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Brunel's SS Great Britain

4.3 (44 reviews)
Closed 10:00 am - 4:30 pm

Brunel's SS Great Britain Photos

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SS Great Britain, photographed from a Bristol Ferry
Rebecca B.

For Bristol residents, the historic SS Great Britain needs little introduction - but for visitors to the city it's one of the top tourist attractions. This great steam ship was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel to operate on a route between Bristol and New York - although that plan never came to fruition. Instead, it transported immigrants to Australia, and today the museum on board tells this story through its exhibits and life-sized wax models of the Victorian passengers and crew that would have been on board. It depicts the glamour of the First Class areas for wealthier passengers, right through to the cramped quarters of those with shallower pockets - as well as areas in which the crew would have worked, such as the kitchens. The replica people are what brings the place alive, I think, although they seem to scare some of the younger visitors! You won't believe how small the cabins are, or the beds - showing how much smaller the average person must have been at that time. One amusing feature on board that particularly sticks in my mind is a tiny toilet cubicle, where if you try the handle, the door remains locked and an indignant voice calls out that the toilet is in use!

Taken from their website
Will P.

A piece of Bristol's history, this steam ship built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel was intended to ply the route between Bristol and New York. Although that never quite happened she was employed in taking immigrants to Australia. These days the boat sits in Bristol's dry dock as a museum ship. If you want to get young people interested in a bit of history putting it on a boat is one way to go about it. I won't say things 'come alive' here, but it certainly does make the history surrounding the boat a bit more real to actually be on it. A thirty pound family ticket is a bit dear, especially when Bristol's city museum and art gallery is free, but I wouldn't say this attractions overpriced. Also, you get re-entry for a year with your ticket. Don't worry, boat doesn't rock! It's not even actually in any water. They do events which seem to involve kids dressing up as pirates, so that's all good. A great day out where you can experience and learn a bit about Bristol's maritime history.

Janine K.

One of the city's landmarks alongside the Clifton Suspension Bridge, this consistently wins Museum of the Year and Attraction of the Year nationwide. As well as giving a history of Bristol and the British shipping industry, you may stumble upon one of the ships many ghosts... Opening times are until 4pm November-January, until 5.30pm April-October and until 4.30 the rest of the time. Tickets are sold up to an hour before closing. Tickets are expensive at £11 a pop, but you get free re-admission for a year which makes it a great place for us to bring visiting friends and family! I recommend getting the audio guide, it is free and in several languages which will add a bit more flavour to your tour.

Stephen C.

This is an excellent exhibit and well worth your while if you're in Bristol or the vicinity. The museum is very well done and you can walk freely within the ship and outside the ship. Once you purchase your ticket it is good for one year so you may return anytime within that year for free. Well worth your money and well worth your time.

from www.ssgreatbritain.org
Lisa B.

The Steam Ship Great Britain can be found on the opposite side of the river to the centre, about a ten to fifteen minute walk from the floating harbour. Once a fully functioning Naval ship, this is now a popular tourist attraction, offering a maritime museum and cafe. The ship is also available to hire - sadly you won't be going anywhere during your function - but instead it boasts a beautiful dining room and bar. Watch out for the creepy life sized wax figures - these combined with tailored menus and waistcoated waiters give the venue a rather Titanic-esque feel. But don't worry, this ship cannot sink...

The glass ceiling with water on top

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4 years ago

Very good, lovely staff, great day out for the kids and family. Over all great xxxxxx

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12 years ago

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5 years ago

A part of Bristols history and well maintained. Worth a look around and very interesting.

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16 years ago

Well worth a visit if you haven't been for a few years.

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Review Highlights - Brunel's SS Great Britain

A piece of Bristol's history, this steam ship built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel was intended to ply the route between Bristol and New York.

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The Square - BBQ on the Terrace at The Square Club. Perfect for Wedding and Private Parties

The Square

(8 reviews)

£££

This club is a private members club so it doesn't run public club nights or anything, however one…read moreof my friends hired out the place for her 21st birthday and I went along to this and I thought it was a great little venue - perfect for this kind of occasion! The place itself is located in Berkley Square at the top of Park Street, so in a pretty posh place really, and this is reflected through the club... you go down some stone steps to the entrance and then you are met by an interior of classy slickness, and a really cool cocktail bar! All the staff are dressed incredibly smartly which adds to the posh ambience, and you really feel like you are in a top notch place - with brilliant service! At the back of the club there's a cool spiral staircase which leads to an upstairs dining area where they serve food, I've never eaten here personally but I've heard it's great! I have been up to the terrace however, which is pretty cool. I'd probably say this is the smartest venue I've been to in Bristol, and if you are looking for somewhere to hold a special occasion or business do then it's definitely worth a look and I'd give my recommendations!

The square club is a private members club so its not somewhere you just drop in for a quick pint…read more It is a lovely venue and is also home to the Square Gallery. I went to a private view here held by the artist Jim Starr (http://www.jamesstarr.co.uk/) When I visited Jim's work was to be seen throughout the Square Club, it looked amazing on the walls of this elegant Georgian house. It makes for a great gallery space. Outside there is a fantastic Terrace, it is an ode to zen like tranquility with wooden furniture, ambient lighting, out door art and chill-out music filtered through speakers, making it difficult to believe you are actually in the heart of the city. Drinks are however rather pricey but if you are after a nice drink in a refined tranquil atmosphere it is worth it. If you want to come here for an interesting evening (and don't want to become a member), the best thing to do is join The Bristol Explorers who regularly have talks here. The last Bristol explorers drinks evening had a talk by Monty Halls about his six months spent in the Outer Hebrides! So if there is an adventurer in you, definitely look our for the next Bristol Explorers evenings at the Square Club. http://bristolexplorers.com/

The Bristol Hippodrome

The Bristol Hippodrome

(35 reviews)

Full of school groups who constantly disrupted the performance. I asked to move but it was…read moreunfortunately sold out. I emailed the hippodrome to complain and felt very brushed off. I was told that they cannot ask children to be quiet due to child protection, however they can sell a ticket which requires me to sit amongst them? It doesn't make sense to me. I saw 4 other members of the general public on the upper circle being affected by the noise, the rest just school groups. I was also told that the book is taught on the curriculum so to basically expect school groups - it isn't my first thought when booking a show but even so it doesn't excuse the disruptions. Won't give me a refund and bought my ticket with an NHS discount to make it affordable for myself. So disappointed with my experience, and zero empathy from the hippodrome. Avoid if you can.

Disaster, Theatre is really tired, the worst I have seen, seating is awful, too many seats for size…read moreof theatre, my wife and I are slim, but it was so tight, could not move our arms, people next to us were complaining about same issue, seats were hard and uncomfortable, show was Mary Poppins, every 10 minutes there was a delay to start, ended up 50 minutes later start! we had to go to catch our coach, spoke to Theatre manager, I asked for refund, she said that would be done by contacting customer services, but they would refund a penny! was a disaster, "NEVER EVER GO THERE AGAIN"

The Architecture Centre - Taken from their website

The Architecture Centre

(4 reviews)

£

Home to many great designs and pieces of art (and once putting up a design by me!) the Architecture…read moreCentre offers interesting educational displays to do with the profession. Their exhibition space changes regularly, currently offering work by the artist Neville Gabie looking at the recent Cabot Circus development. A nice contrast to the more contemporary art focused Arnolfini, this corner of town really does have a lot of cultural offerings. You'll particularly like this place if you have any interest in the built environment, not just 'architecture' in the stereotyped classical sense of the word. As well as exhibitions they have events every now and then, things like debates and big art projects. The various goings on make it the Architecture Centre a stimulating experience, particularly if you're interested in buildings.

Squeezed between the busy youth hostel and the celebrated Arnolfini, this little gem is often lost…read more With its aim of promoting and supporting architecture and the built environment, it all sounds a little dry but you will be surprised. The venue has exhibition space for projects worldwide and is a hub for finding out about conferences, talks and events to do with architecture and the environment. They hold their own little events as well looking at Bristol in particular and are quite strongly devoted to encouraging children to look at their city - for example they have some design classes coming up and a drawing day. The gift shop at the front of the venue is fantastic - I actually use this as my main card shop in town - and their commitment to children's education continues here with a nice selection of educational and design-led toys, making it great for buying gifts for some of the parents I know! They also have a nice selection of jewellery from local artists, some very unusual things. On top of this they have a conference room to hire.

Racks Bar & Kitchen - Photo from Website

Racks Bar & Kitchen

(21 reviews)

££

Food, service and atmosphere was great. Staff were so friendly and smiley it was really good.read more

Racks is a high end wine bar, on St Pauls road, between the heart of Clifton Village and the bottom…read moreof Whiteladies Road. It's quite a posh place - expect the real, clichéd Bristol Uni and general Cliftonite crowd in here. I'm probably a fan though - the outside seating area is a really nice place to have a drink, even in the evening as it's serviced by a good amount of patio heaters. You've got to come prepared for Clifton prices though, as a drink is going to be quite far the wrong side of £3. They do a good range of shooters - last time I was here I tried the more lethal concoction of Jagermeister, Goldschlagger and Midori, which went down surprisingly well, and at £3.50 was an adequate, but not cheap, price for a shooter like that. They do have a table service, even if you're just drinking, which is quite helpful and surprising, you really don't expect that in Bristol. Also the staff here seem to be unfailingly attractive - I'm sure the management must have some sort of ploy going on, but I'm sure there's not too many complaints. As well as a main menu of good pub type food, they do a range of set menus, including buffets, BBQs and a more gormet set menu. The food is an excellent quality, and I actually think fairly priced for the standard. The only drawback the menus other than the main are only available to large groups, but the main one is pretty wide ranging. Maybe a bit boring, but I advise the burger, a beer, a bit of sunshine and have a chill in the patio area - it'll do your soul good.

Brunel's SS Great Britain - museums - Updated May 2026

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