Bristol is a city straddling the River Avon in the southwest of England with a prosperous maritime history. It's former city-centre port is now a cultural hub, the Harbourside, where the M Shed museum explores local social and industrial heritage. The harbour's 19th-century warehouses now contain restaurants, shops and cultural institutions such as contemporary art gallery The Arnolfini.
Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near the confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Around the beginning of the 11th century, the settlement was known as Brycgstow (Old English: 'the place at the bridge'). Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts.
The M Shed museum is home to displays of 3,000 Bristol artefacts and stories, showing Bristol's role in the slave trade and items on transport, people, and the arts.
Scour the streets of Bristol and you'll struggle not to find a cutting-edge piece of graffiti art decorating the city's walls. Along narrow alleys, down side-streets and through under-passages, across building walls and boldly displayed on bridges, a piece of graffiti art soon jumps out depicting wry humour and subversive displays of pop-culture.
On the south side of the city, don't miss Upfest, Europe's largest street art festival. Upfest is a highly anticipated event on Bristol's cultural calendar which attracts over 50,000 visitors to the festival across the weekend.
Bristol is a food lover's dream. Wherever you are in the city you'll find something delicious just waiting to be devoured, whatever your tastes and budget. If nothing less than award-winning will do, you can take your pick from many amazing Bristol restaurants. The South West produces some of the top chefs in the country and many cook with locally-sourced ingredients - just one of the ways Bristol is striving a more sustainable future.
If you're looking for some good honest down-to-earth food, then why not start your Bristol food journey with a bakery. There's plenty to choose from across the city, but if it's all just a bit overwhelming, why not let us show you around?