Bristol Staycation Guide: Where to Stay, What to Do and Where to Eat

Bristol is a city built around water. The Floating Harbour runs through the middle of it, lined with museums, restaurants and Brunel's SS Great Britain, while the Avon Gorge and the Clifton Suspension Bridge sit on its western edge. Add some of the best street art in the country, a strong independent food scene and easy access to Bath and the Mendips, and a weekend in Bristol covers a lot of ground.

How long to stay

Two nights is enough for the harbourside, Clifton and the city-centre museums. With three, you can add a day trip to Bath, Wells or across the Severn to Cardiff.

Where to stay in Bristol

Stay near the harbour or the old city for walkability, or in Clifton for Georgian streets and the gorge. See the full list on the Bristol hotels page.

Harbourside and the centre

The Bristol Hotel sits right on the harbour, with views over the water and a well-regarded cocktail bar. On College Green, Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel faces the cathedral and is a short walk from the waterfront, and Clayton Hotel Bristol City on Broad Street puts you in the old city. If you are arriving by train, Hilton Garden Inn Bristol City Centre is close to Temple Meads.

Pubs and the edges of town

The Wellington on Gloucester Road is a pub with eight rooms and a beer garden that accepts dogs, a good base for the independent shops along that street. For a spa break, Aztec Hotel and Spa on the northern edge of the city has a pool, hot tub, steam room and sauna, and Mollies Motel and Diner, with its American-style diner, is a family-friendly option rated 4.6 from over 5,000 Google reviews.

Things to do

See everything on the Bristol attractions page. These are the places most visitors prioritise.

The harbour

Brunel's SS Great Britain is the city's star attraction: the 1843 steamship sits in the dry dock where she was built, and you can walk beneath the hull as well as through the cabins. Along the quay, M Shed tells the story of the city and its people in an old dockside transit shed, including its role in the slave trade.

Museums and viewpoints

Up Park Street, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery covers everything from fossils to fine art, and its collection includes work by Banksy. Behind it, Brandon Hill Park is topped by Cabot Tower, with wide views over the harbour. North of the city at Filton, Aerospace Bristol is home to the last Concorde ever to fly, rated 4.7 from over 5,000 reviews.

Parks and country houses

Across the gorge from Clifton, Ashton Court Estate has 850 acres of parkland with a deer park and cafes, and dogs are welcome. Blaise Castle in the north of the city combines an 18th-century folly, woodland and a museum, and a few miles south-west, the National Trust's Tyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic house with gardens that is also dog friendly.

Where to eat

Bristol's best eating is spread across Gloucester Road, Stokes Croft, Clifton and the harbourside, with plenty of independents. The Crafty Egg is a rustic brunch cafe, ACHARI Indian Kitchen serves Bangladeshi and South Indian dishes alongside the classics, and Rosa's Thai is a reliable choice in the centre. See more on the Bristol restaurants page.

A two-day plan

Day one

Spend the morning at the SS Great Britain, then walk along the harbour to M Shed. After lunch, climb Park Street to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery and Brandon Hill, and finish with an evening meal on the harbourside.

Day two

Walk up to Clifton Village and across the Clifton Suspension Bridge, then follow the paths into Ashton Court. In the afternoon, head to Stokes Croft and the streets around it for street art, then dinner on Gloucester Road.

Day trips from Bristol

Bath is a short train ride away, with the Roman Baths and Georgian crescents. Cardiff is under an hour by train across the Severn, Weston-super-Mare is the nearest traditional seaside resort, and Gloucester has one of England's finest cathedrals. Drivers can head to Wells, England's smallest cathedral city, and on to Cheddar Gorge.

Camping and cottages near Bristol

Walnut Tree Farm is a peaceful back-to-basics site with glamping and campfires. Owley Woods Glamping near Cheddar accepts dogs, and Campwell Woods near Marshfield has glamping pods and lodges on the Gloucestershire side. Browse all campsites near Bristol or Bristol cottages.

Practical tips

Bristol Temple Meads has direct trains from London Paddington, Wales and the South West, and the city centre is walkable, with harbour ferries linking the main waterside stops. Clifton is uphill, so allow time. See staycations without a car for more, rainy-day staycations for wet-weather plans, and the best UK staycations for foodies for food-led breaks.