Lauren Tabbron shares her favourite things to do in Manchester
Jess Astbury regales tales of festivities in warmer climates.
Getting There
As ever the obvious answer is to take the train. They run direct from York about every half an hour and take about three and a half hours. Singles are as cheap as £9.90 if you book in advance, right now a return ticket in early April is still only £25.
Where to Stay
The centre of Bristol is really rather compact and so it’s best to stay as close to the thick of it as you can get. An ideal place to find a bed for the night is Bristol’s Youth Hostel which is a converted waterfront warehouse. B & B is £20 and if you’re saving the pennies Youth Hostels are always a good choice because of the self catering facilities on offer.
Daytime
As with every major city you could easily while away an afternoon shopping in Bristol. The main shopping street is undergoing cosmetic refurbishments at the moment but there’s still a diverse range of high street chains as well as more interesting individual boutiques and shops.
If you’re after some culture then head to the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum which has recently been nominated as European museum of the year. It’s currently holding a special exhibition about slavery but you’ll have to get a move on as the museum plans to relocate to London in the near future.
Evening
If you’re up for a bit of splashing out and a fancy dinner then Bristol’s Browns is in a lovely building at the top of Park Street. A slightly quirkier dinner can be found at The Clifton Sausage which, as the name suggests, serves all manner of sausages as well as other delicious traditional British grub.
And to wash all that down with, what else in Bristol but cider? The Coronation Tap is one of the better places in which to enjoy a pint or two. Be warned thought that the Exhibition cider for which this place is legendary can have some serious inebriation side effects.
If you’re feeling a little too fragile for another night on the town then The Watershed Media Centre is a nice place to spend an evening. Grab some dinner and a drink in the café/bar in the spacious loft then take in some art house cinema and enjoy feeling full, smug and clever.
The Bottom Line…
Park Street and The Harbour are clearly the centre of Bristol’s lively city culture but if you want somewhere closer to the heart of Bristol residents then keep walking from the top of Park Street and you’ll get to The Downs: 400 acres of grassland where there’s always something going on. Take a picnic, soak up some greenery and enjoy an amazing view of Brunel’s Suspension Bridge then wander across the road to Bristol Zoo. What more could you want in one day?
Lived in Bristol last year and loved it so much I'm moving back when I graduate. It's an awesome city, really friendly, loads to do (loads more than you could possibly fit in one article).
While you're there you might recognise a few sights from Skins - for example College Green at the bottom of Park Street where they all just chill out on the grass.
If you're looking for bars and drinking, you can't go far wrong on Park Street and Whiteladies Road. The Coronation Tap is a great little Cider pub up in Clifton Village, but if you can't be bothered trekking that far out of the centre, take a look at Zero Degrees on Park Row (just off the top of Park Street) - it's a great gastrobar with it's own glass-fronted microbrewery on site. They brew everything from mango lager to german pilsner.
Oh, and the suspension bridge isn't just good during the day, it's beautiful when it's lit up at night too.
Gonna have to stop myself waxing lyrical now...
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