Things to do in Bristol
Ideas for your next outing – days out, weekend plans, family fun and hidden corners.
Best things to do in Bristol when it rains
Rain does not have to ruin your plans in Bristol. From free museums and harbourside galleries to immersive art, historic ships, food markets and family-friendly attractions, here are some of the best things to do in Bristol when it rains.
Bristol’s Fabulous Light Festival To Brighten Up This City Again In February – But You Can Expect Big Changes To The Free 10-Day Event
What a joy the Bristol Light Festival has been to this city. Every deep, dark and depressing February, the streets light up the centre with bold, magical artworks—and next year’s looks to be the boldest edition yet, with 10 illuminated nights of wonder lined up from Thursday,…
6 Fun-Filled Adventures To Discover In Bristol That Are Perfect For The Whole Family
Don’t want to spend Black Friday trawling the internet for great deals? Tesco Mobile brings the bargains to you, so all you have to decide on is what to do with the family instead. Now, we know planning a family outing can get complicated when everyone has different interests…
The Oldest Arts Trail In Bristol Is Celebrating 25 Years Of Creativity This November – Keep Your Eyes Peeled For The Orange ‘Ducksy’ Flags
Totterdown has always been one of Bristol’s most colourful neighbourhoods, but this month, residents and visitors alike should keep an eye out for an extra splash of colour. The oldest arts trail in Bristol returns, as artists’ homes and studios, and several community spaces,…
Bristol Is About To Host An Enchanted Christmas Experience Where You Can Travel To The North Pole And Even Become An Elf Yourself
Ugne Giraityte · October 30, 2025 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Bristol with the Enchanted Christmas experience. If all you ever wanted for Christmas was to turn into an elf, we’ve got some good news for you. You don’t just watch a festive story; you become a…
Bristol Comedy Festival Returns For A Second Edition To Beat The January Blues – With Mark Watson, Finlay Christie, And Our Very Own Jayde Adams
They don’t call it the ‘January blues’ for nothing. Come post-Christmastime, we’re all looking for a reason to smile, and the Bristol Comedy Festival is on course to become that reason every year. Having established itself at the start of 2025, it’s returning to the city from…
“Jazz Washes Away The Dust Of Everyday Life”: The Jazz Room Brings Bristol’s Vibrant Soul To Life
The Jazz Room in Bristol captures the city’s creative heartbeat. It’s a cozy spot where smooth sax riffs and clinking glasses blend into an effortless groove. Mirroring Bristol’s lively jazz scene, it echoes the spirit of iconic venues like The Old Duke while offering a more…
A Santa’s Grotto Returns To Bristol’s Cabot Circus For The First Time Since 2019
Santa Claus is coming to town for the first time since 2019. Cabot Circus will once again host Santa’s Grotto in the heart of Bristol, featuring a theatrical adventure designed especially for families, Santa O’Clock. Led by cheerful elves, journey through rooms filled with…
This Immersive, Mile-Long Light Trail Worthy Of A King Is Set To Give Bristol’s Ashton Court A Glow-Up This Winter
Luminate calls itself ‘the UK’s number one light trail’, but how do you begin to judge something like that? Nonetheless, it’s a pretty impressive spectacle that’s already taken over the private country estate of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Sandringham. Next up, it’s…
An Iconic Christmas Lantern Trail At Europe’s Oldest Safari Park Sees ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Exploring The UK’s Famous Landmarks – Just An Hour From Bristol, It’s On This November
The UK is starting to feel a little drab, dark and depressing, isn’t it? Lift those winter blues with a trip to Longleat this Christmas for a spectacle of colour, light and ‘British icons.’ The legendary lantern trail, The Festival of Light, returns to Europe’s first safari park…
This Christmas Market Takes Place At A 300-Year-Old ‘Bridgerton’ Palace – With Its Very Own Light Trail, Observation Wheel And ‘Wizard Of Oz’ Experience, It’s Just 1.5 Hours From Bristol
Every Christmas market has a little magic to it, but after visiting a few, they can all start to blur into one. Even Bristol Christmas Market loses its sparkle eventually, but this festive market, in the Great Court of a 300-year-old country house, never fails to mesmerise us. A…
This Bridgerton Candlelight Concert Is The Dreamiest Night Out In Bristol—Tickets Are Now On Sale
The sacred halls of Bristol Cathedral shall bear witness to an evening that bridges centuries through the power of strings and candlelight. Shondaland’s revolutionary soundtrack — where modern pop anthems are transformed into Regency-era masterpieces — finds its perfect home…
Visit One Of The UK’s Official Spookiest Walks, Just 1 Hour From Bristol, This Autumn – Where An Ancient King And His Knights Were Turned To Stone By A Witch
Whenever October arrives, I pick up a good spooky book to get me in the Halloween spirit, and Penelope Lively’s The Whispering Knights is ticking a lot of boxes for me this year—creepy witches and mysterious standing stones. But it appears fact is stranger than fiction as The…
Your Invitation Awaits—The ‘Bridgerton On Strings’ Concert Waitlist In Bristol Is Finally Open
The Candlelight X Bridgerton concert series offers a rare passage into Regency splendour alive with modern enchantment. Here in Bristol, the streets echo softly with the promise of romance as beloved contemporary hits are masterfully reimagined in classical elegance,…
Bristol’s Secret Castle Is ‘The Finest Place In England’ And Surrounded By Acres Of Magical, Explorable Woodland – It’s Also Home To A ‘Giant’s Footprint’
In Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, to our heroine Catherine Morland, Blaise Castle is nothing but an enticing landmark that we never actually see. “Blaize Castle!” cried Catherine. “What is that?” “The finest place in England—worth going fifty miles at any time to see.” “What,…
This Pick-Your-Own-Pumpkin Patch On The Outskirts Of Bristol Returns For Halloween – And It Transforms After Hours Into A One-Of-A-Kind Atmospheric Experience
The leaves are falling and the nights are getting colder. You can’t ignore the fact that summer is ending. But don’t dread the arrival of autumn. It brings with it one of my favourite holidays, Halloween, and the return of one of the South West’s most loved seasonal traditions:…
Bristol’s Night Sky Is About To Get Illuminated By Hundreds Of Wildlife Drones – And You Can Get Your Tickets Now
Look up, Bristol – the night sky is about to come alive. This autumn, WILD: The Drone Light Show welcomes you to an eco-friendly, world-class drone light experience enjoyed by over 130,000 people across the UK. See hundreds of drones take a flight above Seat Unique Stadium for a…
Hundreds Of Drones Will Be Turning Bristol’s Night Sky Into A Living Wildlife Show This Autumn – Join The Waitlist For This Magical Evening
Look up, Bristol – the night sky is about to come alive. This autumn, WILD: The Drone Light Show welcomes you to an eco-friendly, world-class drone light experience enjoyed by over 130,000 people across the UK. See hundreds of drones take a flight above Seat Unique Stadium for a…
This ‘World-First Charity Concert’ Will Fund Brand-New Micro-Homes For Bristol’s Homeless With Every Ticket Sold – With Hï Ibiza’s James Hype To Headline
Bristol loves a party, but it’s a city not solely for hedonism. There’s a conscience here. A heart. Which makes this one-night-only, world-first charity concert—where every ticket directly builds micro-homes for people experiencing homelessness—such an obvious event. I can’t…
The South West’s Immersive, Horrifying ‘Scream Park’ Is Back With More Blood-Curdling Excitement This Halloween – With Terrifying Mazes, Funfair Rides & An ‘Exorcism’!
The nights are getting darker, longer and scarier—are you frightened yet? You should be, because the South West’s award-winning scream park is back for an 11th year this October. FEAR Scream Park is the quickest way to get your heart racing for Halloween, with its mix of…
Just 90 Mins From Bristol, This Kaleidoscopic Pick-Your-Own-Dahlia Farm Is Absolutely Stunning – There’s Even A Silent Disco Among The Flowers
Go back 500 years, and no one in the Old World knew what a dahlia was. It’s been almost 300 years since this native Mexican flower landed on European shores. Today, it’s the most popular flower in the UK. There’s nowhere better in the country to experience their vast variety and…
The Daytime Disco For Over 30s By Line Of Duty’s Vicky McClure Is Heading To Bristol This September – Here’s How To Get Tickets
Queueing up on a cold, rainy night waiting and shivering to get into the club, you hear the thump of the bass reverberating out into the street and sober up bit by bit as the showers continue to pour. You’re finally inside and suddenly you find yourself yawning, wearied by the…
You Can Now Find These Brand-New ‘Gromit Unleashed 3’ Miniatures Hidden In Bristol – Here’s Where To Find Them
We’re over halfway through ‘Gromit Unleashed 3’, but we’re sure many of you are wrapping up your collections already. From the Wednesday-inspired Feathers McGraw at Temple Meads to the extraterrestrial Gromit, Beagle 3 at Aerospace, the sculpture trail has taken us all over…
You Can Experience Life ‘In The Clouds’ Without Leaving The Ground With A Brand-New Attraction At Bristol Balloon Fiesta – And It’s Free To Enter
For nearly five decades, Bristol International Balloon Fiesta has been one of the greatest celebrations of hot-air balloons in the UK, if not the world. But it’s never seen anything like this before. Fiestagoers will find two brand-new attractions promising a taste of life among…
An Immersive, Family-Friendly Show In The Tunnels Under Bristol Temple Meads Journeys Through 200 Years Of Railway History This August
If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s currently a nationwide celebration underway in the UK to mark the 200th anniversary of the modern railway. Bristol being Bristol, however, we had to do things a little differently—with a one-of-a-kind, brand-new family show,…
Unleashing the fun: kid-friendly activities in Bristol
From exploring historic ships to bouncing around in a trampoline park, this guide takes you on a tour of Bristol's best kids' activities - ensuring a fun-filled day out for the whole family.