While most of Britain piles into Bath and Birmingham for the big Christmas market blowouts, there’s one city that doesn’t need all the fuss and social media hypeThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
This harbourside city is one of my favourite places to visit in winter(Image: Getty images )
We’re officially in Christmas market season, where the UK’s big cities are flooded with festive shoppers on the hunt for marked-up gifts and Glühwein. While most of Britain piles into Bath and Birmingham for the big Christmas market blowouts, there’s one city that’s less than an hour from Cardiff that doesn’t need all the fuss and social media hype.
I personally love a winter trip to the uber-cool harbour city of Bristol for Christmas menus, culture, and even a pop-up sauna that isn’t as crowded as other British cities at this busy time of year.
As Wales Online reports, visitors to the popular Bath Christmas Market have taken to social media to voice disappointment over the lack of festive spirit, steep prices, and overcrowding, with one calling it the ‘worst Christmas market’ they’ve been to.
If I may, I would like to present a vibrant alternative to Bath’s reported “absence of holiday cheer, extortionate costs, and excessive crowds.” The more chilled-out Bristol Christmas Market quietly sets out its own festive offering, blending German market charm with the city’s distinct artsy vibe.
Which is precisely why it works. Smaller, slightly calmer, and blissfully free of that 60-foot inflatable reindeer hysteria, it still manages to feel seasonal without going overboard. Yes, it’s busy every market is during the holiday season, but it’s not the last days of Rome-level chaos.
Bristol Christmas market(Image: Bristol Christmas market / Instagram)
From early November until a few days before Christmas, Broadmead (Bristol’s shopping area) turns into a winter quarter with a glittering star entrance, a Ferris wheel, stalls, bars, and even rentable Ski Gondolas for Insta-worthy drinks and nibbles.
The market spreads through the shopping quarter, with stalls selling a range of gifts, from handmade baubles to locally crafted presents you can pretend you found after hours of thoughtful searching.
Familiar favourites return, joined by newcomers hoping to tempt you with ornaments, art, and ‘artisanal’ items you’ll later claim were sourced on “a little trip to Bristol” because that sounds more sophisticated than “I panicked and bought it at the market”.
You can buy festive gifts(Image: ChronicleLive)
Families get the usual festive fun to keep the kiddos happy, including bubble-blowing fairies, balloon artists and Santa’s contractual appearance in December.
Foodwise, there are stalls selling churros, chocolate, doughnuts, coffee and luxurious hot chocolate at average Christmas market prices. Remember, though, we’re in a tight-budget world now; nothing is cheap in the UK, absolutely nothing. Bring cash. Lots of it.
Expect Yorkshire Pudding Wraps for people who believe portability is the future of British cuisine, churros for the sweet-toothed, bratwursts for the traditionalists, and enough mulled wine to keep everyone pleasantly tolerant of the December weather.
The drinking crowd gravitates toward the Jäger Barn Bar, a cosy hub that steadily gets louder from Thursday to Sunday. If you want a more discreet pint, wander to the new Glissè Bar near Cabot Circus, a more intimate and satisfyingly grown-up spot.
This year also brings Ski Gondolas you can hire for private groups, which is the closest Bristol gets to alpine chic. They seat six and come with optional drinks packages for people like me who believe Christmas calories lose their jurisdiction once enclosed in a gondola. I’m having all the snacks. All of them.
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And because Bristol never does things by halves, there’s also the debut of Festive Balloon Dining, essentially a hot air balloon basket on the ground dressed up for dinner and Instagram glory. It fits eight people and offers a lofty view over the market, even if the only actual ascent is your blood sugar.
The whole event runs for more than six weeks, which is either wonderfully generous or dangerously enabling, depending on your relationship with mulled wine.
You can also take the kiddos to Santa O’Clock at Cabot Circus, a new, festive grotto event running till 24 December. Here you can “step into Santa O’clock, a magical adventure where time keeps Christmas alive.”
Join Pendleton the clock maker, Tockington the elf, and Tickety-Twoo the snowy owl to restart the Wishmas Clock, meet Santa for a photo, enjoy festive fun, and take home a cuddly reindeer. Lush.
Outside of the markets and lights, there’s still plenty to do on a winter trip to the ‘best place to visit in the UK'(Image: Portia Jones)
Outside of the markets and lights, there’s still plenty to do on a winter trip to the ‘best place to visit in the UK’ according to Time Out. The 8th-largest city in England and Wales has exceptional shopping, street art and unique attractions and pop-ups to keep you entertained for days, nay weeks.
The old docks that once powered the city have reinvented themselves as Bristol’s impressive Harbourside, now a neat concentration of restaurants, bars, shops, hotels and attractions.
One of my favourite things to do here right now is the new Skuna Sauna Bristol. From late November to mid-December, you can hop aboard one of two floating saunas, docked at the Amphitheatre Quay, and spend an hour alternating between scorching heat and a cold plunge for the hardcore like me (yes, I’m a cold water swimming girlie, I even have a Dryrobe).
One of my favourite things to do here right now is the new Skuna Sauna Bristol(Image: Portia Jones)
Sessions run Thursday to Sunday, last 60 minutes, and accommodate up to six people for £15 a head, making it the perfect post-work or post-gym reset. Prefer to get a little scenic? The Sailing Sauna cruises the Floating Harbour, gliding past S.S. Great Britain, while you sweat it out, while you put yourself through a mini Nordic endurance test.
These sessions last just over an hour and cost £22 per person for public trips or £150 for private hire with up to five guests. Book here.
Scandi-style saunas hit 70–90°C, cold plunges are included, and there are private changing rooms onboard. Towels and sauna hats are available for purchase, though the hat is entirely optional unless you’re aiming for full Scandinavian tourist authenticity.
I personally love a unique sauna experience, especially one with epic waterside views where I can sink into freezing water and temporarily forget all of life’s stresses, admin and emails (1796 currently sitting unopened in my inbox, but that’s future Portia’s problem).
I personally love a unique sauna experience(Image: Portia Jones )
Prefer dry land? High-brow types will be delighted to learn that Bristol also doesn’t do half measures when it comes to its cultural offerings.
The Harbourside alone stacks up an arsenal of world-class attractions: Brunel’s S.S. Great Britain, Bristol Aquarium, the Arnolfini, Spike Island, Watershed, Underfall Yard and M Shed covering everything from contemporary art to maritime grit.
If you prefer your culture delivered on foot, you can join a walking tour. There’s one dedicated entirely to Brunel, because of course there is, another that promises to explain Bristol properly, and M Shed’s behind-the-scenes tour, which offers a rummage through maritime relics that would never make it into the gift shop.
The best way to see the Floating Harbour is from the water, mainly because it’s a floating harbour and that’s the point. You can hop on a boat like a normal person, or book a paddleboard with SUP Bristol to glide along the city and enjoy epic urban views.
Prefer dry land? High-brow types will be delighted to learn that Bristol also doesn’t do half measures when it comes to its cultural offerings.(Image: Portia Jones )
Food and drink are hardly an afterthought. Harbour House, Riverstation, No.1 Harbourside, Mud Dock, Za Za Bazaar and the Arnolfini Bar all offer waterside terraces where you can wrap up and sip a cheeky glass of fizz, it’s Christmas after all, darlings.
Wapping Wharf sits just along the water and is Bristol’s answer to the question “What shall we eat?” Packed with indie eats and retail offerings, you can easily lose a whole morning wandering around here. I personally love Cargo Cantina for tacos and Pigsty for pork-heavy breakfast stacks and sausage rolls.
Once you’ve done your civic duty and looked at something educational, the city obliges with enough winter distractions and cultural heavyweights to keep you busy.
Explore for long enough, and you’ll see that Bristol doesn’t just talk about culture, it sprays it across the walls. The city’s street art scene is constantly evolving, with murals changing weekly, so there’s always something new to see, even if you were just here yesterday.
It also goes without saying that Bristol and Banksy are practically inseparable. The city is peppered with his work, making it a mecca for street-art fans where you can spot subversive genius between matcha lattes stops.
The city’s street art scene is constantly evolving, with murals changing weekly(Image: Portia Jones )
Start at Barton Hill to see the Valentine’s Day mural of a girl firing red flowers, then head to the Harbourside for The Grim Reaper, now safely housed in M Shed, and The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum on Albion Docks near the marina.
The Bristol Street Art Tour has become a staple for visitors who want to understand why this city is the UK’s graffiti capital. It goes beyond the Banksy clichés, explaining the stories behind the walls and the subcultures that have been shaping Bristol for decades.
With more than 200 active street artists, Bristol’s urban canvas is never static. The tour itself lasts two hours, runs weekly, and hands you a set of listening devices so you catch every word while wandering at your own pace.
It goes without saying that Bristol and Banksy are practically inseparable.(Image: Portia Jones)
Once you’ve had your fill of street art, science and arts centre, We The Curious offers the most unexpectedly festive thing in town: a trip to the stars.
Their brilliant planetarium shows range from a cheery alien-led tour for small children to full cosmic contemplation for adults who enjoy being reminded that Christmas shopping lists are insignificant on a universal scale.
Over the holidays, they even throw in a short film where Santa gets involved with astronomy, presumably because someone realised even he needs a side gig in this economy.
Down the road, Bristol Cathedral delivers a packed December programme that could keep a choir employed for months. There are candlelit services, shoppers’ carols, toddlers’ carols, beer and carols for anyone who feels singing improves after a pint, and the full pre-Christmas line-up all the way to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
I love exploring the city year-round(Image: Portia Jones )
St George’s Bristol, tucked beneath Cabot Tower, handles things in its usual understated fashion by hosting an array of family-friendly concerts. The programme veers from the polished to the exuberant, ranging from Handel to a children’s carnival.
If you want music, you’ll find it; if you don’t, the building will probably lure you in anyway. Bristol Beacon is another concert and culture hotspot. During the holiday season, expect a packed schedule of Christmas concerts, big band events, and the Made In Bristol Gift Fairs, running on selected weekends.
For a pre-show affordable dining experience, bag a table at Colonnade Bristol.(Image: Portia Jones )
For a pre-show affordable dining experience, bag a table at Colonnade Bristol. This upscale restaurant has been created beneath the Byzantine arches that once formed the entrance to the old Colston Hall. Complete with marble-effect tables, parquet-style flooring, and palms, giving it an elegant, slightly colonial-era feel.
The room has been polished without losing its character, a confident backdrop for small plates that punch well above their weight.
A concise menu is served “tapas style,” in the words of the Uber-cool Gen Z waiting staff (god, I never looked this vogue at 19), meaning dishes are smaller, served as they’re ready, and three per person is generally the sweet spot.
On my recent visit, we ordered a mix that highlighted Colonnade’s precise, seasonally driven approach. Roast pork belly with burnt apple purée and spiced red cabbage, Savoy-wrapped braised beef shin with celeriac and horseradish, salmon tartare with dill, capers, shallot and trout caviar in a filo tartlet, and Pommes Anna chips with parmesan, truffle and aioli, the fanciest, most addictive chips I’ve ever had. I’d happily come back just for those alone.
The fanciest, most addictive chips I’ve ever had. I’d happily come back just for those alone.(Image: Portia Jones )
Colonnade feels like a thoughtful reinterpretation of the Beacon’s original arches: relaxed, modern, and exacting without ever being fussy. Plant-forward dishes sit alongside responsibly sourced fish and organic meats, all reflecting the best of local and seasonal produce with bright European and British flavours. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here
Where to stay in Bristol
You’re spoiled for choice for accommodation here (Image: Portia Jones )
You’re spoiled for choice for accommodation here with stylish hotels, city centre apartments, country cottages or even a campsite. If you want a swish stay right in the heart, I would recommend Leonardo Hotel Bristol City.
The newly designed 197 bedrooms blend stylish simplicity and practical comfort, with family rooms, executive suites, and soundproofed interiors that make sleep a real pleasure.
Each room has a work desk, free Wi-Fi, a flat-screen TV, and air-conditioning, with family-friendly touches that make it ideal for visiting with kids.
Location-wise, it’s hard to beat. A short walk from Temple Meads Station and minutes from Cabot Circus and Bristol Cathedral, it’s also only 13 km from the airport.
Public transport options are plentiful, and the hotel itself offers 24-hour reception, private check-in, room service, luggage storage, and full-day security.
Food and drink are handled with the same level of quiet precision. Breakfast is a buffet with fresh fruit, smoothies, and a full English to get your day moving.
Lunch and dinner at The Bar and Grill cover all bases, from artisan pizzas and grilled meats to fresh fish and classic sandwiches, with vegetarian and vegan options. The hotel bar is equally polished, serving cocktails, wine, and locally brewed Bristol beers and ciders and is ideal for a cheeky nightcap.