I got bought a balloon ride for my birthday and I had a whale of a time!…read more It took a few goes to book a day I wanted - partly because they get very busy and also because the weather kept scuppering my chances of a flight going ahead. However all gift certificates are open for a year and if you genuinely tried to book and it has gone over a year, they won't chuck you and your certificate out of the door. I ended up having to go to the Bath launch point because of the winds that day, which was a bit disappointing as I wanted to fly over Bristol, but I also really wanted to fly. It does mean you need a car to get to the flight point. We joined a few other people - 16 in all - and volunteered to help get the balloon inflated (you don't have to if you just want to watch). You then hop in and off you go. Once settled they pass round a glass of champagne and you get to take photos of some amazing sights and not to mention wave back to pretty much everyone who spots you. We landed in a farmer's field who had often had such an event and was very welcoming. We helped pack the balloon away and then got a jeep ride back to base. Really good fun and a fantastic and memorable present.

This review only relates to the cafe as we stopped in here for lunch as I heard it was a good place…read moreto go with kids. The cafe is a good size, spacious, good for groups and has a great little play area with toys to keep little ones entertained. The adult menu is pretty simple, breakfasts, sandwiches, burgers, salads and a few other dishes, I had Mac and cheese. The options for kids were great, there is a packed lunch station where for £4.50 you can select 5 items that go in a cardboard box. Or a hot food menu for £5.50 that comes with a drink and yogurt or fruit. My son went for the Mac and cheese too. The food was delicious but both dishes came out lava hot and when you've got a starving child the last thing you want is to have to sit and wait while the food cools down. I also thought the hot kids meals were a little over priced but then it was kind of expected considering this was @bristol. Overall great experience though and I'd recommend this to anyone with kids looking for a good lunch spot in the centre.

This is Bristol's science museum. Kids will enjoy themselves most here, but it is probably one of…read morethose places that wants to be fun for all the family. An engaging day out, and a lot more refreshing than a stuffy art museum. Aiming for that (at least for most teachers) impossible goal of making learning fun, it certainly is a fun day out but I'm not sure if too much is learnt there. The exhibits are all interactive, you can pedal to generate power for a T.V. and lift a four foot diameter globe with a very long lever (this is some sort of reference to the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes, for those that care). This means almost any kid will enjoy themselves here, and you'll see plenty of ten year olds hurtling between each thing, eager to try out everything. The staff are young and keen, and will earnestly explain the science that each exhibit is meant to teach you about. With lots of glass and primary colours it generally feels fresh, something most museums are nothing like. Go there if you've got curious kids to distract, or if you're just a bit of one yourself.

Found in Millenium Square, the Planetarium forms part of the @-Bristol centre, and is included as…read morepart of the @-Bristol visitors' ticket. It is a continuation of the interactive science museum, and a highlight at that. Take a seat to be explained how to spot constellations and learn about our solar system. Suitable for youngsters from aged 5 and still awe-inspiring for the big kids too!

Inside is a regular show which is part of your ticket to Explore @-Bristol (currently £10.80 per…read moreadult). However the main attraction of this? As the spot to take a self-portrait photo. It's a cliche but it has to be done. Go on, you know you want to.

So August Bank Holiday folks is the date for this lovely little festival. This was my first time…read morehere, but actually it's only been running for 2 years. Tickets cost £40 for adults, and children are £1. Get them quick as it does sell out. This is a family festival, and my friends kids absolutely loved it, and why wouldn't they...... face painting, and arts and crafts...and even a bouncy castle for them...and best of all this was all free. The site itself was clean and had plenty of space for the tents and to sit outside, but then we are talking about around 1500 people. And there was plenty of entertainment for adults and party goers too...from the 5 stages - with acoustic sounds from the Otters Pocket, chill out at the Lotus Flower,or hit the brilliant Dub tent which had some great Reggae, and Drum n Bass blasting out. When the sound systems shut down at midnight, you then get a chance to head to silent disco...where you can party til 3.30am...and potentially back to the lotus flower after that if you're hoping to catch the sunrise. The vibe was fun and friendly...and they have big ideas for the future so this is definitely one to watch. My only criticism would be that there were too many covers bands...but then this is a learning curve...and I have no doubt this will change in future years. A brilliant little festival, and well worth checking out.

These zuperb zider zessions are held every three or four months or so in the huge shed down by…read moreTemple Meads. I went to the last one and it was extremely busy; indeed, I recommend getting a ticket in advance as it was sold out. Basically, you pay around £7 which gets you entry, then you have to buy tokens which you can exchange for halves of cider. It's not incredibly cheap (around £2 a half), but then again some of the more 'agricultural' choices are well over 7%! There's a also a hog roast which went down well with the 'apple sauce' we were enjoying. It's all very laidback; there's little seating but most people just sat in groups on the floor, and you're given a card to score each of your choices which led to much banter with other punters at the bars. If this sounds like your idea of heaven, check their website as they also hold an identical event in Bath.

2015's Cider & sausages festival had over 40 varieties of ciders & perrys as well as 10+ meat…read moresausages, and 3 veg sausages. Trinity Centre is a really laid-back and intimate environment, you can sit around the round tables with your friends and enjoy the music or go outside into the community garden for a complete different experience. Its 3p per token, one token per pint (or half token per half pint) or hot dog. The drinks are def more worth it than the sausages I must say, the sausages werent even the length of the bread. The music ranged from folk to line dancing to classic rock. It really got too loud by late afternoon and we had to shout to just talk. Overall a great community event!

One of the longest roads in Bristol, and one of the most useful, Whiteladies Road (named after an…read moreold pub) has the first function of connecting the city with the Downs, and the second function of providing university students with one single road on which to live an entire life for three years. Yes, here we have the big Sainsbury's at Clifton Down Shopping Centre, which keeps the student fed and watered; we have an array of loud bars and clubs, which keep the student drunk and sociable; we have a post office, which keeps the student in receipt of gifts and letters from home; and we have a train station, which the student doesn't even know exists. Yes, getting drunk "on Whiteladies" is sort of compulsory for students in Bristol, especially if you live up in the halls of residence in Stoke Bishop. And the road also serves as your route into lectures in Cotham the following morning; unfortunately you will have to pass at least 10 other hungover people on the way, most of whom will already have posted an incriminatingly drunken photo of you on Facebook. So it's one of the student hubs of the city, yes, but it's also got lots to offer others. There are really good shops along here, and they're all quite useful: the Sainsbury's is the best supermarket in the city, by far, and has a massive carpark where you can have your parking charge waived if you spend enough money (£20 at least, I think) in the shop. The shopping centre also has a big Boots, Starbucks, Specsavers and Timpsons. Further up Whiteladies, among all the bars and cafes, are several good charity shops, a brilliant fish shop, a couple of high street banks, and some decent restaurants. At the bottom, of course, find the BBC Broadcasting House, a magnificent building which is exciting to look at even if you can't actually go in. It's a hugely long road and covers an incredible stretch of land, taking in Clifton, Cotham, Redland and the cusp of Stoke Bishop. It's worth remembering Whiteladies Road if you're looking for somewhere to shop and don't quite fancy braving the centre and Cabot Circus.

Yes that's right, Whiteladies Road is at the bottom of Blackboy Hill. Bristol and its shameful…read moreslave heritage is summed up in one long street leading through affluent Clifton to the triangle. Allegedly this is because a slave market used to take place on the Downs, but I can't vouch for the historical accuracy of that information. These days it boasts a strip of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops, mostly fairly high priced and many of somewhat dubious quality. It's always struck me as a bit of an area for people with more money than sense, which is not to say there aren't a few gems such as the stylish Picture House and tasty Chandos Deli along the way. It's also a favourite haunt for drunken students parading down from the Stoke Bishop halls of residence. Both weekday and weekend nights are invariably filled with a drunken crowd, with girls tottering on high heels and boys usually hurling as discreetly as a wide open avenue will permit.

This is a neat little museum that gives a high level overview on the history of Bristol. We stopped…read morein to pass time before we had to catch our flight. Took about 30-40 mins of exploring. There were a lot of kids in the place but the exhibits are geared for all ages.

Great museum this- on the harbourside, which is always fun to wander around, it contains a lovely…read more(and free) insight into Bristol and its history. I loved the double decker bus you can go onto, and the bomb shelters, complete with commentary from locals who'd had to use them. There are some good exhibitions here about local neighbourhoods, which might be slightly less interesting if you don't know them. Mshed is a good size to have a quick peek around, or to spend a bit more time with the exhibitions. There's a nice harbour view from upstairs, too. And you can buy Bristol things from the shop.

The green lungs of the city centre, or something. It is free to walk across and open 24 hours a day…read more- a tiny square of park to take your lunchtime sarnie on a sunny day. The businesses surrounding it (many solicitors and charities) in the square are gorgeously grand Georgian buildings, making this old part of the city seem quite regal. Many of them have been restored in the last 10 years thanks to a Heritage lottery grant. Woop! Summer months are my favourite down on the square, as it pays host to a plethora of exciting outdoor events like theatre (including Shakespeare and Opera), concerts and is a main part of the Harbourside festival too, fireworks and all.

This is the poshest of Bristol's parks. Queens Square is an elegant patch of grass just off from…read morethe city centre, criss-crossed by paths and with an impressive looking statue in its centre. A good place to go for a few minutes away from the fumes and noisiness of Bristol city centre (as well having a bit of greenery it's bordered by quiet roads on all four sides). It's popular in this respect, with hoards of office workers disgorging on the grass around lunch time each day. There are festivals put on here in the summer, and I recommend going. With grand Georgian terraces on all sides it makes for a slightly different sort of feel when watching live music - it feels like a proper venue (rather than just being random field, where you will find most festivals. Just make sure you don't get stuck behind the big statue, as as hap paned to me in the past. With a sense of history, Queen Square offers a civilised respite from Bristol city centre.