18 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Bristol City

Checkout places to visit in Bristol City

Bristol City

The city of Bristol, set inland on the Avon River and with access to the Bristol Channel, has an illustrious history as one of England's oldest ports. Among Bristol's many tourist attractions are 30 art galleries and a number of parks. For families, there's Bristol Zoo Gardens and We The Curious, a science and arts center that is especially designed to engage young minds.

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Iconic Buildings to Explore in Bristol City

Ashton Court Estate

The Ashton Court Estate was once the gracious home of the Smyth family, and is now a historic park which covers 850 acres of woods and grasslands in total, designed by Humphry Repton. There is a terraced lawn, a sunken garden, a pond, and a rose garden. It was one of the beautiful place ot visit with your family.

BBC Bristol

The BBC campus, Broadcasting House Bristol, is located on Whiteladies Road, Bristol. The first building to be occupied was 21/23 Whiteladies Road, which was built in 1852 and is a Grade II listed building. It now provides offices and technical facilities for the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC Radio & Music Production Bristol, BBC West and BBC Radio Bristol.

Cabot Tower

A majestic tower in Bristol set in the gorgeous parkland of Brandon Hill near Park Street in the West End is a 105ft tower built-in 1897 to commemorate John Cabot's famous voyage from Bristol and the continent of North America four hundred years earlier. From the top of Cabot Tower, the whole of Bristol unfolds into the distance – making the steep climb well worth it, especially on a clear day.

Caldicot Castle

Caldicot Castle is an extensive stone medieval castle in the town of Caldicot. The castle contains all the elements of the typical medieval fortress, and has been lovingly cared for by its present owners, who have opened it to the public. It was one of the iconic attraction in this area which attracts a lot of tourists.

College Green

College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England. The 35,300 sqm estate contains 62 terraced-houses with 248 fully-equipped rooms. A community of students from more than 50 countries is staying in College Green at any one time. Its convenient location, coupled with well-equipped facilities and serene landscape have fostered a conducive living environment for NUS graduate students, especially students from the LKY School.

Kings Weston Estate

Kings Weston House is a Grade 1 listed building that was completed in 1719 and designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, who also designed Blenheim Palace. The Kings Weston estate possesses one of the largest collections of buildings designed by Sir John Vanbrugh in the UK. Whilst the house and the majority of the estate buildings are still standing others have been demolished or been heavily altered. Bristol is the only UK city outside London to possess buildings designed by Vanbrugh.

Kings Weston House

Kings Weston House is a Grade 1 listed building that was completed in 1719 and designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, who also designed Blenheim Palace. It is is a very popular spot for dog walkers, with a historic landscape covering over 300 acres that include mowed lawns, fields, woodland, historic buildings, grand panoramas and a brilliant cafe.

Llandoger Trow

Llandoger Trow is a public house that stands on King Street to this day. Originally a row of three houses, the pub survived a bombing in the WWII and remained in relatively good condition with three of its original five gables intact. The pub is also supposedly haunted, with up to 15 ghosts, the best known being a small child whose footsteps can be heard on the top floor.

Millennium Square

Millennium Square is a location in the center of Bristol, England. It was built as part of the At-Bristol development and has become a popular public area. It is home to a BBC Big Screen and a large water feature. A bronze statue of Bristol-born actor Cary Grant by sculptor Graham Ibbeson was unveiled by Grant's widow in 2001.

Queen Square

Queen Square is a square of Georgian houses in the city of Bath, England. Queen Square is the first element in "the most important architectural sequence in Bath", which includes the Circus and the Royal Crescent. All of the buildings which make up the square are Grade I listed. One of the iconic attraction which attracts a lot of tourists here.

Royal Fort House

The Royal Fort House is a historic house in Tyndalls Park, Bristol. The building currently houses the University of Bristol's Faculty of Science offices, the Brigstow Institute, Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research, the Cabot Institute, and the Jean Golding Institute for data-intensive research. One of the iconic attractions and it attracts a lot of visitors.

Temple Church

Bristol’s Temple Church Founded in the early 12th century to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, the Templars were ‘warrior monks’, obeying religious vows of chastity and poverty whilst trained for war. It is on the site of a previous, round church of the Knights Templar, which they built on land granted to them in the second quarter of the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. One of the iconic attractions in this area which attracts a lot of tourists.

The Georgian House Museum

The Georgian House Museum is an 18th century, six-story townhouse just off Bristol's famous independent shopping area, Park Street. It includes a drawing room, eating room, study, kitchen, laundry, and housekeeper’s room house has been restored and decorated to its original glory, and is the perfect way to step back in time and imagine what life was like in this affluent area of the city hundreds of years ago.

The New Room / John Wesley's Chapel

The New Room, John Wesley's Chapel in Bristol is the oldest Methodist building in the world built-in 1739. As the oldest purpose-built Methodist meeting house, it has been designated by Historic England as a Grade I listed building. The new building offers a 40-seater café and shop on the ground floor, library and archive facilities on the first floor, and a conference/education center on the second floor. The museum tells the story of the Wesleys and Bristol in the eighteenth century and how

Tobacco Factory

The Tobacco Factory is the last remaining part of the old W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco factory site on Raleigh Road, Southville, Bristol. The building was used to process tobacco until 1985-6 when Imperial Tobacco, which W.D & H.O. Wills had latterly been a part of, relocated production. . It is now a multi-use building which houses animation and performing arts school, loft-style apartments, a café bar, offices and a theatre.

Tyntesfield

TTyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic Revival house and estate near Wraxall, North Somerset, England. It was transformed into a Gothic Revival masterpiece. Its bespoke architecture reflects the devout Anglo-Catholic beliefs of the Gibbs family. Here they invested their wealth derived from controlling the import of Peruvian ‘guano’ fertiliser.

Victoria Rooms

The Victoria Rooms, a familiar Bristol landmark, first opened its doors to the public in May 1842, and for many years served as the most important and lively cultural center in the West of England. One of the architectural wonder in this area.

Wills Memorial Building Tower

The Wills Memorial Building is a 2-story building at the top of Park Street is a true Bristol icon and makes a dramatic and inspiring venue. The view from the top of Wills Tower, some 68 meters above Park Street, is unparalleled and tour guides give a unique insight into the history of the building, which was opened by King George V and Queen Mary in 1925 before being badly damaged during the Blitz in 1940.

Map of Iconic Buildings to explore in Bristol City