A visit to Bristol Shopping Quarter should be on your list this Christmas

Broadmead, The Arcade, Cabot Circus, and The Galleries are home to 500 shops, cafes and restaurants. Bristol Shopping Quarter has the biggest and best selection of shops in the South West including designer brands, high street fashion and over 90 fabulous independent stores.

This year’s Christmas Light Switch On will take place on Friday 11th November. The festivities will begin with activities in The Galleries from around 4pm. Later, around 5pm, a gospel choir will sing festive favourites before joining Santa to lead a procession through Broadmead to Cabot Circus where the evening will culminate with a spectacular laser light show and the big switch on itself.

The event coincides with the opening of Bristol’s Christmas Market. Visitors can expect a magical winter atmosphere as they explore over 40 wooden chalet-style stalls full of unique gift ideas such as original homemade crafts and authentic German food and drink. New for this year is the Jägerbarn bar and beer garden. Bristol’s Christmas Market will be open every day right up to Christmas Eve.

Additionally, the popular Local Christmas Market, offering handmade gifts with a Bristol twist and Fairtrade products, will run from Friday 2nd December until 23rd December. To coincide with the opening Southmead Hospital Charity will be bringing their December Buskathon to Broadmead with a variety of great acts performing between 3pm and 6pm. Cllr Helen Holland will officially open the market at 5pm.

There will be a beautiful Christmas tree on the ground floor of The Galleries this year and families will be able to visit Santa for free each Saturday during December and every day between 17th and 24th December. He’s looking forward to meeting lots of Bristol’s children and finding out what they want for Christmas. The Galleries has welcomed several new shops recently including Julian Charles and Jack Wills, as well as Boswells Coffee Shop, which is located on the ground floor. To find out more visit www.galleriesbristol.co.uk.

The Arcade, home to several new independent shops, will be busy too over the festive season with visits from Santa and much more. For further information about The Arcade’s Christmas events visit www.thearcadebristol.com.

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, provides daily or long term hire of scooters and wheelchairs, 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 of the 500 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 or find @bristolshopping on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

#VoteBroadmead in The Great British High Street competition

Broadmead is one of three cities in with a chance of being named Best City Location in The Great British High Street competition, selected as a finalist from almost 900 entries across 14 categories, and now needs the public to get behind its bid to win. Please go online and vote at http://thegreatbritishhighstreet.co.uk/finalist-city-location. The poll closes on Friday 18 November and counts for 50% of the final mark – you can vote once a day in each category.