and viewpoints.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Sights and landmarks in Bristol

  1. See

    Aerospace Bristol

    Bristol has a rich history in aerospace, starting with the design and production of the first British biplanes in the First World War. In the past century, the Filton aerodrome designed and manufactured numerous aircraft for military and civil applications, guided missile systems, and satellites. The history is told in great detail with replicas, scale models, and about a dozen original aircraft and helicopters, of which a complete Bloodhound missile system and the last Concorde to have ever flown are the crown pieces of the collection. A complete tour takes about 3 hours and features interactive exhibits to keep kids busy as well. They also have a good cafeteria with excellent burgers and crispy fries for GBP 8, which is better than what you'd find in the city centre.

    Wed-Sun 10AM-4PMGBP 17

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    Arnolfini Gallery

    A modern art gallery, shortlisted for Museum of the Year 2016.

    Tue-Sun 11AM-6PM (open to 8PM on Wed)free

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    Ashton Court Estate

    city park, less than from the city centre, with a mix of meadow, woodland, deer park, golf course, site of the Balloon Fiesta, the KIte Festival and the former Ashton Court Festival.

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    Blaise Castle Estate

    of park and woodland on the northern fringes, with a folly, the gorge of the River Trym and a small museum in Blaise House.

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    Bristol Aquarium

    From the hidden world of UK waters, this amazing new aquarium transports visitors to the spectacular 'underwater gardens' of the Mediterranean and stunning beauty of tropical waters - home to everything from seahorses and puffer fish to living corals and tropical sharks.

    Daily 10AM-5PMAdult £15.30; child 3-12 years £10 (must be accompanied by an adult); seniors & students £13.50; family of 4 £49.50 (2 adults and 2 children), all tickets 10% off if booked online but there is a £1.25 charge per transaction

  6. See

    Bristol Blue Glass

    Glass workshop producing traditional blue glass, a local specialty since the late 18th century. Cobalt oxide and lead oxide are mixed into the molten glass, giving it its characteristic deep blue colour. The glass workshop can be visited on request with a tour along the furnaces. It also includes a shop where glassware can be purchased.

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    Bristol Cathedral (Church of England/Anglican)

    Built as the abbey of St Augustine founded in the Norman era, and extensively rebuilt in the 16th and 19th centuries. The seat of the diocese of Bristol.

    DailyFree, donations are welcome

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    Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

    Bristol's major museum and art gallery houses an outstanding and diverse range of objects, from sea dinosaurs to magnificent art. A visit to the region's largest museum and art gallery is guaranteed to inspire! A range of subjects can be found. From Archaeology to History and Art. It also has a cafe.

    Daily 10AM–5PMfree

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    Brunel's SS Great Britain

    The world's first iron hulled, screw propeller-driven, steam-powered passenger liner, built by Brunel in 1843 and now preserved in a dry-dock alongside the floating harbour. Winner of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year 2006 — the biggest arts prize in the UK. The "Being Brunel" exhibition alongside opened in 2018 and is included in the ticket price.

    Open Tue-Sun from 10AM. Closing times: 4PM (Nov 4 to Feb 13) 5PM (Feb 14 to Nov 3). Last entry one hour before closingAdult £22; Student £18.50; child (16 and under) £14.50; child (3 and under) free. Various family tickets available, 10% cheaper when booking online at least a day in advance

  10. See

    Cabot Tower

    This dramatic Victorian tower occupies a prominent hilltop in Brandon Hill park, seen from much of the city. If you climb up the spiral staircase, you get a great view of the whole city from the top. There are signs which show you what you are looking at. It's a great way to get acquainted with the city and oriented to where you are.

    DaytimeFree

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    Castle Park & St Peters Church

    It is difficult to imagine now, but this large harbour-side park was a network of busy streets and shops until it was bombed out during the second world war. Within the park are the excavated ruins of Bristol Castle, and the ruined St Peter's Church preserved as it stood after the bombing as a memorial to those killed.

    St Peters Church is closed to the public; the park is freely accessibleFree

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    Cheese Lane Shot Tower

    Historic drop tower used for the production of lead shot (the "hail" used in shotgun shells) by dropping molten lead through a zinc sieve into a tank of cold water 35 m lower. The original tower was built in 1782, the first of its kind if the world, but was demolished in 1968 as part of a road widening project. Thus, the current tower was constructed in the architectural style of 1969, around 400 m from where the original tower stood. It continued producing lead shot until the late 1980s when lead was phased out for environmental concerns. The tower was scheduled to be demolished because it isn't particularly flattering to the city landscape 50 years after its construction, but as one of the only 3 remaining historic shot towers in England, it was conserved as a Grade II listed building. A new development was built around it in 2005, incorporating it into the redeveloped neighbourhood. The tower's interior isn't accessible to the public.

    Open now · open 24 hoursFree

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    Clifton Cathedral (Roman Catholic)

    A striking modernist design completed in 1973, with an equally modern interior and spire. It was constructed of reinforced concrete faced with granite. Worth a look.

    Open DailyFree, donations are welcome

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    Clifton Downs and Observatory

    The Downs provide a huge open space within Bristol, with great views over the Avon Gorge and the suspension bridge. On top of the downs, right by the bridge is the Observatory, housing a camera obscura and a cave leading down towards an observation point within the 250-foot sheer cliff face of the gorge.

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    Clifton Lido

    A Grade II* listed building. The Lido and pub are separately managed, the historic Lido having closed in 1989, completely refurbished and reopened in 2008. The Victoria freehouse pub stands in one corner of the site; it was created in 1851 to provide the funds to rescue the Lido the first time, and was saved from closure in 2006.

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    Clifton Suspension Bridge

    Possibly the city's most famous landmark, Brunel's 19th-century suspension bridge spans the spectacular Avon Gorge at a height of 75 m. A visitor centre is on the other side of bridge. There are free tours from the Clifton toll booth at 3PM every Saturday/Sunday from Easter Sunday until October.

    Bridge: 24 hr, Visitor centre: 10AM-5PMTo walk across: free, to drive over: £1, visitor centre: free, donations accepted

  17. See

    Clifton and Durdham Downs

    Adjacent to the Avon Gorge, the Suspension Bridge and Bristol Zoo, 400 acres of grassland, with views towards the Severn Estuary and the Mendip Hills.

  18. See

    Corn Exchange & The Nails

    The Palladian Corn Exchange, built in 1743, boasts a clock on its frontage that ingeniously tells time both in the new-fangled GMT and the old Bristol time. In front are nails (in reality Bronze pillars) over which the local merchants did business; from these come the expression 'cash on the nail'.

    Exterior always openFree

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    King Street

    King Street is now the heart of Bristol's theatre-land (see 'Old Vic' below) but it once lead down to the docks at Welsh Back, where the old sailing trows (a type of sailing barge) used to dock after their journeys from South Wales. The street has changed little since those days.

  20. See

    Leigh Woods

    A wilderness of beauty and tranquility set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Avon Gorge and Brunel's world famous suspension bridge (National Trust).

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    Oldbury Court

    Woodland and riverside paths alongside the Frome, with historic parkland and children's play facilities, approx north east of city centre.

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    Pero's Bridge

    Shrek's Bridge

    Bridge over the Harbour, known for the iconic counter weights of the lifting section which resemble the shape of movie character Shrek, hence its popular name with the locals. Its formal name Pero's Bridge is a reference to Pero Jones, a Caribbean slave who arrived in Bristol through the harbour channel below the bridge in the 18th. Although the bridges hydraulic mechanism allows it to open and close swiftly, it only does so rarely because the ferry was designed explicitly to pass under the bridge without it needing to be lifted.

    Open now · open 24 hoursFree

  23. See

    Purdown AA Battery

    One of the best preserved heavy anti-aircraft defence sites of the Second World War in the UK. The site is on top of a hill overlooking the north-east of Bristol. During the Second World War, anti-aircraft guns including the iconic Bofors were stationed here, aided by search lights to intercept Luftwaffe bombers before they reached the city. Much of it is overgrown, and it has fallen prey to graffiti vandalism. It is part of Stoke Park which is also worth a visit.

    Open now · open 24 hoursFree

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    Quakers Burial Ground

    Original burial ground for the Society of Friends, better known today as the Quakers. They were a religious society, split away from the Church of England, and formed a closed community with a complex social and economic structure spanning from Europe to North America and the Caribbean in the 18th century. Many Quakers lived and worked in Bristol. They became the first group to oppose slave trade in 1760, a remarkable point of view considering many Quakers owed their wealth directly or indirectly to the slave trade in Bristol.

    Open now · open 24 hoursFree

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    Queen Square

    A 2.4 ha garden square in the centre, originally laid out outside Bristol's city walls in an area known as the Town Marsh. Its planning started in 1699 and construction finished in 1727, being named after Queen Anne. It has seen a turbulent history, with much of the north and west side buildings being destroyed during the riots of 1831 and subsequently rebuilt. From 1937 to 1992 the square was scarred by a dual carriageway road crossing it diagonally, which created a lot of traffic to flow through the area. After this became unbearable by the 1990s, the road was closed and demolished by the late 1990s, and the garden restored to its pre 1937 glory. Although originally a residential neighbourhood, the buildings surrounding the square are nowadays used as offices, and many are listed under heritage protection. The centre of the square hosts the iconic statue of William III, a sculpture by John Michael Rysbrack who cast it in 1733 in brass and erected it in 1736 to signify the city's loyalty.

    Free

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    Red Lodge

    The house was built in 1590 and then altered in 1730. It has fine oak panelling and carved stone chimney pieces and is furnished in the style of both periods. The garden has now been laid out in Elizabethan style.

    Sat-Tue 11AM–5PMFree

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    St Mary Redcliffe Church

    A short walk from Bathurst Basin. Described by Queen Elizabeth I, as "the goodliest, fairest and most famous parish church in England."

    Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM; Sun 8AM-7:30PMFree

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    St Pauls

    The Afro-Caribbean centre of Bristol and home to the world famous St Pauls Carnival. It still suffers from the negative reputation of having been home of the St Pauls riots in 1980 but visitors today will find it a colourful, friendly area with fantastic reggae pubs and clubs and a great street art scene. Host to an Asian supermarket on Ashley Road next door to Teoh's pan-Asian cafe.

  29. See

    St Werburghs

    The alternative quarter and a green oasis in the heart of the city. Filled with allotments, a city farm, eco-housing and lively pubs including the award-winning The Duke of York in Jubilee Road and The Miner's Arms in Mina Road. The most recent addition to the area is the multi-million pound Eastgate Oriental City complex which features a large Chinese supermarket and Chinese restaurant.

  30. See

    The Georgian House

    Built for merchant and plantation owner John Pinney in 1790, also the former home of Pero Jones, a slave brought to Bristol from Nevis, by Pinney. It is displayed as it might have looked in the 18th century and provides an insight into life above and below stairs. Free. The book Pero, the Life of a Slave in Eighteenth-Century Bristol (C Eickelmann and D Small) is for sale at the museum.

    Apr-Dec: Sat-Tue 11AM–4PMfree

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    The Llandoger Trow

    Supposedly the meeting place of Daniel Defoe and 'Robinson Crusoe', Alexander Selkirk. It is also rumoured to be Robert Louis' Stevenson's inspiration for the Admiral Benbow pub in his work Treasure Island. The pub is a 17th-century Grade II listed building.

  32. See

    Tyntesfield

    A Victorian Gothic Revival house named after the Tynte baronets. Large spectacular private chapel.

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    We The Curious

    formerly @Bristol

    Science-themed interactive museum opened in 2017, with as stated goal to make science accessible to all. It features numerous labs for engineering (including robotics) and life sciences, a makerspace with 3D printers, and a planetarium.

    Tue — Sun 10AM-5PM; Mondays during school holidaysAdult (16+) £22.50/£20.40 with/without Gift Aid; child (2-15) £15.30/£13.90; free entry for the youngest; all tickets cheaper after 3PM

  34. See

    Whitchurch Airport

    Old Bristol Airport

    Former airport of Bristol, operating from 1930 until 1957. It played an important role during the Second World War as air bridge between the UK and neutral Portugal, and other territories such as Gibraltar. From the early 1950s the airport became too small to accommodate scheduled services, and expansion was limited by surrounding housing estates. It remained in use for some years for short flights to the Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man, but flying ceased from 1957 onward. It was reopened in 1959 as a racing circuit, but most of the former airport grounds have been redeveloped since. The main runway still exists and can be visited.

    Open now · open 24 hoursFree

  35. See Not mapped

    Brandon Hill & The Cabot Tower

    This attractive and hilly park is worth visiting, if only for the views over Bristol from the hill-top. Even better views can be gained by climbing the narrow spiral staircase within the Cabot Tower atop the hill. Open every day from 8AM to 30 min before dusk. The tower is now open again after being closed for significant structural maintenance.

  36. See Not mapped

    Street Art

    Street artist Banksy is from Bristol and some of his works can be seen around the city.

  37. See Not mapped

    The Matthew

    The Matthew of Bristol is a replica of the 15th-century caravel that John Cabot sailed from Bristol to Newfoundland in 1497. In 1997 she sailed across the Atlantic to mark the 500th anniversary of the historic voyage. You can buy tickets for its occasional special voyages.

    Dec-Apr: Sat Sun 10AM – 4PM; Apr-Nov: Tue-Sun 10AM – 4PMFree

  38. See

    M Shed Museum

    History of Bristol

    Tue-Sun 10AM-5PMFree entrance

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Bristol (CC BY-SA 4.0).