Bristol Floating Harbour

Over the past twenty years, Bristol's vast Floating Harbour docklands area has developed into one of the country's most exciting leisure, arts, water sports and entertainment centres. Here you will find:

• SS Great Britain & Maritime Museum (0117 926 0680). See Brunel's masterpiece of ship design, the world's first ocean liner, in the dock where she was built in 1843.
• @ Bristol (0845 345 1235) - three leisure attractions on one site! Wildwalk has hundreds of live birds, beetles and other animals; the IMAX Theatre, at four storeys high, is marketed as the Biggest Cinema Screen In The West; and Explore is an exciting interactive science centre.
• Bristol Industrial Museum (0117 925 1470), detailing Bristol's rich industrial and maritime heritage;
• Bristol Marina (0117 921 3198).
• Two arts complexes: the renowned Arnolfini Arts Centre (0117 929 9191) was the original catalyst that set off the Bristol dock revival, and is one of Europe's leading centres for contemporary arts - visual arts, performance, dance and film. It has now been joined by the Watershed Media Centre (0117 927 6444), a centre for contemporary moving image media, films, digital media, exhibitions, courses and events. Both feature cafes and bars.
• St George's (0117 923 0359) is one of Britain's leading concert halls, famous for its acoustics - classical, opera, jazz and world music.

The restored Bristol Packet Harbour Railway runs harbourside from near the city centre, at the Industrial Museum, to theSS Great Britain Maritime Museum. Or you could take a trip with the Bristol Ferry Boat Company (0117 927 3416), whose distinctive blue & yellow ferry boats are a great way to get around the key sites of Bristol's harbourside. There are pick-up points on both sides of the harbour, from the swing bridge right up to Temple near the rail station.

Other Bristol attractions include Bristol Zoo Gardens (0117 973 8951), Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery (0117 922 3571) and the new British Empire & Commonwealth Museum (0117 925 4980). More information on these and other attractions are available from Bristol Tourist Information Centre: 0906 711 2191.

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