Bristol Highlights: Essential City Walk

## 1. SS Great Britain At the Great Western Dockyard, the **SS Great Britain** introduces Bristol through one of its defining stories: the city’s role in shipbuilding, engineering and global travel. Designed by **Isambard Kingdom Brunel**, she was launched here in **1843** as the world’s largest passenger ship. Her i…

SS Great Britain (6726649319)

## M Shed After visiting **SS Great Britain**, this stop widens the story from one famous ship to the city and harbour that shaped Bristol. M Shed stands on **Prince’s Wharf**, in a former dockside transit shed beside the Floating Harbour. The name recalls the port’s system of identifying its sheds by letter. The bui…

M Shed museum

## Floating Harbour Leaving **M Shed**, the Floating Harbour reveals why Bristol’s story is inseparable from water, trade and engineering. The harbour occupies the former natural tidal course of the River Avon through the city. In **1809**, engineers prevented the tide from draining it, creating a basin where water le…

Bristol harbour festival

## Bristol Cathedral Leaving the Floating Harbour, Bristol Cathedral brings the city’s story from trade and waterfront life to centuries of worship, architecture and community. Founded as an abbey dedicated to St Augustine in **1140** and consecrated in **1148**, it became the cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol i…

Bristol.cathedral.west.front.arp — Bristol Cathedral

## Wills Memorial Building After Bristol Cathedral, the Wills Memorial Building brings the city’s university story into focus. Its monumental neo-Gothic tower stands near the top of Park Street, making it one of Bristol’s most recognizable architectural landmarks and the centrepiece of the University of Bristol precin…

Wills Memorial Building from road during day

## Bristol Museum & Art Gallery After Wills Memorial Building, this stop broadens the walk’s view of Bristol: from a landmark building to the city’s collections, natural history and artistic life. The museum stands in Clifton, about half a mile from the city centre, and is housed in an **Edwardian Baroque** building d…

Bristol city museum and art gallery

## The Georgian House Museum Coming from Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, this final stop brings the walk from the city’s public collections into the rooms of a late-18th-century Bristol townhouse. At **7 Great George Street**, the house was built around **1790** for **John Pinney**, a wealthy sugar merchant and slave pl…

Georgianhousebristol — Georgian House, Bristol