A Day Trip to Bristol: The Perfect One Day in Bristol Itinerary

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Planning a day trip to Bristol and aren’t sure where to start? Here are my honest thoughts on spending a day in Bristol, what to do, where to stay, and what to expect!

Bristol is one of those cities that often falls under the radar. People who visit the UK tend to visit London. But there are so many other destinations including cool, quirky cities, like this. I recently went on a day trip to Bristol and I can confirm that this city should definitely be on your list!

Located in the West of England, Bristol is pretty unique. There’s a lot of maritime history here as well as funky street art (it’s the home of Banksy, after all), a great food scene, lots of outdoor attractions, and several large manor houses that are surprisingly close to the city. 

I’ve always been a little captivated by Bristol. We used to visit quite a lot when I was younger to see family who live nearby. I have great memories of walking the Clifton Suspension Bridge, finding all the street art, and visiting the Zoo. But, it felt great to return now and discover a side of the city that hadn’t really interested me as a child!

Here’s The Perfect Itinerary For A Day Trip to Bristol

I’ve mapped out all of my favourite spots to visit during a Bristol day trip on this itinerary. You’ll probably want to see some of Bristol’s most popular attractions, but I’ve also thrown in a few hidden gems and more unusual sights that you may want to add to your list.

9:30 – Visit Clifton Suspension Bridge and Observatory

I’ve started this itinerary at 9:30am because, depending on where you’re coming from, you may have a pretty long drive before you get to the city. It took us around 2.5 hours to get to Bristol and I figured you may not want to leave your house at 6am (or earlier)! 

Don’t worry though – this will still give you plenty of time to see lots of cool stuff in Bristol. 

Anyway, I’ve digressed – Clifton Suspension Bridge. 

This is possibly one of the most famous sights in the city. It spans the picturesque Avon Gorge and connects Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. The bridge was created by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (whom you’ll hear quite a lot of in this Bristol itinerary) in 1864. 

With two large Gothic towers and dramatic iron chains, it’s a pretty impressive sight. The best way to view the bridge is from the Clifton Observatory which is conveniently positioned on the hill above the bridge on the Bristol side. 

The observatory is an interesting place to visit on its own. Inside, you’ll find one of the oldest working camera obscuras in the UK. Plus, it’s a great place to get a unique view of Bristol’s skyline. 

10:00 – Climb into Giant’s Cave

Also located at the Clifton Observatory site is Giant’s Cave. This tunnelling cavern dates back to 305 AD when it was a very unusual chapel. Since then, it’s opened up to the public and now provides a unique way to experience Avon Gorge. 

The cave snakes its way into the side of the gorge and you can climb down inside it. It’s pretty steep and can be slippery in places, so I recommend wearing comfortable shoes. It’s a very unique experience. 

From the bottom, you’ll reach a small metal platform where you can view the bridge. The netting that covers the platform makes it pretty tricky to get a good photo, but it’s still worth the £3 entrance fee. 

I had no idea that there was a cave here either, so loved the experience.

Top Tip: To get to both of these places, parking can be a little tricky. There’s no specific parking for the Observatory, so you’ll have to use the on-road parking nearby and walk up to the bridge. To get to the parking, drive up the road from the bridge’s toll booth and take the first two lefts – there’s on-road parking there and it’s just a few minutes to walk to the observatory. I’ve also linked the spot on maps here.

10:30 – Explore the SS Great Britain

After you’ve snapped all the photos of the majestic Clifton Suspension Bridge, head into the city of Bristol to see another of the most popular attractions. 

You can’t miss the SS Great Britain on a day trip to Bristol. Also created by Brunel (I told you that you’d be hearing a lot about this guy!), it’s one of the city’s most famous icons and it is so much fun to explore. 

Back in her heyday (the 1840s), the SS Great Britain was one of the largest passenger ships in the world. It could carry up to 750 passengers. While that doesn’t seem like a lot these days, when you consider the ship was making epic voyages from England to Australia, it still seems pretty impressive to me!

There’s a lot of history to see here and you can almost spend an entire half a day exploring the ship alone. There are interactive exhibits, a dedicated museum, and recreations of how things would’ve looked on the ship back in the day.

Even the docks before you actually go on the ship have been made to look like the past. 

✅ Book tickets to the SS Great Britain here

Top Tip: If you’ve travelled to Bristol by car, the easiest thing to do when you reach the city is to pay for parking and walk between attractions. We parked at The Galleries car park and got around the city mostly on foot, with a few buses. Parking wasn’t cheap at £18 per day, but we got a discount with our hotel. 

13:00 – Lunch

After you’ve explored the SS Great Britain, you’re probably feeling a little peckish. Well, don’t worry because there are lots of cool places to eat in Bristol. 

If you want to stay on the side of the river you’re already on, I recommend heading to Cargo in Wapping Wharf, a super cool shipping container complex with lots of different street food options. 

Alternatively, you can cross the river via the ferry and you’ll also find lots of great eateries as soon as you step off it. 

13:30 – Explore Bristol’s Street Art Scene

Bristol is famous for its street art. Being the home of Banksy, this is really no surprise, but there’s so much incredible graffiti and murals on the streets of Bristol. 

You could easily spend hours wandering around and discovering all of the call works of art you can find. However, if you only have one day in Bristol, I suggest spending around an hour exploring the street art. 

You could go on a self-guided street art walking tour, like this one from Where the Wall. They’ll take you to lots of cool spots and hidden gems in the city that you might not have otherwise seen. 

14:30 – Climb up to Cabot Tower

After exploring the artwork in Bristol, I recommend visiting Cabot Tower. 

This was a little bit of a spontaneous addition to our itinerary. We were on the ferry (which I’ll explain about soon!) and saw the tower on the horizon. I decided I wanted to check it out and off we went!

I’ll be perfectly honest, you’re in for a bit of an uphill climb here. But it’ll only take around 15-20 minutes, so it’s not too bad. 

Located on top of Brandon Hill, the tower is a tribute to the maritime explorer John Cabot. Built in 1897, it honours the 400th anniversary of his voyage to America. 

The views from the top of this hill are spectacular. You can climb the spiral staircase inside the tower to see all over Bristol, from the Clifton Suspension Bridge to the SS Great Britain. 

The park itself is also a lovely spot. With the flowers in bloom, it’s really pretty and you can relax on the benches and watch the world go by. The park and the tower are also completely free to visit, which is a bonus!

15:15 – Visit Bristol Cathedral

Just a short walk downhill from Cabot Tower and you’ll find Bristol Cathedral. This work of art and masterpiece of Gothic architecture dates back over 900 years.

Originally created as St. Augustine’s Abbey in the 12th century, this building is incredibly detailed. It’s located in the heart of the city too, surrounded by restaurants and cafes.  you’ll also be able to see the City Hall with its pretty fountains beside the Cathedral. 

Once you’ve explored the outside, be sure to head inside to see the elaborate decoration, large columns, and beautiful stained glass windows. 

16:00 – Visit Wake the Tiger

This was easily one of the coolest things we did on our day trip to Bristol and I highly recommend Wake the Tiger if you love immersive attractions. 

The experience takes you through a maze of colours and lights. It tells the story of an alternate world that sprouted out of an abandoned factory. You can walk through rooms of floating dandelions, see cracks in dimensions, see lots of mushrooms, and find doors that don’t look like doors at all! 

Seriously, we were in one room working out a puzzle and there was an innocent-looking filing cabinet in the corner. The next second, people were coming out of the filing cabinet and I realised that it was a door to another room. I don’t think I’ve jumped so much in a long time!

As well as lights, colours, and suspicious doors, there are puzzles that you have to work out and riddles that you solve. There is a VR headset in one section, a fake fire, and two swirly slides that you can go down to reach other levels!

The entire complex has had a complete revamp and they’ve added a whole new level, so I highly recommend checking this place out – it’s literally out of this world!

✅ Book tickets to Wake the Tiger here.

Top Tip: Getting from the cathedral to Wake the Tiger is quite a long walk – around 40 minutes in total. If you don’t fancy this, I recommend getting the bus. It only costs £2 per person, and you can be there in 10 minutes. 

18:30 – Go for Dinner

By this time, you’re probably a little peckish again. We took the bus back to Bristol city centre and grabbed a delicious Vietnamese dinner at one of my favourite restaurants – Pho. 

They also have one of these in Cambridge which I love, I was craving noodles, so thought why not? 

However, if you want something original, there are lots of great restaurants in Bristol including. Caribbean Croft is a quirky Jamaican joint, The Barley Mow is a great place for some scrummy pub food, and Souk Kitchen serves delicious Middle Eastern cuisine.

Where To Stay in Bristol

I absolutely loved where we stayed in Bristol. It was called Brooks Guesthouse and it was the cutest little place, tucked away near St Nicholas Market. The location was central, the rooms were gorgeous, and the staff went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. 

We had a double room and it was very spacious and comfortable. The bed was huge and you just sunk into the mattress. The bathroom was modern and well-designed, and they provided plenty of amenities. 

We took full advantage of the little sachets of hot chocolate they provided – they were the perfect way to relax after walking around Bristol all day!

The breakfast at Brooks Guesthouse Bristol

Also, the breakfast the next morning was on another level. I’m used to breakfast buffets at hotels, but at Brooks, they provided both a continental buffet and a hot menu that was cooked to order. 

The continental had a selection of cereals, pastries, yoghurt, and fresh fruit. From the hot menu, there was a range of options including scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, eggs benedict, a full English, and avocado on toast. 

We went for the eggs benedict and the avocado on toast and they were both delicious. Plus, you could see the chefs cooking it behind us in the open kitchen – that’s how fresh it was!

The only slight downside was that their central location meant that had no on-site parking and parking in Bristol is quite expensive. However, the nearby Galleries parking is only a 5-minute walk away, and if you hand in your parking ticket at reception, they offer you a £3 discount on your parking. 

However, overall, my experience with Brooks Guesthouse was fantastic and I would 100% stay there again.

✅ Check prices and book a room at Brooks Guesthouse Bristol

How to Get Around For a Day in Bristol

For the most part, we were able to walk around the city. Bristol is very walkable and most of the attractions are within a short distance of one another. 

We only had to use public transport twice. The first time, to get to Wake the Tiger, we took a bus to save a 38-minute walk from the city centre. The second time, we used the foot ferry to get across the river – for obvious reasons!

The public transport is really easy to use. For the buses, you can just tap your debit card on the reader at the front of the bus to buy a ticket. You then have to tap off again once you leave the bus and it’ll charge you correctly. Each ride costs £2. 

The ferry is also easy. We simply walked up to the docks and were able to board the boat. The journey across the river took minutes and the ride only cost £1.20 per person. 

For everything else, however, we got around on foot.

How To Get To Bristol

To get to Bristol, the easiest way (in my opinion) is to drive, however, there are a few caveats to this. Bristol has a clean air zone which means you usually have to pay a daily rate to drive in the city centre. 

This cost us £9 per day and, coupled with the rather expensive parking in Bristol (£15 for 24 hours, even with the hotel discount from Brooks), means it’s not the cheapest to drive in the city.

However, there are lots of park-and-ride services around Bristol meaning you can drive to the city but use public transport to get into the centre. Next time I visit Bristol, I will definitely be using this method to save a few pennies.

Alternatively, if you don’t fancy driving, you can always catch the train from a lot of destinations around the UK. There is a direct train from London to Bristol which takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes and costs £75 for an off-peak return.

✅ Book your train travel to Bristol here

Is a Day Trip to Bristol Enough?

To be perfectly honest, no, a day trip to Bristol isn’t enough to see everything the city has to offer. We could’ve easily spent 3 days in Bristol and probably longer if we’d also explored many of the wonderful attractions around the city. 

We had about a day and a half in the city because we were also spending a day in Bath afterwards. This was just enough time to see everything on this itinerary,  but we would’ve loved more time to really see the city in depth. 

There were a few things we missed like MShed, having a proper look around the street markets, and exploring the street art in depth. So, if you’re planning to visit Bristol, I recommend spending 2 days at a minimum here.

Final Thoughts on a Day Trip to Bristol

Overall, Bristol is a wonderful city to visit in the UK. It’s quirky, it’s different and it has a great range of original attractions, funky street art, and fascinating maritime history. 

I hope you’ve found this itinerary useful and have a wonderful time in Bristol when you visit. It’s without doubt one of the best cities to visit in the UK and I cannot wait to go back. 

If you’re looking for more UK breaks, check out my guide on romantic escapes in the UK and these stunning destinations in the UK countryside.

*This article was sponsored by Visit Bristol. All opinions are my own.

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission if you make a purchase. But, I only recommend products and companies that I use and love.