Bristol is a city with a fascinating industrial history. In Anglo-Saxon times, a settlement known as Brigstowe (place of the bridge) grew up between the Rivers Avon and Frome. Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the settlement got its first castle, built on what is now Castle Park. The city began trading with Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean and Iceland, and some of the beautiful houses that were built by rich merchants from the proceeds can still be seen today. In more recent times, the great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for some of Bristol's best-loved features. Brunel's Bristol includes the Clifton Suspension Bridge, his great iron ship the SS Great Britain and Temple Meads old station, former terminus of the Great Western Railway.

1 SEVERN BRIDGES VISITOR CENTRE
Bristol is today renowned for its spectacular pioneering river crossings and the cutting-edge technology employed in their design. Most famous of all is Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge, which spans the Avon Gorge, but there are also two motorway crossings over the Severn and one over the Avon. And there's also a Victorian railway tunnel that still carries high-speed trains beneath the Severn today.
The visitor centre is located on Severn Beach. Set up by a charity dedicated to the heritage of Bristol's great bridges, it includes an exhibition of boat, rail and road crossings of the Severn estuary from the earliest times up to the present day. The centre includes a café and a shop.

2 SS GREAT BRITAIN
Bristol is very much a showcase of the achievements of the engineer and great transport pioneer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He designed the SS Great Britain, the world's first iron-hulled, screw propeller-driven, steam-powered passenger liner, and the only surviving 19th-century example of its type.
For 2005, the Victorian dockyard housing SS Great Britain has been transformed. A new maritime museum has been built and the ship will be displayed complete with all the sounds and smells of a pioneering voyage to Australia. Also on display is The Matthew, a seaworthy replica of the ship in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol to discover Newfoundland in 1497.

3 RED LODGE
Despite its modest red stone exterior, Bristol's only surviving Tudor lodge retains its original interior, including magnificent oak panelling, a plasterwork ceiling and an ornate carved stone chimney piece. It was originally a lodge to the Great House where Queen Elizabeth I once stayed. Outside, an intricate maze-like knot garden has been painstakingly recreated. The Red House was 'modernised' by the Georgians, and the staircase and reception are fine examples of architecture from this period.

4 BRISTOL INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM and HARBOUR RAILWAY
Located alongside the Floating Harbour in a transit shed once used for imports, this museum contains more than 700 exhibits relating to Bristol's industrial past with a strong emphasis on transport, including railways, aircraft, cars, cranes, bicycles, motorcycles, buses and ships. It's also home to one of the world's first holiday caravans: the Wanderer was built in 1880 for the Caravan Club's first vice-president.
The story of the Port of Bristol is told through models, paintings, prints, maps and other artefacts. Outside, the Bristol Harbour Railway runs on selected weekends using steam locomotives once employed on the port's own once-extensive rail system. Regular trips around the docks on the Mayflower steam tug are offered, and there is a new gallery explaining the history of Bristol's infamous slave trade.

5 BRITISH EMPIRE AND COMMONWEALTH MUSEUM
Set up in Brunel's original Great Western Railway train shed, this splendid museum, named Somerset Family Attraction of the Year 2004, covers more than 500 years of history of Britain's imperial past using state-of-the-art presentation techniques. Galleries tell the story of British exploration, trade and colonisation, and the continuing effect that this past has had on Britain and the world today. The museum is extremely child-friendly with many interactive games and activities, ranging from dressing up to learning morse code.

6 CLEVEDON
Clevedon was a smart seaside resort town in the 19th century, but the fact that it lies on the Severn Estuary and has no sandy beach has helped it avoid to worst excesses of commercialisation. Its genteel mixture of Georgian, Regency and Victorian buildings give it a sedate charm very different to that of big bustling Weston-super-Mare to the south. Bowling greens take the place of bingo over here. The town is deservedly famous for its views of glorious sunsets over the Bristol Channel.
Clevedon's focal point is its splendidly restored Victorian pier, built during the 1860s from rails that Isambard Kingdom Brunel had intended to lay on his South Wales Railway. The pavilion at its tip has been painstakingly rebuilt and pleasure boat services now call here once again. Inland, 14th-century Clevedon Court is open on certain days each year and contains an impressive collection of local Nailsea glass.

7 BRISTOL BLUE GLASS VISITOR CENTRE
If you buy only one souvenir on your visit to the city, it has to be a piece of Bristol Blue Glass.
First made in the city in the 17th century, the original factory in Brislington is now open to the public, and from a viewing gallery you can watch the team of skilled glass-blowers using time-honoured techniques to produce stunning pieces. The visitor centre also includes a museum and various hands-on activities. There is a factory shop on site, where you can buy beautiful glasses, candlesticks and other items. There are also many cheaper factory seconds for sale.