Bristol City Centre guidebook

  pic: Bristol city skyline
From ancient monuments to shiny new developments, from shops to markets, and from cafes to bars, Bristol's centre bubbles with a vibrant atmosphere - a place where the old and the new blend into one.

At the heart of the centre is Broadmead, Bristol's shopping hub, where high street shops rub shoulders with fabulous independent traders and exclusive boutiques.

Adjacent to this stands the £500 million Cabot Circus development which is tipped to be one of the five top shopping venues in the country when it opens in autumn 2008.

Highlights of the scheme include:

• A new European-style piazza with the historic buildings of Quakers Friars as a centrepiece; the former Quaker Meeting House will be home to renowned chef Raymond Blanc's 'Brasserie Blanc' restaurant.

• An extended retail district with 120 new shopping outlets including big-name stores such as House of Fraser, Harvey Nichols and Hugo Boss.

• Over 220 new apartments including 24 affordable homes.

• A new 13-screen Cinema de Lux and dedicated public spaces.

• Three new pedestrian streets.

• Parking space for 2,600 cars.

• A huge glass roof in the shape of a shell, billed as the first of its kind in Europe, will cover the central section and part of the new street, letting in lots of light but still providing cover.

  pic: Cabot Tower
Indeed, Bristol's centre is awash with new developments and transformations - the Colston Hall concert venue is in the middle of a massive £20million face-lift - but there remains a healthy respect for the city's older, and sometimes quirkier, elements.

The ancient Llandoger Trow pub on King Street, for example, is reputed to be where the novelist Daniel Defoe met the shipwrecked mariner Alexander Selkirk who became the inspiration for his character Robinson Crusoe.

Further down the road is the Theatre Royal at the Bristol Old Vic, which is the oldest working theatre in the country, having first opened in 1766.

Nearby, St Nicholas Market on Corn Street is a hubbub of stalls where you can pick up everything from fossils and candles to stained glass and Bristol memorabilia.

And art-lovers will be delighted to know that there are several original pieces by graffiti artist Banksy around the city.

Harbour Highs and Lows

  pic: Offices and apartments in Redcliffe
No guide to the city centre would be complete without mentioning Bristol's maritime heritage which stretches back almost 1,000 years, and by the 18 th century it was the second largest port in the country. 

But by the start of the following century, it looked as if its heyday was over: the high tidal waters of the port were making it difficult for ships to navigate and often caused damage to the vessels.

A solution was found by William Jessop.  He designed a Floating Harbour which worked by using locks at each end to impound water at a relatively constant level, thus allowing ships to stay afloat between tides.

Today, Bristol's harbour is no longer used for trading purposes, having shut to commercial traffic in the 1970s, but it has subsequently found a new niche as a vibrant and attractive leisure and residential venue.

And with many more millions of pounds due to be poured into the city centre over the next few years, including ongoing development at the famous Floating Harbour, Bristol's future looks set to be as bright at its past - it really is the place to be.

Property in Bristol City Centre

Bristol is the capital of the South West and over recent years has attracted a huge influx of business investment from the rest of the country.  New property developments and conversions are shooting up all over the city centre. These include:

  pic: St Augustine's Reach
• A gleaming new residential tower of 250 one- two- and three-bedroom apartments above Harvey Nichols in the Cabot Circus development.

• More apartments in the sought-after Harbourside will join the thousands that have already been built.

• Finzels Reach, across the Floating Harbour, will feature 400 stylish apartments as well as restaurants, bars, shops and offices, on the site of the old Courage brewery.

• Urban Splash has recently bought Bridewell, the former Fire and Police station and court - plans for the building are likely to include shops and leisure facilities, with some apartments above.

• The Zone, just behind Old Market, is a huge development of over 300 one-two- and three-bed apartments, studios and three-bedroom homes.

Property prices in the city, especially in the centre, are relatively high, but the lure of well-paid jobs and professionals looking to move from London keeps the market ticking over.

Living Here

Transport:

Road: Bristol is easily accessible from both the M4 and M5 motorways.  The M32 leads right into the centre from the M4; from the M5, the A4 Portway goes into the centre. The A4 is also the main route from Bath to Bristol.

The A38 brings people in from both the North and the South-West, and the A37 links south of Bristol with the centre. 

Train: The main station is Bristol Temple Meads, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1840.

The journey to London Paddington takes about 105 minutes. Journeys to Cardiff take about an hour, while you can get to Bath in a little over 10 minutes.

Bus: Most of the bus services around Bristol eventually end up in the city centre.

Air: Bristol International Airport, from where you can fly to Europe and New York, is half an hour's drive from the centre.
 
Shopping:

  pic: St Nicholas' covered market
Broadmead offers a fantastic range of shopping, including the House of Fraser and Debenhams department stores, and around 300 outlets in total such as Burtons, Next, Curry's, New Look, H&M and JJB Sports.

The three-storey Mall Galleries within Broadmead combines boutiques with high street names and has around 100 shops.

Broadmead has plenty of eating and drinking options including Greggs, McDonalds, Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Subway, and there are in-store restaurants in M&S, House of Fraser, BHS and Debenhams.

The £500 million Cabot Circus development will bring in a new four-storey House of Fraser store, a three-storey Harvey Nichols, Hugo Boss, L K Bennett, Reiss, Kurt Geiger, Links of London, Reiss and Ted Baker, among others.

St Nicholas Market in the Corn Exchange offers everything from fair trade food to fossils, while outside on Corn Street there is an award-winning farmers' market every Wednesday.

Eating and Drinking:

  pic: The Llandoger Trow pub
Bristol City Centre is full of fabulous restaurants such as the Hotel du Vin on Lewins Mead and the barbecue boat, Spyglass, on Welsh Back.

Over at Harbourside, Riverstation and Severnshed restaurants are worth a visit, and there is a host of other places to choose from in this lively waterside district.

On the site of the old post office, The Queen Square Dining Room & Bar is always popular and its contemporary English menu changes daily.

If you're just after a drink, the Watershed is the place to be, where Chicago Rock Cafe and the V Shed jostle for customers along with a whole host of other bars.

For something a little different, Zero Degrees is a micro-brewery on Park Row, while The Hatchet on Frogmore Street is Bristol's oldest pub - dating from 1606 - and is now a rock and alternative venue.

There are plenty of clubs in the city centre, with the Arc Bar on Broad Street and Oceania on the Harbourside offering nights out at opposite ends of the clubbing spectrum.
 
Leisure and Entertainment:

  pic: Science Centre, Millenium Square
The Odeon on Union Street is a three-screen cinema showing the latest blockbusters, while the Watershed Media Centre offers the best art-house flicks.

For theatre, head to the famous Bristol Old Vic or the Bristol Hippodrome which hosts everything from classical opera and ballets to big musical productions.

Bristol's largest concert venue, the Colston Hall, has been going strong for well over 100 years and regularly plays host to world-class music stars.
 
The Arnolfini opposite the Watershed is one of Europe's leading centres for contemporary art.

A museum centred in and around the SS Great Britain, a magnificent ship designed by Brunel in 1843, has won awards including UK Museum of the Year and Large Visitor Attraction of the Year; buying a ticket allows you free and unlimited access for a full year afterwards.

The City Museum and Art Gallery are housed together in an Edwardian baroque building in Queens Road; features include a natural history collection, an Egypt Gallery, and art works from the Old Masters to contemporary artists.

Sports:

Bristol has several council-run leisure centres and swimming pools, as well as various private gyms and health clubs. The council has a Dipper Card scheme which gives 20 swims for the price of 25 (aged 16+).

There are over 50 football pitches in the city, and The Downs League plays on The Downs during the normal football season.

Council-run rugby pitches can be hired at Ridgeway Playing Fields, Hengrove and Bonnington Walk; there are seven pitches in total.

Tennis courts and lessons are available in Horfield Tennis Centre, Canford Park, Eastville Park and St George's Park, and there are several private tennis clubs.

Ashton Court Estate has two 18-hole golf courses located close to the city centre, and offers pay and play facilities and lessons. 

There are also several private golf courses in and around Bristol, and the Nicky Lumb Golf Centre and Shop is in the city's Hambrook area.

The council runs 17 outdoor bowling greens and indoor bowling at Whitchurch Sports Centre.

There are three public cricket pitches, two at Blaise Castle and one at Oldbury Court, which can be hired on Saturdays and Sundays, and Wednesday evenings, plus a range of private cricket clubs for different age groups. 

Bristol Ice Rink on Frogmore Street holds lessons, discos and public sessions, and is home to the Bristol Bulldogs ice hockey team.

Parks and Open Spaces:

  pic: Castle Park
Brandon Hill: This is the oldest park in Bristol City Centre.  It's a beautiful spot with a children's play space, a nature conservation area, and the Cabot Tower monument which is free to climb and offers panoramic city views.

Castle Park: Centrally located by Broadmead, this lovely park provides a respite from the throngs of shoppers; the ruined churches of St Peter and St Mary le Port, still standing after the Blitz of 1940, provide an impressive backdrop. 

Queen Square: This is another centrally located green haven which was recently restored with lottery money; it hosts regular theatre and music events.

The Downs: This is made up of Clifton Down and Durdham Down, and is a vast expanse of protected parkland on the city fringe.

It is used for major events such as Guy Fawkes Night fireworks display, Cancer Research UK's Race For Life, the Bristol Children's Festival and the winter circus.

The Downs has its own football league – The Downs League – which plays on 32 pitches.