When I moved to Bristol from London nearly a decade ago, my friends in the smoke teased me that I was moving “to the sticks” where there was nothing but fields and people that talked like the Wurzels. Thankfully the reality is very different, this is a city remember, the biggest city in the South West, so here’s a little run down of a few areas to give any newcomers a little insight.

Central Bristol

Everything you would expect from a city centre – bars, restaurants, shops, theatres, museums etc. Also a proportion of UWE Halls are located in the centre of town.

You can’t fail to notice the building work that is going on at the moment, as Broadmead is currently being rejuvenated. The £500 million expansion will see the introduction of fabulous new shops, a 13 screen cinema, and top rate restaurants and cafés. Think central Manchester, I think the development will be very much like that. What it does mean, however is that you have to tolerate another year of noise, dust and building work, but here’s hoping that the finished product will be worth the wait.

Places that you should definitely take time to visit as soon as possible are:

Park Street – unrivalled shopping for all budgets. No standard, everyone’s wearing Topshop crap, gorgeous clothing for all occasions. I’d live in BS8 if I could.

The Old City – The Old Duke, the best jazz pub in the city. Plus fabulous cobbled streets.

Alnofini and Waterfront – as well as great waterfront drinking and eating places, the two venues host exhibitions, film, live art, dance and music. To give you an idea – these were the only places you could see the fabulous “This is England” in the city.

Clifton - An area of Bristol that you may well of heard of, and if you are a Bristol University Student you will be spending a lot of time around here. The Student Union, some Halls of Residence, and the majority of the main teaching buildings are in this area.

Clifton Village itself is the most affluent area in the city, clear from the shops and eateries that are located here. As a student you will soon become familiar with Whiteladies Road, and will no doubt take part in an infamous pub crawl before long. The Clifton Downs, at the top of the hill are a hive of activity on warmer days, with kite flyers, picnic goers, and sun bathers sharing the 400 acres of lush Greenland. The Downs also host several events throughout the year, including fairs, firework displays and the annual flower show.

Westbury-on-Trym / Stoke Bishop - Again part of the posher affluent portion of Bristol, Westbury is the only place in the city where you’ll find a Waitrose! More Bristol University Halls are located in Stoke Bishop, approximately 2 miles from the lecture buildings. The walk to Uni takes you across The Downs, so can be pleasant on a sunny morning.

Redland/Cotham - Not as posh as Clifton, but still very nice areas of the city. Very popular with students for accommodation after the initial year in halls. You’ll find some lovely “locals” as it has a more cosy feel to it as families live happily alongside students. This is certainly true of the top of St Michael’s Hill, where a series of old fashioned pubs are near next-door neighbours.

Redland Park is beautiful, and a great area for study where you are feeling studious.
You should quickly become familiar with Corks of Cotham, one of the few independent and the best wine store in Bristol.

Bishopston / Horfield - Home to the famous and fabulous Gloucester Road. Like an old fashioned “High Street” where many independent shops sit alongside chain stores. There are also some lovely pubs and eateries. There is nothing that you can not buy on Gloucester Road, from fireworks, to electrical goods, furniture and children’s toys. The independent clothes shops are also amazing. These areas are again popular for student living, and are slightly more reasonable than Redland.

Horfield is home to the high security prison which once housed Fred West! Gloucestershire County Cricket Club has its home in Bishopston, just down the road from where Casualty is filmed.

Stokes Croft - Just a special mention to say – home of Pie Minister. Enough said.

Montpelier - This is a seriously “cool”, bohemian area, the entrance to the “hippie” part of town. If you were an artist or a poet you would live hear. There’s an abundance of thrift shops, affordable antiques and second hand shops. And I would travel for miles for the bread from Herbert’s bakery. The Cadbury and The Old E’ are drinking institutions. The community vibe here is a lot more predominant than in the more affluent areas. Not least at the many community festivals and days that take place in this and surrounding areas including…

St Werburghs - Home to more hippies and the City farm, with the cutest piglets I’ve ever seen. The St Werburghs Festival takes place every summer, which is a family fun day based around the farm. There are some lovely green areas to “hang out” and an every body knows your name atmosphere in the pubs. For the energetic amongst you, the Climbing Centre is located within the 15th century church.

St Pauls - This is another area that you, and definitely your parents would have heard of. They will warn you, as will other less educated people in the city, not to venture into St Pauls as it has a bad reputation. Crap. This is a city, and every city has an inner city area where less desirable activities take place you shouldn’t write it off. You are more likely to get head butted by a piss head on Stella in the town centre, than you are to get in trouble in St Pauls. That’s not to say you should wonder around alone at night shouting about your student loan coming through, but it’s all about common sense. With the Broadmead regeneration currently taking place, so much money is being poured into St Pauls to “clean it up’.Again this is an area of great community, and the carnival day is not to be missed.

Easton - Separated from St Pauls by the M32, and with a similar reputation. Again this is shockingly naïve. One of the most accepting communities in the city, where people of all creeds, colours, nationalities, religions, sexualities live happily side by side.
St Marks Road is a beautifully colourful place, home to the best ethnic food shops, where you are likely to find that obscure spice in the Gordon Ramsey recipe.

Fishponds/Stapleton - Home to two of the smaller UWE campuses. Including the Glenside campus attached to Blackberry hospital. There are also some Halls here for those studying on those campuses. Fishponds is like a town in itself, with its own high street, supermarket and even a bingo hall. Those famous Bristolian accents are quite predominate in this area.
There are two large beautiful parks – Eastville and Vassalls.The atmosphere is generally pretty pleasant, although you can get your drunken chav drinkers downing the double vodkas and red bull on a weekend night in the Weatherspoons.

Frenchay - Home of the largest and main UWE campus, on the outskirts of the city at the start of the M32. And not much else, except for a hospital and an industrial estate and the MOD. The Halls here are home to nearly 3,000 UWE students. Thankfully there is a good bus service that makes it easy for you to get to the centre of town.
It is close to FILTON which is the home of Concorde. That’s pretty cool!

Totterdown - Just beyond Temple Meads, Bristol’s main railway station, is an area with much the same vibe as Montpelier, but with more hills!! The many arts trails that now take place all over the city originated here, where once a year local artists open their homes and decorate the streets to show off their work. The pubs have a true locals feel, and The Shakespeare is a must for any one visiting the area. Totterdown is also home to the best restaurant in Bristol, Glasnost. Great food, great value and suits everyone as there is a great veggie and vegan selection.

Bedminster/Southville - Bedminster is a wee bit pikie, Asda is definitely an experience! Southville is its posher sister with the Tobacco factory and a lounge and everything!