An impressive edifice on one side of Clifton Triangle, fronted by a large fountain and a statue of…read moreEdward VII. Built in the 1840s in Greek Revival style, and fronted by eight Corinthian columns and a huge, ornate portico, this is a striking building well worth admiring from outside. Inside is a 700-seat auditorium, and Charles Dickens was amongst the earliest guests to perform on stage. It is now the Music Department of the University of Bristol, and if you cannot get access to the auditorium (which has, in any case, been restored and frankly needs restoring again), it is still worth going inside because the entrance hall contains a lot of informative brochures and leaflets about upcoming musical and artistic events in the region. The Victoria Rooms has an occasional programme of public events. For more details, check out: http://www.bris.ac.uk/music/facilities/vicrooms/ .

A wonderful building, great structure, and some great concerts have been held there. It has an…read moreimpressive history, and is definitley worth a visit, if only to realise in awe that Charles Dickens one performed there.

Home to Dancing Jesus! IYKYK. Ok if you don't know, I'll tell you. They've got a huge mural that's…read moredubbed "Dancing Jesus". It's a favorite spot and fixture in Stokes Croft to grab a pint and something to eat. Sitting outside lends to great people watching. Soup and toastie of the day is my go-to for lunch when in the area. Everything is locally sourced meaning fresher ingredients. A toastie may sound just like a toastie but there's something about the way they grill it here. A perfectly crisp bread with properly melted cheeses. I like that they use butter for pan-frying the toasties. Some places use mayo and that's a big ew for me.

This place has confused me for a long time…read more... Firstly I just thought it was a big disused office building where the drunk, jobless people would hang out at all hours of the day. Then they put massive amounts of scaffolding up (carefully avoiding Banksy's 'Mild, Mild West' piece) but yet again, more people would congregate outside it with pints of beer and glass of wine in hand. Then the scaffolding came down, but apart from a new graffiti piece on the side wall I couldn't see any difference. I must visit I thought to myself. I was pleasantly surprised (and slightly ashamed that I thought it was a communal area for the homeless). It's a large bar area with enough seats to hang with your mates and put the world at rest, yet small enough to retain a good atmosphere. There are some comfy sofas if you fancy a coffee and weirdly (in what is essentially a pub) a bookcase with second hand books and magazines. It's a bit of everything but it works. I am not exaggerating when I say that everyday it is packed to the brim so they are obviously doing something right!

Bristol's beautiful old buildings can be seen all over the north of the city, primarily in the…read moreClifton and Cotham areas - it's part of why I love the city so much - and in this little old museum just off Park Street, reisdents and visitors alike get to see what it was once like. It's not all flowers and sunshine; this house was built for a merchant of the slave trade, but provides a very interesting insight into 18th century life.

Bristol is full of beautiful Georgian architecture. A stroll round Clifton takes in elegant…read morecrescents and grand townhouses. At the Georgian House you can see one of these buildings restored to the way it would have been during this time (rather than divided up into several student flats as they all seem to be these days). Owned by a slave plantation owner (much of Bristol wealth at this time came from slavery), this museum aims to document the lives of the servants and a slave that was kept as well that of the family that live there. This means that as well as restoring the 'upstairs' - the various bedrooms library and other formal rooms, the 'downstairs' - the kitchen and servants quarters can also be seen. The attention to detail is fantastic and I think this is great way to learn a bit about how people lived in this period and the realities of the slave trade. I would say that you feel as if you're in the 18th century but there were a few too many fellow visitors when I went for that. I should add that it's free entry. The Georgian House offers a more visceral experience than Bristol's other museums and gives some context to some of the various old buildings around Bristol.

Theatre, bar, tapas, Sunday market, comedy, arts and crafts. What else do you need?…read more Situated at the far end of the vibrant and ever up and coming North Street in Southville. The Tobacco factory is a shining beacon of light for people on the south side of the city. As the name suggests, it was formerly owned by "Imperial Tobacco" and was renovated as an urban multi purpose arts venue by George Ferguson and has been an enormous success ever since. The bar and seating area is nice and spacious with a decent selection of reasonably priced draft and bottle bears, as well as ciders and the usual soft drinks. The tapa's menu isn't extensive, but the food is delicious and the perfect place to grab a light lunch should you be in that area on a Saturday or during the week. I particularly like the Panini's and recommend the chorizo and mozzarella every time. The market is very popular with plenty of stalls and something for everyone. The theatre isn't particularly large, but that gives you something of an intimate engaging atmosphere.

Away from the city centre in run-of-the-mill Southville, the Tobacco Factory Theatre is unlikely to…read morebe found out straight away by a visitor to the city. The building, in red brick, is understated, and this isn't a fancy place like the Hippodrome or the Old Vic. It's theatre in the round, with seating on all sides of the stage. Apparently the theatre started life the result of ripping out the Imperial Tobacco offices that were here and they've managed to keep a clean, sparse feel that actors and directors love. I won't venture too many opinions on what sort of performances this makes for. I will say, though, that when I went to see Richard III, things felt very intense. They put on a range of performances here, a highlight being the dedicated Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory theatre company. Don't let the culture on offer scare you off. With tickets often less than a tenner, there doesn't have to a big to-do about going out here though. It's got a fairly relaxed and informal feel to it too. The Tobacco Factory is a smart addition to Bristol's arts scene.

City Hall is a versatile location and on the main South circuit for touring music, comedy and…read moretheatre performances. We've been here many times to see the likes of Jools Holland, Reginald D Hunter, Alan Davies, Sandi Toksvig and more. It's also a key venue for the annual Salisbury Arts Festival (May - June). As well as the main auditorium, there are several smaller spaces available for hire. Just one criticism - the single bar is woefully inadequate for the number of audience members so be prepared to queue for drinks. The good news is that drinks are served in plastic cups so you can take them in with you.

Lovely theatre....staff friendly and helpful.... I came on…read moreOct 20th to see Dr Hook.....oh my goodness what a blast from the past. Brilliant show and so unreal to be watching Dennis Locorriere singing all the songs I have been singing along to for years, he was amazing....I so enjoyed it.....will be back..

Southbank is playing host to 'Bristol Through The Lens' from 21 May until 9 June. This is the next…read moremajor event to be hosted by this versatile and multi-faceted space, in an on-going rolling programme of impressive events. It is also home to the South Bank Arts Trail, (which I'm sure used to be called the South Bristol Arts Trail before it took on the name of the key host venue). But it's not all about art here, there's other stuff too; everything ranging from keep fit classes through to workshops take place here as well. It's open throughout the day and has a great little caff run by a group of very lovely ladies... great if you live in Bedminister or Southville and want to avoid East Street and the city centre, but still fancy a coffee and a cake.

This social club has slowly been metamorphosing in to a local hub-and arts venue for the last few…read moreyears that still manages to maintain its working-class roots with nary a hint of cloth cap or whippet. Inside you'll find big rooms and scuffed wooden floors. It's a good place to rub elbows with the local community or blow in from the city centre for some authentic atmosphere and cracking gigs. Afternoon is local time and you'll find Bristol's finest coddling a pint and setting the world to rights, but come the witching hour local deejays and mashed visuals guarantee that you'll get your dancing shoes on. There's also a strong folk-music thread to this venue - though the £10-ish ticket price can deter those with a leaner pocket, but aside from that, it's a really friendly soggy-beer-mats and skittles place with a tumbledown-cred of its own.

What a great space. As we wandered to a restaurant for dinner (that ultimately turned out to be…read moreclosed), we noticed this hall all lit up with purple lights which of course pulled us inside. There was a live band playing in the foyer...all Prince covers. The band was great, the acoustics were good and the crowd was grooving. Turns out we had walked into a Prince tribute. People were dressed in their best 80s/purple/Princewear and it was great. We listened for a few songs but then headed off so we didn't get to see Purple Rain or the inside of the theater. I'm sure it was great.

Just completed this is a building in its own right, although most people would only come here…read morebecause they're watching something a the Colston Hall. It's hard to miss, finished with Gold coloured cladding. It looks a bit like someone put a gigantic gold ingot onto the skyline of Bristol. Inside is all black metal and ikea-ish coffee tables. There's a rather smart bar on the ground floor, which is fairly expensive (more than three quid for a pint) but not too bad. They sometimes have events here (I recently came to see my friend playing the guitar). The sort of thing you get is usually quite small, community based events, to give you an idea of what to expect. It's a brilliant space for some light theatre - a few sketches or something like that . The big windows mean that it doesn't' get too dark though. It's not a proper venue, that's the Colston Hall itself. Recently finished and still feeling new Colston Hall Foyer is pretty sleek, and only feels a little like its trying a bit to hard with the gold cladding.

A modern, purpose-built theatre this was first constructed over thirty years ago to supply a…read moredifferent outlet for the arts in town, as well as being annexed to Frome's Community Colledge. Semi-Amphitheatre in design, the seats slope down towards stage level, affording an excellent view from anywhere in the house. A large stage with side scenery stores and dressing rooms behind give plenty of scope for any type of show, from drama to dance to music. The front of house has a good foyer where patrons can mingle, enjoy ice-creams and refreshments from the in-house bar, and browse any of the artistic exhibitions both local and national that often adorn the walls. With it's own car park (shared with the Sports centre) it's an excellent facility for both amateur and professional shows of all kinds. As an extra string to it's bow outside it boasts the 'Ecos Theatre', a small open-air amphitheatre surrounded by large Standing Stones from all the various countries in the European Community. Very popular for summer shows as patrons can enjoy a picnic on the grass as they watch.