A visit to Bristol Shopping Quarter should be on your list this Christmas
BRISTOL Shopping Quarter, comprising Broadmead, The Arcade, Cabot Circus, and The Galleries, is home to the biggest and best selection of shops in the South West including designer brands, high street fashion and over 100 fabulous independent stores. This year Bristol’s Christmas lights switch on will take place on Friday, November 9 when there will be a festive fiesta in Cabot Circus. The Heart Breakfast team will be playing feel-good Christmas tunes from 5pm, building the carnival atmosphere. The event coincides with the opening of Bristol’s Christmas Market in Broadmead. Visitors can expect a magical atmosphere as they explore over 50 wooden chalet-style stalls full of unique gift ideas such as original homemade crafts and food and drink from around the world. The ever-popular Jager Barn is returning as well as the popular Yorkshire pudding wraps and bratwurst. Shoppers will be pleased to see the return of Alfie the singing moose, who will be serenading them with Christmas classics. Alongside the stalls this year there will be two exciting new additions - an ice curling station with three lanes will give people the chance to go head-to-head with each other, while families are invited to the Christmas Grotto in Quakers Friars to share their wish lists with Father Christmas – at weekends throughout November and daily from December 1. Bristol’s Christmas Market will be open every day until Sunday, December 23. Additionally, the popular Local Christmas Market, offering handmade gifts with a Bristol twist and Fairtrade products, will be located outside M&S from Friday, November 30 until December 23. From mid-november until Christmas Eve children and their families will have the opportunity to meet Santa, his elf, and his reindeer when they visit The Galleries. Rudolph and Blitzen, two animatronic reindeer, will have shoppers snapping away as they sing and talk everything Christmas. Children can write a letter to Santa and post it in one of the four Christmas post boxes for the big man himself to read when he visits the centre, on Saturdays and Sundays from November 24 until December 16, and every day from Thursday December 20 until Christmas Eve. The Arcade should be on every shopper’s ‘must visit’ list. The Grade II listed Victorian shopping arcade is home to around 20 independent shops, cafes and restaurants including nail parlours, a barber shop, and a hair salon. It always looks its most beautiful when the Christmas Lights are on (from Thursday, November 8) and it’s a great place to find unique and unusual gifts. Getting to Bristol Shopping Quarter couldn’t be easier. Affordable parking is located at The Galleries and Cabot Circus and Bristol city centre is easily accessible by car, bus, and park and ride. Bristol Shopmobility, on the Ground Floor of Cabot Circus car park, offers scooters and wheelchairs for hire, making shopping in Bristol Shopping Quarter accessible for all (users of this service may take advantage of up to five hours free parking in the Cabot Circus car park when they hire equipment). Many stores will be offering late night shopping over the Christmas period but please check with your favourites before you visit. For Further information visit www.bristolshoppingquarter. co.uk/christmas or Find @bristolshoppingquarter on Facebook, twitter and instagram