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Photo: Rodw, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Bristol's main repertory theatre, located in the city centre.
Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a financially independent organisation in the 1990s. Bristol Old Vic runs a Young Company for those aged 7–25.
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King Street is now the heart of Bristol's theatre-land (see 'Old Vic' below) but it once lead down to the docks at Welsh Back, where the old sailing trows (a type of sailing barge) used to dock after their journeys from South Wales. The street has changed little since those days.
Supposedly the meeting place of Daniel Defoe and 'Robinson Crusoe', Alexander Selkirk. It is also rumoured to be Robert Louis' Stevenson's inspiration for the Admiral Benbow pub in his work Treasure Island. The pub is a 17th-century Grade II listed building.
A 2.4 ha garden square in the centre, originally laid out outside Bristol's city walls in an area known as the Town Marsh. Its planning started in 1699 and construction finished in 1727, being named after Queen Anne. It has seen a turbulent history, with much of the north and west side buildings being destroyed during the riots of 1831 and subsequently rebuilt. From 1937 to 1992 the square was scarred by a dual carriageway road crossing it diagonally, which created a lot of traffic to flow through the area. After this became unbearable by the 1990s, the road was closed and demolished by the late 1990s, and the garden restored to its pre 1937 glory. Although originally a residential neighbourhood, the buildings surrounding the square are nowadays used as offices, and many are listed under heritage protection. The centre of the square hosts the iconic statue of William III, a sculpture by John Michael Rysbrack who cast it in 1733 in brass and erected it in 1736 to signify the city's loyalty.
Strip club near the Waterfront.
The Palladian Corn Exchange, built in 1743, boasts a clock on its frontage that ingeniously tells time both in the new-fangled GMT and the old Bristol time. In front are nails (in reality Bronze pillars) over which the local merchants did business; from these come the expression 'cash on the nail'.
Theatre hosting opera and musical events. Seats can get expensive so reserve early in advance, grab an afternoon ticket on a weekday if possible which are significantly cheaper than evening and weekend tickets (often half price or less).