Hello from Bristol! This is a city that we haven’t covered in past editions of the Rick Steves Great Britain guidebook — but I’m writing it up now, starting with a fascinating sight: Brunel's SS Great Britain.
This massive ship was built here in the 1830s, when Bristol was Britain’s gateway to the Atlantic and a critical link between London and New York City. The SS Great Britain is a museum now, serving up lots of Industrial Age thrills. If you visit, be sure to tour more than just the hull. Inside, you’ll experience a snapshot of life on board, 175 years ago.
By the way, Bristol is like Belfast, Glasgow, and Liverpool — one of those rusty old port towns that are now emerging with a special creative energy, and well worth visiting. When I first researched and wrote my original Britain and Ireland guidebooks 25 years ago, I didn’t cover these cities at all. But in the last generation, they’ve all emerged as important destinations — and they are well-covered in my guidebooks. A guidebook is always a work in progress, and we keep hard at it, so you’ve got the very latest to design the smartest trip.
This massive ship was built here in the 1830s, when Bristol was Britain’s gateway to the Atlantic and a critical link between London and New York City. The SS Great Britain is a museum now, serving up lots of Industrial Age thrills. If you visit, be sure to tour more than just the hull. Inside, you’ll experience a snapshot of life on board, 175 years ago.
By the way, Bristol is like Belfast, Glasgow, and Liverpool — one of those rusty old port towns that are now emerging with a special creative energy, and well worth visiting. When I first researched and wrote my original Britain and Ireland guidebooks 25 years ago, I didn’t cover these cities at all. But in the last generation, they’ve all emerged as important destinations — and they are well-covered in my guidebooks. A guidebook is always a work in progress, and we keep hard at it, so you’ve got the very latest to design the smartest trip.
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