This weekend, Eleanor and I planned on heading to Bath for the weekend (Find out what we got up to HERE). We decided to make a whistle stop tour of 24 hours in Bristol to see her lovely friend Lauren.

Lauren lives about a 5 minute drive from the city centre and as we arrived on Friday evening, we only had Saturday day time to explore. In reality it was more like 8 hours in Bristol. On reflection, there is so much to do in Bristol that we really could had done with the whole of Bank Holiday weekend exploring the city.

After an Easter Egg hunt organised by Lauren (the first I have ever taken part in in my 30 years on the planet) we headed out in to the city. Parking was easy-peasy at Cabot Circus, a large shopping centre in the heart of Bristol. It has over 90 shops, multiple food outlets and a multi screen Showcase cinema. This, along with a multi storey car park made it a great starting point. A great place to wander if you are from a small town with none of the larger department stores and usual high street shops, however Bristol is a hub for independent retailers so it is worth exploring those instead!

Where we ate:

We took a walk from here to Welsh Back on the Harbourside. Lauren had highly recommended the burger joint, Three Brothers Burgers. The restaurant, based aboard a boat, has an outdoor seating area in the warmer months, however in the grey, drizzly weather, inside was definitely more appealing!

The boat is large, with bench seating close together and a large bar. The roof of the boat is canvas and I thought it would be chilly but it was surprisingly warm inside. The restaurant specializes in quality Herefordshire beef patties served rare, and local craft beers. There is a pretty substantial drinks menu.

The food menu is light and unfussy. Easy to understand and at a decent price point. A  classic beef burger will set you back just £6.25 and then you have the ‘Triple Burger’ which is basically a monster of beef patties, bacon and cheese costing £13.75. I would love the know who orders this as it must be HUGE!

It was pretty busy on arrival but we ordered a drink at the bar and very soon we were sat at our table, salivating at the menu.

I went for the vegan BBQ pulled mushroom burger with red cabbage, carrot, cucumber and spring onion salad. I opted for the brioche bun though, rather than the vegan bun. It was delicious. The mushrooms were so tasty, and I didn’t feel as though I was missing out by not having a beef burger. The BBQ sauce was tangy and sweet and oozed out of the bun. The salad was really light and refreshing. I paired it with a side of the crispiest, hottest fries ever!

Lauren went for the classic cheeseburger, a single patty topped with American cheese, again with fries and Eleanor went for the classic burger but added caramelised onions and Brie. Both loved their burgers, saying they were juicy and really well seasoned.

They do a lunch deal from Monday – Saturday, 12-5pm and Sunday 12-4pm. For £5 you get a classic burger and fries! Value for money wise this is phenomenal!

Where we drank:

From Three Brothers Burgers we nipped into The Apple, a specialist cider and perries bar on another boat a few feet away. The bar is really cute, split across two levels and with a ceiling covered in fairy lights, although it was pretty nippy it was a lovely comfortable, unpretentious bar. Lauren insisted that we try their very own strong ‘Old Bristolian’ 8.4 ABV cider. Thankfully it is served in 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 measures as at that strength I think a pint would have had me on my arse! It smelt strongly of apples and was really clear. It was incredibly smooth and not gassy as I expected it to be. It was pretty dry (I’m more of a sweet girl myself) but it’s definitely one to try if you’re in Bristol!

Where next?

We then just decided to walk around Bristol (as much as I could with a slipped disc and jacked up on painkillers) and have a look at something that Bristol is incredibly famous for; street art!

There was loads and loads on display, I’d have used up all my camera memory if I had taken photos of each and every gorgeous mural adorning the buildings, so I will just show you a few of my favourites!

Bansky, the famous street artist with art selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds, grew up in Bristol and his work can be seen all over the city, but due to time we could only see two.

The first is the ‘Well-Hung lover’ on Frogmore Street depicting a cheating wife’s lover clinging from the windowsill, whilst her husband looks out in the hope of catching him. Unfortunately it has been vandalized by some idiot and now blue paint obscures some of the art but it doesn’t distract too much.

The second we saw was an image of a young girl on a swing made from helium balloons. It’s located on Park Row and you have to look above the art shop to spot it. I absolutely love this image. It’s playful and innocent, yet I sense a darkness about it too. I have no idea why, maybe it is because she is glancing over her shoulder.

Another mention is this beautiful piece by an artist called Jody and is on Charlotte Street. The detail to both the hands and the flowers are incredible and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy to see it. I’d love this on my own wall at home!

Here is a little gallery of some of the other cool artwork we saw whilst wondering around.

What else did we see?

We wandered through St Nicholas Markets, a large undercover market within the historical Exchange building right in the heart of the city. Everything from book and sweet shops, to hippy market stalls and a stall dedicated to selling chilli sauces is within this building. There is also the Glass Arcade that has various food vendors and haberdasheries. The nails market was also on while we were there, with a mix of jewellery, print and gift stalls. There were some stunning items on display. My favourite stall was a gentleman selling maps. World, country and county maps in every size imaginable can be purchased from him.

There are so many markets happening all across Bristol every day of the week, if you want more information, click HERE to view the Visit Bristol website housing all the market day details.

We also had a quick walk around the outside of Bristol Cathedral, but didn’t have a chance to go in, which is a shame. It is free to visit and is open 365 days of the year. I would love to go inside.

Unfortunately this was all we had time for as we had to get on our way to Bath for the rest of our weekend. We have vowed to go and spend a weekend in Bristol in the summer as there is so much to do!

If you want to see what we got up to in Bath, click HERE.