Bristol

United Kingdom

Things to do in Bristol:

View the Gallery River Avon by night

Bristol Restaurants

Cheap (30)

The Glass Arcade, St Nicholas Market

The Glass Arcade offers affordable food from around the world all under one roof, from Pieminister pies to Portuguese delicacies. read more
Affordable (35)

Raj Bari

Enjoy exquisite traditional Indian food at its finest in this contemporary restaurant. Raj Bari has won many accolades, including Diamond Diners Club and Masterchef awards. read more
Good quality (34)

The River Grille at The Bristol Hotel

This modern grill restaurant offers a range of classic dishes prepared with an emphasis on quality and fresh produce. The restaurant overlooks Bristol's vibrant Harbourside. read more

Bristol Nightlife

Chilled (29)

The Hole in the Wall

This historic pub set over two floors offers bar snacks and food with a good range of beers and wines. There's a pleasant garden to enjoy on sunny days, too. read more
Live Music (27)

St George's

One of the country's finest music venues, offering the best in classical, world, blues and jazz music among others. read more
Clubbing (34)

Java Bar and Lounge

The historic Mauretania Building provides a great backdrop for the fantastic Java Bar. Drink, dine, dance and, above all, indulge in a touch of luxury. read more

This Month in Bristol (March):

By Chris Savage, Destination Bristol

Shopping: Cabot Circus is Bristol's new �500m shopping and leisure quarter, boasting over 120 top-name stores, 25 restaurants and a 13-screen cinema (tel: 0117 952 9360).

Sightseeing: Animate It! takes visitors on a journey through animation past, present and future. Held in the At-Bristol space, this is a great exhibition with lots of models and props to see, including a set from the latest Wallace & Gromit production (Anchor Road, Harbourside, tel: 0845 345 1235).

Key areas: Ashton Court Estate was once the gracious home of the Smyth family, and is now a tranquil park near the centre of Bristol. It covers 344 hectares of woods and grasslands, with fantastic views over the city.

Day trips: A beautiful nature reserve unique to the south west, Slimbridge Wetland Centre is a 35-minute drive north of Bristol. It has something to offer visitors year-round: in spring you can see the newborn ducklings paddling about (Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, tel: 01453 891 900).

Bristol News & Gossip

Dolaucothi Gold Mines

BRISTOL

Most brides take time choosing their wedding ring, but few can claim quite the patience of Daisy Thurkettle-Roper from Leeds, who made the papers last year for her unusual method of ring shopping. At her recent wedding, a band was slipped on her finger that she had taken almost 20 years to find - starting as a child, she had panned for the gold from which it was made among the hills of Wales and Scotland.

Looking for British gold may have taken ages, but the payoff for Daisy was a truly unique heirloom. Plus she now has a valuable asset. Welsh gold is so rare it's worth more than 15 times the price of other gold, so if you have the time to hunt for it yourself, it can be a smart choice.

While Daisy favours panning in rivers, from March until November you can go panning at Dolaucothi Gold Mines in the heart of the rolling green hills of Carmarthenshire. Until recently, the mines had not been open to the public, nor had they been worked for over 70 years. Fortunately, after the National Trust (nationaltrust. org.uk) took on the care of the site, it opened again, this time as a tourist attraction.

There are guided tours of the mines and the opportunity to pan for the yellow metal, although anything that glistens alluringly is unfortunately more likely to be "fool's gold" - iron pyrite. But you never know your luck. Entry to the mine costs �3.40 (�3.80) for adults and �1.70 for children.

Bristol Trivia

March: David Walliams and Matt Lucas, who created and starred in Little Britain, studied drama at Bristol University before going on to find fame and fortune.
February: 2010 marks 100 years of aviation in the west of England. On 30 July 1910, French pilot Maurice Edmond took off in a Bristol Boxkite.
January: An impressive 25% of the world's natural history films are made in Bristol, at the BBC's acclaimed Natural History Unit.