A Bristol weekend: Brunel's ship, the harbourside, Banksy and the gorge

Bristol is a city that grew up around its water, and the best way to see it is still to follow the harbour. In a weekend you can walk the quays from Temple Meads to Hotwells, see the ship that changed ocean travel, spot Banksy's work on the city's walls, and finish on the bridge that hangs over the Avon Gorge. Here's our plan, with the practical bits you'll want before you go.

Saturday morning: the SS Great Britain

Start with the big one. Brunel's SS Great Britain sits in the Great Western dry dock where she was built. She was floated out on 19 July 1843 with Prince Albert in attendance, and between 1845 and 1853 she was the largest passenger ship in the world – an iron hull driven by a screw propeller, the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 14 days in 1845.

Over 41 years of service she sailed to New York, Australia, India and San Francisco, and carried troops in the Crimean War and during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Her later life was far less glamorous. After years carrying emigrants to Australia, she was retired to the Falkland Islands in 1886, used as a storage hulk and coal bunker, and scuttled in 1937. In 1970 she was salvaged with funding from Sir Jack Hayward and towed home to Bristol.

The clever part of the visit is under the water line. A glass plate laid across the dry dock at the water line, with dehumidifiers keeping the air beneath at around 20% humidity, slows the corrosion of the iron hull – an ingenious fix for a ship that spent decades rusting in the South Atlantic. The site was renamed Bristol Dockyards in 2026 as the trust that runs it expands into a wider campus; the ship keeps her name, and a new museum was set to open on the site on 18 July 2026.

Saturday afternoon: along the harbour to M Shed

From the ship, walk along the quays to M Shed, the free city museum that opened in 2011 in a former dockside transit shed on Prince's Wharf. Its roughly 3,000 exhibits cover Bristol's history, including its role in the slave trade, transport, people and the arts, and it is honest about the city's past in a way that sets the tone for the weekend.

Outside, the museum's working exhibits are as much of a draw: four 1951 electric cargo cranes on the quayside, three of which still operate on some weekends; the Mayflower, built in 1861 and the world's oldest surviving steam tug; and the Bristol Harbour Railway, which offers steam rides along the quayside on selected weekends. The 1878 Fairbairn steam crane on nearby Wapping Wharf comes to life on some bank holidays and during the Bristol Harbour Festival.

Inside, look for Banksy's Grim Reaper, which was originally painted on the Thekla boat in the harbour and removed in 2014 for long-term display here.

Carry on past Arnolfini and the Watershed to Millennium Square and We The Curious if you have children in tow.

Saturday evening: the harbour by boat

The Bristol Ferry Boats have their own small Bristol story: the service began in 1977 when a conservation group bought a single ferry, the Margaret, and after the company went into liquidation in 2012, supporters bought the fleet back at auction. Since 2013 it has been community-owned, with hundreds of local shareholders. The boats run a route between Temple Meads and Hotwells via the city centre, with landing stages including one at the SS Great Britain and another at Prince Street Bridge. Even if you've walked the quays, the view from the water is worth it, and it's the easiest way to link the station with the harbourside.

For dinner, Adelina Yard and Colonnade are on our shortlist, with a pint after at The Bank Tavern or Small Bar.

Sunday morning: Banksy's Bristol

Bristol is the city most closely tied to Banksy, and most of his pieces here are free to view in the street. Visit West's guide lists these among the best known:

• Well Hung Lover, on Frogmore Street – best seen from the small bridge at the bottom of Park Street.
• The Girl with the Pierced Eardrum, at Hanover Place on the harbourside, which appeared in October 2014.
• Mild Mild West, on Stokes Croft – look from the Jamaica Street junction.
• Paint-Pot Angel, inside Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, a reminder of the 2009 "Banksy versus Bristol" exhibition.

Several earlier works have been lost, so don't trust old lists. Our Banksy's Bristol street art page is a useful starting point, and there are self-guided trails and apps if you want to tick off more.

Sunday afternoon: Clifton Suspension Bridge

Finish high above the city. The Clifton Suspension Bridge spans the Avon Gorge between Clifton and Leigh Woods with a main span of about 214 metres, 101 metres above high water. Its story is a long one: a foundation ceremony was held in 1831, but work stopped after the Bristol riots. Brunel died in 1859 before it was finished, and his colleagues at the Institution of Civil Engineers completed it as his memorial, to a revised design by William Henry Barlow and John Hawkshaw. The chains came second-hand from Hungerford Bridge in London. It opened in 1864 and is Grade I listed.

Walking across is free, and the visitor centre on the Leigh Woods side is free too. There's no car park at the centre, so park in Clifton or Leigh Woods and walk. If you have time left in Clifton, add Clifton Observatory and a stroll on Clifton Down.

If you only have one day

Take the ferry from Temple Meads, get off at the SS Great Britain, then walk back along the quays to M Shed. After lunch, cross to Frogmore Street for Well Hung Lover, and catch the bridge at the end of the afternoon. You'll miss Stokes Croft, but you'll have seen the essentials.

Plan it

• Getting there: Arrive at Bristol Temple Meads and use the ferry to reach the harbourside.
• Where to base yourself: Near the harbour if you want to walk everywhere. Options include Radisson Blu Hotel, Bristol, The Bristol Hotel and, close to the station, ibis Bristol Temple Meads Quay.
• Best time of year: For M Shed's working cranes and the harbour railway, visit on a weekend when they're running; the Bristol Harbour Festival brings the Fairbairn crane into action.
• Booking tips: Book SS Great Britain tickets in advance for weekends. M Shed, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, the bridge and the visitor centre are free.