Christmas Steps

The Christmas Steps are SUCH a good all rounder. Perfect for lunch, great for a drink after work and even better for late night partying.
The food is good, classic pub fare but done really well. Particular favourites are the Ploughman’s or Salt Beef Sandwiches at lunch or the classic burgers in the evening. If you go in the winter you might even be treated to an open fire! Lush!

If ever you forget how beautifully historic Bristol is, then head to Christmas Steps.
Essential just a flight of steps with a few shops, but from top to bottom, Christmas Steps is full of awesomeness. It has changed quite a lot of the last few years, and instead of just having art shops/​galleries, it now has a cider shop, super cool hairdresser/​barbers and now the super famous 20^th Century flicks.
I am yet to go to one, but they hold small cinema screenings where guests sit in the steps and the film is projected at the bottom. Genius!
If you’re after a unique place to buy some Christmas presents or if you haven’t been for a while, get your ass down to Christmas Steps!

I work at the top of the Christmas steps and it’s a nice walk to work in the morning.
I love the random mix of quirky shops from violin shops, wedding dresses, pottery, chinese food, vintage stamps, wartime memorabilia and the café at the bottom is always a winner for me.
There is now and again a movie night where everyone takes a seat on the steps (cushion provided thank god) and they have a mobile projector at the bottom showing old movies. It’s really quite magical i love it.
Def my kind of scene and one of the sweetest places in the centre

Well I found them! And the steps are certainly lovely, with lots of cute shops lining the way. As you walk through this part of town, you will definitely feel the Dickensian spirit move you! However, when you get to the top it’s like «um, now what?» I’d suggest turning left and catching up with the lovely and hilly Park Street to continue your day of shopping. Oh, by the way, don’t wear heels!

Quite possibly the most delightful stretch of shops in Bristol, perhaps the world, Christmas Steps feels at once vibrantly modern, championing new artists and crafts, and creakily old-​fashioned. Essentially just a flight of steps joining Colston Street with the city centre, this has now become one of Bristol’s real treasures, playing host to some of the city’s most original shops, and also small street parties and art festivals.
Last week I was lucky enough to experience one of said festivals, as I went to see the photography festival hosted by the Steps. Friendly people sitting on the pavement and steps, drinking beers and chatting, looking at photography by local artists; this was such fun, and reminded me of Bristol’s talent for celebrating communities.
All the shops along the Steps are true one-​offs: the bridalwear shop, the Three Sugar Loaves pub, SHOP: a community interest vintage clothes shop and arts venue. I adore Christmas Steps. They’re really a very special thing in Bristol, and make me proud to live here.

In an area recently baptised the Christmas Steps arts quarter, the eponymous centrepiece is a set of Medieval stairs leading from Park Row down to the city centre. These are the Christmas Steps, and they are lined by a range of independent businesses.
The Christmas Steps arts quarter comprises eight streets all of which have been highlighted for their collection of independent and arty shops, many of which purvey handcrafted goods. There’s also several excellent art galleries, some good hairdressers in the more urban vein (Angry Daves and Mack Daddys) and a handful of bars, cafes and restaurants.
For anyone in pursuit of the quirky, Christmas Steps should be your first port of call. Whether its unique gifts, something for yourself or an agreeable place to stop for a drink, Christmas Steps is one of Bristol’s best-​loved historical sites.

I never imagined I would ever dub a cut through one of my favourite places in the thriving city of Bristol but for all intents and purposes that is what I am doing. I first used Christmas Steps as a cut through from St Michael’s Hill to the City Centre and it soon became my permanent route to and from work. I’m being really harsh calling it a cut through, obviously it is a lot more than that. I would go as far as to say it is the quaintest little street in Bristol. York has The Shambles, London has Brick Lane and Bristol has Christmas Steps. The first thing you will notice entering the steps from the top at Park Row (and they are best entered from the top) is the commandeering swirly sign which is perfectly placed to stand proud in front of the most beautiful sunsets over the city. Then you have a series of pretty standard oldy worldy steps with nothing much to look at, then you arrive at the top of the main drag. The cobbled pavement with the most twee selection of shops either side, these include a clothes shop, bridal shop, barbers and architects. The old Victorian style street lamps set things off perfectly and the Three Sugar Loaves pub and fish and chip shop at the bottom are merely the icing on the cake of this perfect piece of town planning.

Bristol’s steep, quaint Christmas Steps were built in 1669 and represent one of the oldest parts of town, linking Colston Street and Lewins Mead.
They’re said to have been paid for by rich wine merchant Jonathan Blackwell, who used the passageway to roll barrels downhill towards the water’s edge, from where they could be loaded on to ships (although a road now covers the area which once would have been water).
Many important listed buildings line the steps, starting with the Sugar Loaf Public House at Number 1, which dates back to around 1720. Many of the buildings now house specialist shops and galleries, ranging from a trendy café at number 20 to a tiny stamp dealer at number 9 — and although the lane is only quite short, it’s well worth making a detour to see.

You can’t help but feel a little Christmasy when passing by here, even in May! It just feels cosy and quaint, you can almost smell the orange and cloves gently wafting up from the cobbles.
Why it’s called the Christmas Steps I can’t honestly say, if I find out I’ll come back and post it here, it’s one of the oldest parts of Bristol. Now it’s known as an arts quarter with all sorts of unique little shops and galleries, i hear there may even be a dress makers here.
When I stumble across places like this I get a huge sense of nostalgia, and question whether the way we build things now may not be as good as our generations past. There is more character in a single centimetre of the Christmas Steps than the whole of Cabot Circus of Cribbs Causeway!

The Christmas Steps are located just off Colston Street and the centre of Bristol. It is one of the oldest streets in Bristol, dating back to 1669. There is a narrow, steep incline to the top with independent shops throughout.
The shops are all really quaint and cute, and I can safely say this is one of my favourite areas of Bristol. At Christmas, the street is wonderfully decorated and makes a perfect photo opportunity. As you walk down (or up) the Christmas Steps it really feels as if you have jumped back in time, and for a city that isn’t heaped in history, this is a real treat. In addition, the steps link you up with the centre of Bristol which is handy.