Bristol is over 650 years old, and with that history comes so much to explore. You could check out\u00a0Cabot Tower<\/a>, set in the beautiful\u00a0parkland\u00a0of Brandon Hill\u00a0(climb the tower itself for unrivalled views of the city) and the iconic Bristol harbourside \u2013 home to the\u00a0S.S. Great Britain<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n From West End musicals at the\u00a0Bristol Hippodrome<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0plays at the\u00a0Bristol Old Vic<\/a>;\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0something for everyone. Venues such as the\u00a0Tobacco Factory Theatre<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Wardrobe Theatre<\/a>\u00a0offer everything from contemporary theatre to the classics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Known for quirky independents to Michelin-starred gems, Bristol has it all!\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0a strong focus on local,\u00a0organic\u00a0and ethical food. Grab some of Bristol\u2019s best street food at\u00a0St. Nicks Market<\/a>\u00a0or head to Cargo at\u00a0Wapping Wharf<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 home to a host of independent eateries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bristol is overflowing with green spaces to chill, study and meet friends in. Countryside surrounds the city on all sides and in-between \u2013 highlights close to our campuses include the beautiful Ashton Court, Stoke Park and Snuff Mills, and in the city centre, Queen Square, Victoria Park and the Downs are all worth a visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Street art, museums, history \u2013 Bristol\u2019s culture is as vibrant and diverse as our city is. Get to know the heart of Bristol by catching an independent film at\u00a0Watershed<\/a>, seeing some live jazz at\u00a0The Old Juke<\/a>; or booking yourself onto a Banksy walking tour to get those snaps for the\u00a0grid.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upfest<\/a>\u00a0for street art; music at\u00a0Love Saves\u00a0The\u00a0Day<\/a>; Bristol\u00a0International\u00a0Balloon\u00a0Fiesta<\/a>\u00a0for, well, balloons\u2026 Then there\u2019s\u00a0St Paul\u2019s Carnival<\/a>,\u00a0Bristol Pride<\/a>,\u00a0Bristol Light Festival<\/a>,\u00a0Bristol Harbour Festival<\/a>,\u00a0Bristol Craft Beer Festival<\/a>\u2026 needless to say,\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0never be bored here!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n From big clubs with top DJs to gigs, underground speakeasies, regular comedy nights and karaoke \u2013 and a huge LGBTQ+ scene – Bristol nightlife is lit! Bristol\u2019s also been awarded the Purple Flag status in recognition of our efforts to keep our city a vibrant and safe place to enjoy at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the city\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0find opportunities for climbing, sailing, cycling and so much more. We recommend trying your hand at paddle boarding down the harbour or heading to the outskirts of the city where\u00a0you\u2019ll\u00a0find The Wave; a popular year-round inland-surfing destination.\u00a0Ashton Gate Stadium\u00a0also\u00a0houses Bristol City Football club and Bristol Bears\u00a0if you want to cheer on our local teams!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gloucester Road,\u00a0Stokes\u00a0Croft\u00a0and Montpelier fall just outside the main city and are a lively hub for student life, lined with vintage shops, quirky\u00a0caf\u00e9s\u00a0and a Banksy or two. Head to North Street in Bedminster for tonnes of urban art, and the Tobacco Factory Market on Sundays for ethical and eco-friendly goods, food and drink,\u00a0craft\u00a0and art stalls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, Bristol is known for being diverse, independent, creative and, most importantly, super friendly. Catchphrases you\u2019ll hear out and about are \u201cCheers drive\u201d for any form of transport; \u201cAlright my\u00a0loverrr\u201d as a standard greeting; and \u201cShipshape and Bristol fashion\u201d for when things are in good order \u2013 such as like your study notes, timetable, your (sustainable) out-out wardrobe\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can find out more about all the places we’ve mentioned on the Visit Bristol website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We hope you\u2019ll have fun exploring our – wait –\u00a0your<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0city. Share your pics with us by using #HelloUWEBristol \ud83d\udcf8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you’ve secured a place at UWE Bristol (congrats!) then you might already know a bit about our amazing city and all it has to offer. As a Student Comms team, we’ve got over 40 years’ experience living in Bristol, and in this time the city has been through big changes. If you\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0had a chance … Continue reading “The 10 best things to do in Bristol for 2026”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":2215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":11,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,431],"tags":[74,287,288,430],"class_list":["post-2189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-welcome","category-welcome-2026","tag-bristol","tag-bristol-city","tag-life-in-bristol","tag-welcome-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2189"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4633,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189\/revisions\/4633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/student\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2023\/08\/Clifton-12-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Catch a show<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2023\/08\/St_Nicksmarket-1-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Eat some good food<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Get out in nature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2021\/08\/Welcome-to-Bristol.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5. Connect to local culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2023\/08\/Glos_Rd-5-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n6. Get to a festival (there’s one for pretty much everything)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2023\/08\/St_Pauls_Carnival-37-1-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n7. Explore the nightlife<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Take up a new sport<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Shop independent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/welcome\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2023\/08\/Clifton-6-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n10. Adopt a bit of the local slang<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Wanna explore further?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n