Things to do in Bristol right now
Bristol is a harbour city that lives outdoors when it can: the waterfront, the Downs and the gorge fill up the moment the sun appears. When it rains, the free museums, the covered market and the Harbourside’s bars and galleries take over. This list is re-ordered for the weather and the time in Bristol right now.
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St Nicholas Market
Old City
A Georgian covered market packed with food stalls and independent shops, closed Sundays.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. On today.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
SS Great Britain
Great Western Dockyard
Brunel’s iron steamship in the dock where she was built, with a dry dock you walk under.
Mostly under cover.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Ticket valid for a year
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
Clifton
Dinosaurs, Egyptian mummies, a Banksy and a gypsy caravan, free, at the top of Park Street.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
M Shed
Harbourside
The story of Bristol in a dockside transit shed, with working cranes outside, free.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Wapping Wharf and Cargo
Harbourside
Shipping containers stacked into restaurants and bars on the south side of the harbour.
Mostly under cover.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Arnolfini
Harbourside
Contemporary art in a harbourside warehouse, free, with a bookshop and a bar.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Aerospace Bristol
Filton
Walk through the last Concorde ever to fly, in the hangar where she was built.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Bristol Hippodrome
St Augustine’s Parade
A 1,900-seat Edwardian theatre for the big touring musicals.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
We The Curious
Millennium Square
A hands-on science centre with a planetarium in a silver sphere on the harbour.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Tobacco Factory and the Sunday market
Southville
A theatre, a bar and a Sunday market in an old cigarette factory south of the river.
Mostly under cover.
- Under £10
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Bristol Cathedral
College Green
A medieval hall church with a rare Norman chapter house, free, on College Green.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
St Mary Redcliffe
Redcliffe
The church Elizabeth I called the fairest in England, with a whalebone and a Gothic porch.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Free.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Clifton
Brunel’s bridge across the Avon Gorge, free to walk and best at sunset.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Harbourside and the ferries
Harbourside
A loop of the floating harbour on foot or by little yellow ferry.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Walk free; ferry a few pounds
Underfall Yard
Harbourside
The Victorian machinery that keeps the harbour afloat, with a free visitor centre and a café.
Mostly under cover. Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Bristol Beacon
Colston Street
The city’s concert hall, rebuilt in 2023, with everything from orchestras to hip hop.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Bristol Old Vic
King Street
The oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world, with a glass-fronted foyer.
Comes alive in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Clifton Village
Clifton
Georgian terraces, arcades and independent shops on the hill above the gorge.
Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
Ashton Court Estate
Long Ashton
Eight hundred acres of parkland and deer just over the suspension bridge, free.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Banksy and the street art trail
City centre to Stokes Croft
From the Well Hung Lover to the murals of Stokes Croft, Bristol’s open-air gallery.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Blaise Castle Estate
Henbury
A folly castle, a gorge, a giant playground and a free museum in a country house.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Cabot Tower and Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill
A free tower on the oldest park in Bristol, with the harbour and the hills laid out below.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Leigh Woods and the gorge walk
Leigh Woods
Ancient woodland on the far side of the gorge, with the best views back to the bridge.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Bristol Zoo Project
Cribbs Causeway
The zoo’s new home in a woodland park north of the city, with giraffes, bears and a treetop walk.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- £10 to £25
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids