Bristol In One Day: 24 Hours Day Trip Itinerary

Last updated on September 8th, 2021 at 06:34 pm

Bristol is a quirky city located in the South West of England, and it is a great getaway; however, if you don’t have much time, it’s possible to see Bristol in one day if it’s all you’ve got. On your schedule!
It is an offbeat city with an intense art scene, a broad food scene with lots of independents shops and some stunning architecture.
With my 24 hours day trip itinerary, you will be able to see everything to do in Bristol and add to your bucket list of the day what activities you want to do and what sight to see!

Also, going to Bristol means you can look forward to seeing some fantastic street art wherever you go in the city! The city is famous for its art scene, as I previously mentioned, is also home to Bansky, the world-famous street artist. If you enjoy street art, you won’t be disappointed.

Bristol In One Day: 24 Hours Day Trip Itinerary

You can find more top activities to do in Bristol here to switch with or add into your day trip itinerary to Bristol if you’d like. I also recently uploaded two travel diaries where I count some of my time in the U.K, including Bristol, if you want to read them! Of course, you can modify this itinerary as much as you will if you’d like to replace some activities.

BRISTOL OLD CITY

Also known as the city’s medieval heart, the old part of Bristol is where you get a glimpse into the past to see what the architecture and layout of the town once looked like.

• St Nicholas Market and Glass Arcade
  St Nicholas Market is one of my favourite part of the old city of Bristol, the market offers so many various food stalls from all over the world. Every single stall smelling more delicious than the previous one. Most of them offer samples as well.
  
  It’s the perfect spot for lunch or for a snack! If you’re looking for some delicious cake then you should check out Ahhtoots! They even have some vegan and gluten-free option!

• Castle Park and St Peter’s Church
  In between the old city and the Bristol Shopping Quarter you can find the remains of the medieval castle as well as the remains of St Peter’s Church overlooking the water of the river.

To explore further this part of the city and delve into its history back from when this part of the city was walled, you can take the Old City Trail Heritage walk tour on your own with the explanations on the Bristol Old City website!

I did the tour by myself back when I lived in Bristol to fully immerse myself and learn more about this side of history. I truly loved it; it’s always so interesting to know more about the city you live in (even if it’s just temporary) and its history!

Street Art: If you decide to go to the Harbourside & city centre through Quay Street and Nelson Street, you can see some beautiful pieces such as El Mac Mother and Child, The Vandal, The Wolf and more!

BRISTOL HARBOURSIDE

Bristol is a harbourside city that played an important role in trading goods due to its position on the Avon River and, sadly, a part of slavery back in the XVIIIth century like many important harbour cities.

• Millennium Square
  A square located in the heart of the Harbourside where you can find two casinos and different activities including the seasonal one (ice-skating ring or big wheel). I have never been inside but you can also find casinos there!

• M’SHED
  One cannot visit Bristol without stopping by the M’SHED! It’s a perfect activity for both kids and adults you will discover everything about Bristol and its history!
  The museum also hosts exhibitions.

• Cargo
  I told you above that Bristol’s food scene is pretty good, right? Well, Cargo is one of the city’s main hotspots for foodies!

• S.S Great Britain
  This ship is a very important part of Bristol history, as I said above Bristol is a harbour city

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL

Bristol’s Cathedral, formally called the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is located at the bottom of Park Street. On this uphill street, you can find many shops and various restaurants (and Wok to Walk best noodles chain and Mrs Potts for amazing hot chocolates and cakes!)

The gothic cathedral was built during the ‎XIIth century between the years 1220–1877 and is one of the prominent landmarks in Bristol, in other terms something not to miss!

The admission is free; however, donations are appreciated and help to keep this gorgeous Cathedral running.

Street art: at the beginning of Park Street, you can find the Man Hanging From a Window on the right!

BRANDON HILL & CABOT TOWER

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You can find the park of Brandon Hill midway on the left side of Park Street, a bit further after the Museum of Victorian History (which is free and pleasant, by the way), although this is just one of the many entrances to Brandon Hill.

The park’s hill and the view from the top of the tower are the best views over the city; it’s a great spot to relax and enjoy the view. You can see the cathedral, the harbourside and even the S.S Great Britain from there! It is the perfect spot to watch the fireworks display all over the city and further on Bonfire night in November as well!

Of course, the park is gorgeous and is home to many grey squirrels, which are adorable!

Street Art: If you come to the park from Park Street, you can see several pieces of street art

Price: Free

BRISTOL MUSEUM

Pssst, want to see a bit more of Bristol check out those 20 photos!

It is located next to the beautiful Wills Memorial Building, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. The museum is composed of two floors; on the ground floor, you get an insight into the South West wildlife and Egyptian mummies.
On the first floor, you get to discover more about dinosaurs and wildlife in general with animals and rocks. The second floor is dedicated to art with painting and pottery.

As soon as you step inside the museum, one of the first things you notice on the left side near the staircase is Banksy famous angel sculpture. From the 28th March until the 1st of September, the Banky’s Devolved Parliament is displayed at Bristol Museum.

Price: The admission is free, but it is recommended to give a £5 donation to help the museum running.

Hours: Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.

Street art: In this part of the city you can find the famous cheating man graffiti!

CLIFTON VILLAGE

• Clifton Suspension Bridge
  One of Bristol’s iconic landmarks! It is definitely something you can not miss if you visit the city, even if you only have one day in Bristol. It has to be on your bucket list!

• Giant Cave
  You have to be able-bodied to do this activity as you have to go down some very uneven steep stairs in order to access the cave.
  Then you will go through the guts of the cliff and get a different point of view on the Avon River and the Suspension Bridge. It’s really fun to do!
  Price: £ 2

• Clifton Observatory
  The observatory of Bristol can be found in Clifton Down next to the suspension bridge. It was originally a mill which is now turned into the observatory standing there today.
  Price: 2,50£

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HOW TO GET TO TO BRISTOL

PLANE

If you’re travelling to Bristol by plane, you will be arriving at Bristol Airport, which is on the city’s outskirts, about 30min away with the shuttle. The last stop of the shuttle in the city centre is where you will want to get off.
Otherwise, you could get off at Bristol Temple Meads, but that would mean doing a bit of walk, and the price doesn’t change wherever you get off, so it’s best to get off in the city centre.

TRAIN

Bristol is also accessible by train if you are travelling within the UK, then it’s a better option than to travel by plane in my opinion. Not only it is more sustainable to travel by train than by bus, but you also save yourself the hassle of going through the customs and so on.

You also get to see some gorgeous scenery of the British countryside, a total win!

BUS

If the cost of the train doesn’t fit your budget, you can always take the bus; you can find some very cheap tickets in the like of £6 one way coming from London, which is a steal knowing that a train ride can easily reach the £100. The downside of the bus is that it takes slightly longer than the train, nothing dramatic though.
It’s a good option if you’re on a budget. I almost always travelled by bus whenever I did London/Bristol.

Also, if you’re staying in the city for a couple of days, you might want to consider taking a day trip, and I happen to have the list of the best day trips from Bristol!

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This concludes my Bristol in a one-day itinerary! I told you at the beginning that Bristol was home to Banksy but did you know it was also the birthplace of Wallace and Grommit? It’s something I learnt that while I was living there!

You may notice that I did not include Stokes Croft in my day trip itinerary even though it’s one of the most famous areas to do some graffiti spotting (breakdancer Jesus, anyone?) as I’m not quite a fan of the area. Besides, you can find some great street art everywhere! Don’t get me wrong, there are some fantastic street art and some hipsterish spots, but I think there are many more exciting spots to see in the city if you only have one day to visit.

I hope you have a wonderful day trip to Bristol and fell in love with this city as I did! And if you’ve already been, let me know what your favourite sport or activity was!

Hey, looking for some more cool day trips to take in the South West of the UK; how about you check out my one day trip to Cardiff? Or what to do in Bath in one day?

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BRISTOL IN ONE DAY: TOP THINGS TO DO

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