Just imagine sweeping Georgian terraces, sitting supping beer on a boat in the harbour and hot air balloons drifting by overhead....welcome to Bristol.
Part cosmopolitan, part leafy, green parks and a small dash of a salty pirate past lurking about the edges, Bristol has its own unique charm. It’s the biggest city in the Southwest and home to dozens of restaurants, cafes, bars and nightclubs. All of which makes a Bristol stag weekend popular for some proper rollicking stag dos. So if you are planning a stag weekend in Bristol, here are a few ideas for bars and nightclubs.
Bristol’s 3 main areas for stepping out of an evening are centred around Corn Street, the harbourside and Park St. Happily for those on a big night out, all 3 regions are joined by the city centre, so you can comfortably stroll between them. Corn Street is awash with bars and eateries. Nearby to the bustle of Corn St lies ye olde Inn of The Rummer. Set in the old city quarter of the city, an inn has been located here since the 1200s. This historic pub has a vast collection of spirits and specialises in cocktails, including the lethal-sounding Zombie Exclusiva, a great atmosphere and a medieval cellar bar. Suppose you amble along St Nicholas Street (with quite a few bars to choose from). In that case, you could drop in at Revolution, a vodka bar with a large outside terrace, excellent commercial music and a dedicated party atmosphere. Also, only a short hop from Corn St is the infamous Bierkeller. This bar-cum-club offers litre steins of beer, men in shorts, tribute bands, Rock Fridays and Oompah Saturdays.
The area around the harbourside is also bustling with bars. Cider-lovers flock across the cobbles to the converted Dutch barge, The Apple, which has around 40 different brews to try. The bar is small, but the overspill of people onto the quayside creates a jolly hubbub, making this one of the best places to go on a warm summer evening. Follow the water round the dockside, and you’ll find the classy elegance of the Severnshed, rumoured to have once been the personal boathouse of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. With a terrace that extends out over the water, this could be a good sunset destination for drinks and food. Also on the docks is the popular Oceana nightclub, which contains 5 bars and 2 nightclubs. The rooms are differently themed and play various music, so you can wander between a Parisian Boudoir, New York Disco and Aspen Ski Lodge and move your body to chart, pop, dance, rock, and Indie, club classics and even Frank Sinatra.
Next on the whistlestop tour of Bristol nightlife is Park Street. This Georgian terraced street climbs a steep hill and bursts with bars and restaurants. About halfway up the street is the Greek tavern bar Yia Mass. Though this bar is small, it is usually packed with people, a testament to its fun atmosphere and unashamedly cheesy music, which often gets the whole bar dancing, like some sort of scene out of Glee. A short walk further up the hill brings you to Goldbrick's house. Set over 4 floors, this bar is divided into several different rooms. Oozing with class, this might be a good place to sink into a leather armchair and quaff another cocktail.
Continue up Park Street to the Clifton triangle, and you can choose from 5 small to medium-sized nightclubs within a 5-minute walk. First up is the small, dark, steamy venue of the Dojo lounge, on Park Row, with its techno, house, dubstep and DNB music. On the Clifton triangle proper, you can descend into the underground cavern of La Rocca. This club is tiny (so you won’t lose your mates) but usually jam-packed. It’s home to cheesy tunes and has a great atmosphere. On the other side of the triangle lies Po na na, with its Moroccan-themed interior, personal booths and table service. Immediately opposite is the Lizard lounge, with its party, dance, indie, rock and chart classics. A short walk further up the hill brings you to the “VIP” nightclub, Pam Pam, on Queen’s Avenue, which plays student anthems and chart toppers. So, Bristol has something to entertain you, whether you are a cider lover, a dancefloor king or a secret lederhosen wearer.
Though its neighbour across the bridge might be trendy for a Cardiff stag weekend, we feel that Bristol is the place to be currently, with a cutting-edge music scene and really popular with stag and hen groups.
