20 best free things to do in Bristol

My home town of Bristol is seriously overlooked by tourists. However, it’s a great place to live and work, with loads to see and do for visitors.

I thought that it was about time to sing Bristol’s praises and let you know about some of the many things to enjoy here that won’t cost you a penny. Here are 20 of my recommendations for free things to do in Bristol;

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Free things to do in Bristol for families

1. Bristol City Museum

At the top of Park St, in the heart of the University district of Bristol, The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is a bit of an institution. The museum has that slightly old fashioned feel with a mixture of stuffed animals, Egyptian mummies, geological specimens and an old-fashioned airplane hanging in the foyer.

One of the things that brings the Bristol City Museum bang up to date, are the regular exhibitions on the ground floor. Normally it’s photography and painting that are often by artistic masters touring the country from other galleries.

For families the museum is ideal for rainy weekends. There’s a large, buggy-friendly atrium in front of the cafe with an activity area for children. You might even get away with a cup of coffee while the kids have a play.

There’s plenty more free stuff to do in Bristol!

Check out this Bristol self-guided sightseeing audio tour

2. M-Shed in Bristol

In the harbour where the Industrial Museum once stood, we now have M-shed. This museum is colourful, vibrant and all about Bristol. It’s one of the best things to do in Bristol for free on a rainy day.

On the ground floor there’s a Bristol Places area where you can jump on the bus, or get on hands and knees to examine the photographic map on the floor to find the street where you live. See if you can learn more about the history of your neighbourhood.

Bristol Life is full of people’s stories, where they came from and how life has changed over the years. You can see the dining room table set for different times and classes.

Bristol People is about the notable citizens and there’s a mini exhibition about the Slave Trade that brought so much wealth to Bristol. Step outdoors onto the quayside and the exhibition extends to the steam cranes and boats. There’s a cafe that serves coffee, cakes and lunchtime meals with a healthy children’s selection.

3. Millenium Square in Bristol

Set a little way back from the harbour is Millenium Square. This open paved space is next to the We the Curious Science Centre and Bristol Aquarium (I’m afraid these aren’t free).

The square’s a great place to let the kids run around in summer – with benches where you could have a picnic as well as plenty of cafes nearby.

There’s a large water feature which has plenty of splashing and paddling potential. I love the statues of Bristol citizens such as Archibald Leach, better known as film star Cary Grant, William Penn, and teenage poet Thomas Chatterton.

Track back from here to the water and you could cross Pero’s bridge. The bridge is named after the African slave who worked for the Bristol Merchant John Pinney, who built the Georgian House.

If you don’t cross here you could walk up the towpath as far as the spot opposite the SS Great Britain and take the ferry across.

Check out this tour to see more of Bristol: Discover Bristol with a hop-on hop-off bus tour

4. Create Centre in Bristol

The aim of the Create Centre is to inform and educate about environmental issues. It’s not the easiest to find, set beside the canal by one of the old Bristol Warehouses. You can reach the centre by bike, bus or ferry as well as by car.

The Create Centre is open on certain Saturdays so check the website for event details. It features an Eco-home, a purpose built show-home with practical ideas for greener living. There are also regular exhibitions which cover Green issues.

5. City Farms in Bristol

Get down on the farm in the heart of the city at St Werburgh’s City Farm. It’s a working farm that is also a thriving community project offering work experience and training for local people.

On the farm visitors can see sheep, goats, chickens and pigs which are reared for meat that is sold locally. There’s an award winning cafe next to the children’s’ playground that serves fairtrade, organic and locally grown food wherever possible.

On the south side of Bristol you can visit Windmill City Farm that was started by local volunteers in 1976 to put a patch of wasteland to better use. Now you can see farmyard animals, kids can play in the adventure playground and there’s a cafe serving home-made food where you can buy eggs from the hens and ducks.

Both the city farms are free but donations are appreciated.

Things to do for free in Bristol – history and heritage

6. Georgian House in Bristol

The Georgian House Museum is an 18^th century townhouse house that has been restored and furnished as it would have been at the time of its wealthy merchant owner, John Pinney. Pinney was a sugar plantation and slave owner in the West Indies. The Bristol merchant had many business interests in the triangular trade that linked Bristol with West Africa and the West Indies.

In the ground floor reception rooms, dining rooms and library you can get a feel for elegant life of a wealthy family of the day. Downstairs the kitchen is laid out with all the copper pans and the original kitchen range. There’s even a plunge pool in the basement for health giving cold baths.

Discover Christmas in Bristol – 11 fabulous ways to feel festive

The Pero’s bridge in the harbour is named after John Pinney’s slave who worked in this house as his personal servant. On the top floor and interesting small exhibition room gives insights into the business interests of John Pinney and the Bristol connections with the slave trade. The Georgian House is open from Easter until the end of October.

7. The Red Lodge in Bristol

Red Lodge is a Tudor house that sits on Park Row, looking down the hill towards the former quayside where merchant ships would have moored. The building was once the lodge of a greater house that was further down the hill on the site of the present Bristol Beacon. At the back is a small formal knot garden, planted in the Elizabethan style.

The highlight is the Great Oak room with an ornate plasterwork ceiling, Tudor oak panelling and a great view over the city. The house was built in 1580 and was used in the 19th century as a reform school for girls. Red Lodge is open from Easter to the end of October.

8. Bristol Doors Open Day

Every September during Bristol Open Doors, interesting and historic buildings in Bristol open their doors to the citizens of Bristol (and anyone else who’d like to look around). Some are open at other times during the year but others are not generally open to the public.

In past years we’ve visited Royal Fort House which is a Georgian villa, built on the site of civil war fortifications but now part of the Bristol University Campus. We also had a guided tour through the passages of the Clifton Rocks railway, descending from the old entrance beside the Avon Gorge Hotel. You’ll see the old turnstiles and tunnel through the cliffs of the water powered funicular railway that opened in 1892 but closed in the 1930s.

Be aware that some of the visits, especially the ones that aren’t open at other times, are very popular. Book early for anything you don’t want to miss.

9. Walk across the Suspension Bridge

The Clifton Suspension Bridge is one thing you can hardly miss if you’re visiting Bristol. Even if you don’t make it up the hill to Clifton village from the city centre, you’ll spot this iconic Bristol landmark on practically every postcard or book cover about Bristol.

The bridge was the design of Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel who at the tender age of 24 won a competition to design the bridge. Work was started in 1831 and was then abandoned. It was finally completed after Brunel’s death in 1864 and has been carrying traffic across the Avon Gorge ever since.

You can get the best views of the bridge from the grassy area near the observatory on the Clifton side. Or, from the bar terrace of the Avon Gorge Hotel, a favourite hangout on summer evenings.

Walk across the bridge for views along the gorge and you’ll find the free information centre on the other side. Carry on for a walk in the nearby Leigh woods or straight ahead and into Ashton Court deer-park.

Things to do in Bristol for free – Parks & Walking

10. Castle Park in Bristol

In the heart of Medieval Bristol is Castle Park – a favourite place for local office worker to have lunch on a sunny day with a view of the canal. The focus is the shell of St Peter’s church, destroyed by wartime bombs and never reconstructed, so only the tower and open walls remain.

Tucked behind the church there’s a formal garden with sculptures and water features and the park also contains a large children’s playground. Walk around and you’ll find some remains of the old city walls.

The park is very close to the Broadmead and Cabot Circus shopping areas too, providing a green escape when you’ve had enough of the shopping.

If you want to buy an interesting picnic to eat in Castle Park, I highly recommend the food stalls in nearby St Nicholas market. They sell everything from Pieminister pies to Moroccan tagines to Jamaican goat curry washed down by a freshly pressed Wheatgrass juice.

11. Brandon Hill in Bristol

If you want a magnificent view over the Bristol harbour and the green countryside beyond the edge of the city, climb up Park St and to the top of Brandon Hill. It’s free to climb to the top of the Cabot Tower for a view over Bristol’s harbour and the green fields beyond.

There are benches around the garden at the bottom of the tower. The rest of the park is green open space with a small children’s playground at the foot of the hill.

Like Castle Park it’s a green oasis after looking around the interesting shops on Park Street. If you want to take a picnic, you’ll find a good selection of upmarket fare at the Waitrose on the nearby Triangle.

Discover Bristol’s unique craft beer scene with a self-guided walking tour

12. Download a free audio walking tour of Bristol

If you enjoy exploring corners of Bristol that you might not find on your own, download one of the free audio walking tours from the Visit Bristol website. You can look for pirates on the quayside and find out more about the buildings designed by the famous Victorian Engineer, Brunel.

Follow the slave trade trail that made many Bristol merchants rich and explore the city’s old churches. Download the MP3 file and find out more about Bristol’s colourful past.

13. Free days out in Bristol – Walk from Blaise Castle to Kings Weston

One of my favourite Bristol walks for a Sunday afternoon is from Blaise Castle to Kings Weston House. Leave your car in the car park of Blaise Castle estate and first walk back to look around the green with charming thatched cottages of Blaise Hamlet. These are owned by the National Trust and were designed as housing for the pensioners of the Blaise Castle Estate.

Back in the Blaise Castle park and you could easily spend an hour or two. Explore the children’s playgrounds for different ages, the Blaise Castle House Museum and the folly at the top of the hill.

However, I like to walk to the top of the high ground and along the ride towards Kings Weston House, with views towards the Severn Bridge. Within the hour you should arrive at the house, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in 1710.

It is now often rented out for weddings and other functions, but around the side there’s a small tea shop with a terrace for sunny days.

Read my article about the Walk to Kingsweston

Free artistic endeavours in Bristol

14. The Arnolfini in Bristol

Housed in one of the old warehouses on Bristol’s Quayside, the exhibitions that are held in the Arnolfini celebrate everything that is contemporary, thought provoking and conversation generating. My family’s reaction on entering tends to be either “Is that Art?” or “What on earth is it”? as we eye up some strange piece of experimental installation art.

The big open spaces and family friendly activities make the Arnolfini a great place to introduce the kids to art that’s a bit different. There’s also an arts cinema, cafe and shop in the Arnolfini and the exhibitions and art projects are free.

Read my article: 10 cool things to do around Bristol Harbour

15. Street art on Stokes Croft, Nelson Street & Banksy relics

Of course, Street art is big in Bristol if you know where to look. After doing as much as it could to discourage it on Stokes Croft, perhaps the recent Nelson Street project demonstrates that the Bristol City Council is having a change of heart.

Street art can be a big tourist draw and crowd pleaser. You only have to go to the East Side Gallery in Berlin to see that.

One of the key places for Street Art in Bristol is Stokes Croft. Start in the Bear Pit, the underpass at the roundabout near Debenhams which is now being made into an outdoor gallery (and not before time) to brighten up the drab walls just crying out for something colourful.

Walk up Stokes Croft keeping your eyes and wits about you. On shops, buildings and side streets you’ll find plenty of fine street art, up as far as Jamaica Street.

There you should turn left past the Jamaica Street Studios – don’t miss their open days if you get the chance. Take a look in the Selling Gallery run by the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft who are leading campaigners to make the area an outdoor street art gallery.

More Banksy Street art

As you walk back down you’ll see the Banksy Mild Mild West Mural above the Canteen in Hamilton House. This is a place that’s always packed with locals enjoying inexpensive food and live music. There are plenty of other cool bars, cafes and music venues in this neighbourhood.

Check out this ultimate walking tour of Bristol – from Blackbeard to Banksy: A fun, informative and educational tour through 1000 years of history and Bristol’s wealth of street art

From here, I’d suggest that you walk through the bus station and along Nelson Street. This street was made into an outdoor gallery in the See no Evil Project that brought leading Street Artists to Bristol from all over the world, to brighten up the grey 60s buildings.

Embrace the spiritual in Bristol

16. John Wesley Chapel in Bristol

Tucked away in the middle of the Broadmead shopping area you could easily hurry past the John Wesley Chapel, known as The New Room, on your way to Boots or Marks & Spencer. Walk through the small paved courtyard with benches and espaliered fruit trees and you will enter the oldest Methodist Chapel in the world, built in 1739.

The chapel is beautifully simple and open with wooden benches and galleries. It was founded by the preacher, John Wesley, one of the leaders of the Methodist religious movement.

Upstairs above the chapel are several rooms which are laid out with information about John Wesley and his brother Charles, and show where he slept and worked. Entry is free although donations are welcome for the upkeep of the chapel.

17. Bristol Cathedral in Bristol

Find Bristol Cathedral on College Green at the foot of Park Street and close to the harbour area. You will be very welcome to join one of the regular public services in the Cathedral. Or, walk around the Cathedral when there are no services taking place.

Take time to look at all the stained glass windows both ancient and modern and walk up the Nave to the Choir where you can see the carved wooden stalls, organ and lacy carved stonework.

The Abbey of St Augustine was founded in 1140 but was destroyed in the 16th century and the new Bristol Cathedral built on the remains of the old. I recommend that you take a look at the patterned marble floors to the side of the choir. Also, walk down the cloisters towards the Buttery where you can have a cup of tea or a sandwich.

Take time to look into the Norman Chapter house, a room in the original abbey there the monks would gather. There’s also a small enclosed garden which can be accessed from a door near the buttery. Entry is free although donations are welcome for the upkeep of the Cathedral.

Bristol’s free festivals

18. The Bristol Harbour Festival

In July the Bristol Harbour festival brings the harbour to life with a free music and street drama with stages set up in a number of different locations. On one side there’s the amphitheatre outside the Lloyds Building, leading into Millennium square.

On the other there’s the spaces by M-shed and the SS Great Britain. Queens Square and Castle Park become a seething mass of folk out to enjoy the music and a beer in the sunshine. There are entertainments for the kids and plenty of food and drink stalls.

19. Bristol International Balloon Fiesta

On a summer evening you’re quite likely to see a balloon or two drifting over the rooftops of Bristol. In August the balloons and crowds converge on Bristol for the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. There’s a funfair and market stalls but if you want to see the main ascent of balloons you need to be there either early or late at 6am or 6pm.

One of the most popular parts of the Fiesta is the Night Glow that’s held in the evening on the Thursday and the Saturday. The tethered balloons rise and sway in town to music creating a glow with the flames with a firework finale.

Watch my video of the Bristol Night Glow. On the final Sunday evening ascent, many families take a picnic on to the downs by the sea wall overlooking the gorge or position themselves above the suspension bridge to watch the balloons rise over the Avon Gorge. Photographers are out in force to snap that iconic Bristol shot.

Hopefully you won’t need too much convincing that Bristol is a vibrant, lively city with loads of great stuff to see and do. There’s plenty here that’s budget friendly for a weekend visit or longer.

Where to stay in Bristol

Brooks Guest House – a small, boutique hotel in the heart of Bristol Old City – check out the cool vintage caravans where you can stay on the roof!

ibis Bristol Centre – a bright, modern, budget hotel with 24 hour front desk in the harbourside area of Bristol

Free events in Bristol – Autumn 2023

Sparks Bristol – Located in the empty M&S store in Broadmead, this popup shop, installation and education centre helps visitors imagine what a greener more sustainable future looks like. Events are being held there throughout the autumn, check website for details and opening times. Open until December 23.

More information on visiting Bristol

For lots of information on visiting Bristol check out the official tourism website of Visit Bristol.

Need a guide book for Bristol? We recommend The Rough Guide to Bath, Bristol & Somerset.

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This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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