With park street, and indeed alot of the top of town, you will somewhat surprisingly find that…read morethere are not that many places to pick up a paper or get some chewing gum (or even some sweets if you need to satisfy your sugary craving!) Lexie's gives you the option to get those everyday desirable things, without having to walk all the way down to the tesco's at college green. Unless you live near the bottom then it would make more sense for you to go to tesco unless you want a bit more excersize! A nice clean shop, and stock's everything you would expect it to, very friendly inside.

Paint the picture - It's a warm day, you have spent most of the afternoon shopping and your hands…read moreare raw from carrying so many bags. The sun is beaming down as you face the dreaded walk up Park Street. You are nearly at the top. The Will's Memorial building is shading the sun from you, yet you are starting to feel faint from all this exercise. No worries, Lexi's is here! Pick up a sweet treat, a cheap and cheerful sandwich or a ice cold drink all for a fraction of the price that any other shop would sell. Fantastic.

This "ethical quaterly" is widely distributed, free of charge, in the South West and is building…read morequite a reputation as *the* magazine around here for the eco-conscious reader. It's a big, A3-size newspaper-ish magazine, printed on recycled paper and very stylish in presentation. But ... I have to say, I found it very heavy in advertising and didn't feel it was the sort of magazine I could sit down and enjoy reading. It feels like a brochure for a lifestyle, full of adverts for eco-friendly products and events raising awareness of environmental issues. I think that's sort of the point of it, so that's fine, and, to be fair, there is a handful of features and reviews in each issue. It's definitely to be applauded for what it's doing which is promoting progress for the environment. I just wonder slightly if the people who pick this up to read it will already be doing all the things they're recommending and buying all the products advertised. Preaching to the converted?

I found this shop an extremely convenient newsagents. Nothing out of the ordinary but very…read morereliable, having everything you expect to find in a newsagents. What makes this newsagents stand out is its huge selection of cards - birthday, anniversary, congratulatory, well-wishing, all can be found here. Many a time I have walked into university and forgotten to send a birthday card, so this newsagents has been a saving grace!

What a wonderfully jolly man to greet you as you go in! The owner is so friendly and makes you feel…read moreright at home (even in a newsagent). He always has something funny to say about the weather...it's never as warm as India! Laughing at me as I walked in drenched and looking like a drowned rat, he had no shame in telling me all about the sun, the heat and the warm evenings he enjoys back at home. Weather aside, the shop is really good for fruit and veg, alcohol supplies and the general items you expect to find in a newsagent. I usually come in here for water, which I usually resent buying, but the bottled water is sooooo cheap here- around 30p.

Good little newsagents and pleasant staff. Always helpful and generally has things you'd expect a…read morenewsagent to have.

When I lived in London one of my free monthly treats was picking up a Don't Panic pack from my…read morelocal All Saints store. So when I moved to Bristol I was thrilled to see that the wonderful local guide had a South West version. These thick brown envelopes are filled with flyers, vouchers and on occasion free sweets promoting Bristol's finest club nights, art galleries, shops and events. Often containing posters with indie logos and slogans, they're make great wallpaper for flats that need a free burst of colour. The best place to find a copy of Don't Panic is in Park Street shops and bars, Start the Bus and Thekla. They're great for giving you a taste of the local flavour so also look out for them in London, Brighton, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham.

This is basically like a website that you can hold in your hands. It's hip, it's cool, it's…read morescenester - it's all the things that those kids that hang out at the Thekla or Start The Bus on every indie night want to be. Don't Panic is essentially a brochure with flyers for nights that are happening that week in the city, all linked to a website that has information on many different cities. It's packaged in an eco friendly paper packet, with said flyers and a central poster that features artwork from up and coming artists. There's often really interesting artwork included. You can pick up a copy in many shops, bars and clubs - the state that they hand pick them up, but it's anywhere that's got a bit of kudos to it - in Bristol, you'll find copies in places like Elbow Rooms, Woods, Thekla, Arnolfini, Spike Island etc. It's definitely a good way to find out what's up and coming if you don't keep your attention on such things, and pretty often a good talking point.

Reminiscent of The Guardian's Guide, The Cut is one of the best free listings magazines Bristol has…read moreto offer. On the whole, these freebie mags tend to be jammed packed with adverts making it all gloss and no content. The Cut is completely different - its main focus is to show locals Bristol's best of the best in the world of music, theatre, arts, comedy and food. This monthly guide has listings, interviews and features on local Bristol businesses and people. The writing is witty, fresh and interesting, and the design is arty and accessible. It's the essential magazine for locals and visitors to the city to find out where to eat, dance and laugh. As a well known cheapskate it takes a lot for me to say this - but The Cut is the only free magazine that I'd actually pay cold hard cash for (but am eternally grateful that it remains free of charge!) The best places to pick it up are in Park Street shops, St Nicholas Market and Thekla.

This is one of the newer free music magazines in the Bristol area. It's a wonder that so many…read moremanage to survive. You've got Venue the paid for listings magazine, then comes 247 Magazine for all your music needs and there's a couple more smaller ones, The Scene, Suit Yourself Magazine and now The Cut. What amazed me about The Cut is that it had no adverts in it. How the heck was it funded? If you've been in publishing at all you will know that free magazines rely on advertising to pay the bills. It is the bane of any journalists life, having to cut pages due to a lack of advertising to pay for the print run but The Cut does not appear to have this problem and I just don't get it. Perhaps they will start pulling in the ads in future editions? It's largely written by an ex Bristol Evening Post and Venue music writer who knows her stuff so is a good read and the ones I've seen have pretty good artwork too.

I do love Star News and Booze. Not only does it boast an impressive selection of news items,…read moreconfectionery and tobacco, but the staff are open and friendly. Having caught a late train back to Bristol one night, I popped in here for some milk and bread on my way home. It turned out I was 30p short, but the guy behind the till turned a sympathetic blind eye and let me off - an act of good will that rarely happens in supermarket chains. If you are a fan of penny sweets, Star News and Booze also boasts an impressive selection of the 'old school' variety. Furthermore, you'll often find discounted cider and larger in here too. Indeed, if you're a cider fiend and are in the area, you won't find an outlet that sells cheaper cider than this place - nope, not even Asda Bedminster...

A very handy newsagents, near the Arnolfini art gallery. It has a big selection of sandwiches and…read morelunch stuff, for all the nearby office workers. It does warm pasties in the morning, great on your way to work. The food's a decent quality and includes baguettes, buns, pecoras, bhagis, samosas, chilli slices, flapjacks, salads It's all very satisfying, and it's an invaluable source of sustenance for breakfasting Bristolians. It was the first place I found to have Wispas when they came back. To me that's important Being a newsagent, you can also get a newspaper there too. Amazing.

This is the best 2nd hand book store I have ever been to inside the UK. The range is massive, from…read morethe latest bestseller through to the classic novel, and there's always, always something that I want to buy. The prices are pretty decent less than half price of the RRP in a lot of cases, including for almost brand new books. It's pretty fun to rummage around looking for something to read, and you feel pretty good too - I mean, it's recycling, right?! They also buy your unwanted books back from you, but be aware - they only take soft back fiction, which I discovered after hauling down my hard backs, manga books and nonfiction! Really worth a visit if you're in the area.