There are plenty of shops in Clifton Village (Princess Victoria Street, Regent Street and around, 5- 10 minutes walk) including Tesco, Co-op, Delis, Late store/Post Office, Waterstones, Charity shops (6), restaurants (Fish’n’chips, Indian, Thai, Fish, Pizza… Our favourite is the Thali Café Indian restaurant), cafes and coffee shops (35 at last count, of which many are independent and local).
Brunel’s Suspension Bridge is nearby. It’s about 10-15 minutes: straight up Regent Street and turn left at the little roundabout – or turn left sooner and go along elegant Royal York Crescent, turning right at the end – there are steps so it’s not great for buggies.
For green walks, Clifton Downs start at the Bridge and extend northwards above the River Avon. There’s a playground very near the Bridge.
It’s about 10 minutes’ walk to Queen’s Road and the Triangle – Bristol University is close by.
You can stroll to Bristol Zoo in 20 minutes or take the bus from Clifton Village.
There are bus stops in Clifton Village for the City Centre, Redland, Zoo, bus and railway stations and University campuses.
Catch the ferry by the Pump House from the bottom of the hill (10 minutes) to SS Great Britain, the centre and Temple Meads Rail Station.
You can walk down to the Harbourside via World’s End Lane and White Hart steps, and past the Cathedral – or down Clifton Vale and stroll along the harbour (no steps this way). There you’ll find the Watershed, Arnolfini, restaurants, clubs and City Centre. Take the cross-harbour ferry to the SS Great Britain and The Matthew.
You can walk to the centre in 20-30 minutes and to Temple Meads Station in 30-40 minutes.
The City Centre is the hub for buses and shopping: the Bus Station, Galleries, Broadmead and Cabot Circus are nearby.
Across the Suspension Bridge are Leigh Woods; you can walk, cycle easy paths or tackle mountain bike trails, some of which are challenging, or cross the harbour and walk or cycle along the path beside the river (National Cycle Network route 41) towards Portishead and the Bristol Channel, or into Bedminster for the Tobacco Factory theatre.
The original Bristol Hotwells was a competitor to Bath Spa but fell from fashion; the site is located below the Suspension Bridge on the city side of the river but it is somewhat blighted by the Portway (the main road to Avonmouth and the M5). The Clifton Rocks Railway ran down through the rock from beside the Avon Gorge Hotel at the top, where a visitor centre is in development, to the level of the Portway at the bottom, where the entrance can be seen.
Clifton is largely Georgian and Victorian. There are small, peaceful corners that have survived the Georgian and Victorian building booms and the attentions of the city council in later centuries.
You can walk to the Whiteladies Road, Clifton Down Rail station and the BBC in about 20 minutes.