England's Vibrant, Artsy City Named One Of The Best Places In The World To Travel In 2026

One of the best things about a new year approaching is that travelers get to redefine their bucket lists and pencil new destinations into their schedules. For many, the U.K. is one such destination, welcoming tens of millions of tourists annually, with cities like London and Edinburgh landing most of the footfall. But they offer a mere snapshot of the country, and Bristol, one of the more affordable European cities with fewer crowds, is now getting its due, having been included on Lonely Planet's Best in Travel list for 2026.

I moved to this vibrant, artsy city a year ago — at a time when I was quite disenchanted with the south of England altogether. But its fusion of West Country warmth, fine pubs, excellent restaurants, walkability, and undeniable creative flair has disabused me of my discontent. Its status as one of the best places to travel in 2026 is thoroughly deserved.

This is England, after all, so you might not come to Bristol for the weather, but it has many other virtues that'll make you want to stay. The gable walls of Bristol are a canvas for street art, at times political, at times impressionistic, but almost always eye-catching. Banksy, the world's best-known graffiti artist, famously earned his stripes here. Such creativity is also present in the restaurant scene, which features a Michelin star, authentic cuisine from all corners of East Asia, some of the best burger joints in the country, and the world's most exclusive pub, The Bank Tavern (with a year-long waiting list). And as England's greenest city, Bristol is a great place to get out and about, whether that's walking or cycling along the Avon river or hiking in the surrounding hills.

Lonely Planet included Bristol on its list specifically for travelers who want to dive into the city's street art. Taking a page out of Belfast's book, another rejuvenated British city home to hundreds of murals, Bristol has given its resident artists license to literally paint the town in their distinct styles.

Bristol's graffiti heritage goes back to the 1980s, not long after Jean Michel Basquiat and Al Diaz had risen to fame across the Atlantic. Influenced by such luminaries, Banksy started making his own guerilla art on the walls of Stokes Croft, a youthful area of Bristol not far from the city center. Here you'll find "The Mild Mild West" (1999), a depiction of a cartoon teddy bear throwing a petrol bomb at the police, "Rose on a Mousetrap," Banksy's only framed work in Bristol, and The Girl with a Pierced Eardrum (2014, pictured here). You can find more information on and directions to Banksy's work at the Visit Bristol website, or you can download the "A Piece Of.....Banksy!" audio tour, which offers narration and commentary on 13 of the artist's works. You'll have to pay a small fee to download the tour, which gives you 24-hour access for two devices. 

Other worthwhile tours include the Bristol Street Art Tour, which celebrates Banksy as well as some of the 200 or so other street artists working in the city, and the Blackbeard to Banksy Tour, exploring the city's history of Saxons, scurvy landlubbers, industrialists, and iconoclastic artists. Bristol also hosts Europe's largest street art festival, Upfest, which attracts as many as 50,000 visitors as 400 artists, who add new works to exterior walls across south Bristol.

Bristol, a city of around 500,000 people, is decidedly metropolitan compared to the rest of England's sleepy West Country. Among its diverse residents are Asian, African, and Caribbean diasporas who have infused neighborhoods with their cultures and cuisines. Easton is a melting pot, showcasing the punchy, global flavors of modern Bristol. The area is rough around the edges, but on St Mark's Road you can find the quirky Garden of Easton café, Nepalese food at The Journey, south Asian grocers, and Sugar Loaf pub, which hosts events that could involve Caribbean food, grime music, and skateboarding (simultaneously). Over on Stapleton Road, you'll find a dosa house, plus Pakistani and Afghan restaurants.

Elsewhere, Chandos Road hosts some of Bristol's best restaurants. Michelin-starred Wilsons offers seasonal tasting menus with ingredients grown in its garden. Wilsons is affordable by Michelin-star standards: about $100 for a prix fix dinner, and $50 for lunch. Across the road is Dongnae, where inventive, fine-dining Korean food is cooked in an open kitchen. For a cheaper — but arguably better — alternative, head to Dongnae's sister restaurant, Bokman, in Stokes Croft. It landed the No. 2 spot on TimeOut's 20 Best U.K. Restaurants in 2025.

Bristol has also been on the cutting edge of the country's craft beer boom. There are more than 20 local breweries — like Arbor, Left Handed Giant, New Bristol Brewery — many with taprooms. Each Bristolian has their favorite, but I always recommend Wiper and True. The main brewpub has a fantastic selection on its chalkboard menu, and it turned a featureless car park into a lovely outdoor seating area. If you visit the brewery's smaller taproom in St Werburghs, book a table at Clouds dim sum café and wine bar next door. You won't find better dumplings in the city.