City Centre

Searching for the latest clothing or lifestyle fashions?  Bristol’s Cabot Circus, located in Bristol Shopping Quarter, will fit the bill. This modern city Shopping Centre is housed under a remarkable glass ceiling and boasts over 100 well known stores. If you are looking for up-market designer goods head to Harvey Nichols. While you "shop 'till you drop" the non shoppers in your party can be kept happy at the thirteen screen Cinema de Lux where they will have a choice of the latest films, then you can all meet up for a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants in the centre.

Looking for more choice in the Bristol Shopping Quarter? Adjacent to Cabot Circus is the Broadmead shopping area with yet more high street shops including Marks and Spencer.

 

Once you have had your fill of shopping take a short walk to Corn Street and look for the four flat topped pillars or "The Nails". You are now in the Old Market area where merchants used to strike a Nail to seal a business deal  – this is thought by some to be the origin of the term "to pay on the nail" meaning "immediate payment".

Whilst you are in Corn Street test your skills of observation by looking up at the clock on the old Corn Exchange building. You will see that there are two minute hands, a red one showing Greenwich Mean Time and a black one showing Bristol time. The red hand was added to the clock when Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as standard in Bristol in 1852.

The Corn Exchange is now home to St Nicholas Market with its variety of little shops and stalls selling individual products including jewellery, bric-a-brac, books, art and clothing. The market is well known to locals for the wide variety of cafes serving very reasonably priced local and international food including Caribbean, Indian and Turkish cuisine. On Wednesdays and Fridays outdoor markets are held in Corn Street

From Corn Street it is only a short distance on foot to Christmas Steps . Most people enjoy meandering round this medieval and picturesque area. Browsing in the independent, unique shops selling creative based products from art and pottery to musical instruments and furniture is a pleasant way to while away an afternoon. 

Photographs by N. Hindmarch