Bristol

Sleep

There are a lot of hotels and guest houses in the Bristol area. A selection is listed below.

Stay safe

Like many other big cities in the UK, Bristol has its rough areas. Use common sense while getting around. While some of the following information may sound a little scary, many locals insist that Bristol is a lovely and safe city.

In the 2020s problems with drunken violence have become worse.

Drunken brawls can occur in the centre of town on Friday and Saturday nights as pubs and clubs close, especially near the waterfront area, the Centre, taxi queues and fast food joints. This has been reduced somewhat by a heavy police presence and security guards monitoring the taxi queues.

Avoid Baldwin Street at the 11PM and 2AM kickout times. Go somewhere else to hail a cab from some of the smaller, less busy ranks.

There are also specific areas that have a reputation after dark. The inner city districts of St Pauls and Easton are said to be rife with drugs and gangs but should not pose any danger to people outside the narcotics trade. The main areas of these districts are well monitored by CCTV. Pay attention to what is around you, and you should encounter no difficulties.

Also, some outlying suburbs such as Southmead, Knowle West and Hartcliffe have a bad reputation, but it is unlikely that a visitor to the city would travel to these parts.

Unfortunately there are more often than not individuals or groups of lowlifes who come out to look for someone to beat up. The best advice if you want to avoid any trouble is take a taxi back to your hotel, especially if your hotel is furthe…

Stay healthy

NHS 111 operate a 24-hour helpline available by phone on 111 (free call). For all serious and possibly-serious complaints, they will probably refer the caller to a local General Practitioner or Accident and Emergency department. Bristol Royal Infirmary Queens Building, Marlborough Street provides treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, assessment by an experienced NHS nurse, advice on how to stay healthy, and information on out-of-hours GP and dental services, local pharmacy services and other local health services. NHS Walk-in Centre at Knowle West Health Park, in the southern part of the city: for opening times contact +44 117 377-2252. Southmead Hospital Emergency Department and Minor Injury Unit open 24 hours every day Bristol Eye Hospital is a specialist hospital for eye conditions and has an accident and emergency department with limited opening hours for eye conditions only. Bristol Dental Hospital provides the full range of Dental Specialties including Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine, Restorative, Orthodontics and Paediatric Dentistry.Emergency service for dental conditions only (opening hours 8AM-10AM).

Connect

Bristol's area code (for landline numbers) is 0117 when dialled from within the UK or +44 117 from outside the UK. Local numbers have seven digits, and begin with a "9" or a "3".

As of March 2022, Bristol has 5G from all UK carriers. Free wifi is available in many public places.

The city libraries all have internet points and may allow brief guest use by non-members.

Go next

Map of places with Wikivoyage articles nearby