A day around the Harbourside with art, history, science and film.
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Situated majestically on the front of the harbour, Arnolfini is a contemporary arts centre and the perfect place to start your day. Step inside and discover the hive of activity with art students, visitors and locals socialising in the front room, buy a book from the handpicked selection of cultural heavyweights and have a cuppa in the newly transformed cafe.
Walk across Prince Street bridge and look down to your right for the Cormorants that are often seen resting on the pontoon.
M Shed is a modern museum, housed in a dockside warehouse, that tells the 2,000 year old story of Bristol and its people in a thought-provoking and fun way. Using everyday, rare and quirky objects, films, photographs and music, learn what it means to live in the ‘lush city of Bristle’.
Head left as you exit M Shed and walk underneath the dockside cranes before stepping on board The Matthew - a replica of the ship that sailed to North America in 1497.
Stop off to sample some of the best of Bristol’s indie restaurants and cafes at Cargo, a recent development made from shipping containers.
Bristol’s must see attraction is a fitting symbol of the city’s maritime and engineering history. Launched in 1843, and now remarkably restored to its original condition, the ship rests in the very same dry dock in which it was built. Don’t miss the new Being Brunel museum - the SS Great Britain's brand-new sister museum - which is set inside Brunel’s original Dock Office, and provides a remarkable insight into the creative genius who was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
This former tea packing factory now exhibits and nurtures the best in contemporary art. Working with international names, as well as home to local talent, Spike Island is home to over 70 artist studios and welcomes many fine art students from University of West of England as residents.
Take the ferry boat from outside the SS Great Britain across the Floating Harbour and continue walking back along the Harbour to Millenium Square.
Engage with the great scientific questions and challenges at this state of the art attraction. Suitable for all ages, a showcase of hands-on exhibitions helps visitors to investigate the whys and hows of life. Walk through a tornado, become an animator at the Aardman exhibition or explore the outer reaches of space in the 3D Planetarium.
Complete your day at the Watershed: a hub of activity in the heart of the harbour. Once a dockside warehouse, and now an excellent cinema and hot bed of digital ingenuity, the Watershed's lively cafe and bar is the gathering place for Bristol’s creative types.
Bath is surprisingly compact, with many of its major attractions within easy walking distance.
No visit to Bath is complete without time spent at the Roman Baths. Begun in 70AD, these remarkably well preserved buildings made the city a renowned centre for bathing and socialising - and little has changed over 2,000 years.
Take in the splendour of Bath’s Georgian architecture through Queen Square, then head up the Gravel Walk: a gently rising path to the Georgian Garden, featured in Jane Austen’s last novel, Persuasion.
Before entering the museum, take a moment to marvel at the sweeping elegance of the Royal Crescent, one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture anywhere in the world, which remains virtually unchanged since it was built in 1767.
Inside, explore the house which recreates in every detail how Georgian daily life was spent, both for the fashionable members of society upstairs and those toiling below stairs.
Stroll through the magnificent Circus - designed to be the same size as Stonehenge due to the architect, John Wood's, conviction that Bath had been a centre of ancient Druidic activity.
These elegant rooms described on completion in 1771 as 'the most noble and elegant of any in the kingdom' were at the heart of Regency social life - the place to dance, gossip, flirt, intrigue, gamble, and most importantly to see and be seen.
Housed in the same building as the Assembly Rooms is the Fashion Museum, a world-class collection of historic and contemporary dress. The exhibits and tours give a wonderful insight into the history of the clothes, and the manners and society of the people who wore them.
Walk down the charming Guinea Lane, turn left into the sweeping magnificence of The Paragon and then past The Star Inn - don’t miss the coffin-shaped bench outside!
Housed in the historic Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapel, this splendid museum tells the story of how a sleepy provincial town was transformed into the world famous Georgian Spa to become a paragon of urban design.
All the information you need to find your way and plan your stay in Bath and Bristol
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