This one's a bit of an oddity - by day Motion is a skate park, by night it's a throbbing superclub…read morehosting some of the biggest names in the country. Quite how this happened no one seems quite sure, though the fact that the main 'ramp room' can host several thousand punters might have something to do with it. There are also two smaller rooms (both with dancefloors) and a huge garden which favours more chilled out tunes. Some of the city's biggest promoters, such as Blowpop and Just Jack, put on nights, though for me personally it can never quite escape its routes as a skatepark, with the huuuuuuuge main room lacking atmosphere and decent sound, and there aren't enough toilets to go around on the busiest nights.

Weekends have never been the same ever since Motion Skate Park begun hosting big club nights. AS…read moreyou walk in you're straight into the first of two smaller rooms, directly behind the bar is the second smaller taking the corridor to the right will lead you to the main room of delight. The main room where during the day the half-pipe dwells, is by night transformed into a sea of bodies writhing to sounds pumping through a hyped up 50K rig! The club is blessed with a large outdoor smoking area, by the river, with wooden benches, tables and marquees for when the weather turns sour. All in all a fantastic club, a personal favourite!

Podiums. Poles. Posers. Pop. Everything you expect from a gay night out, it's pretty standard…read morereally. What to say? Well, there is a cloakroom, thank the Heavens, because it's super useful to have somewhere to dump your outerwear when it's minus five degrees outside and you've been lugging your thickest coat around with you all night. So yes...dump the coat and it's time to dance. And dance you will, with the DJ busting out some real floor-fillers from the cheesiest chart hits to red hot recent releases. One good thing is that there are places you can actually TALK when you're not dancing. There are a couple of seated areas, and spaces where the music is just a wee bit quieter, but enough that you can hear people, well, if they shout loud enough. This is nice, I find it really limiting when clubs don't have anywhere where you can do anything other than dance. A girl needs a break, you know? The bar is rather well-stocked and the staff are efficient: never had to queue too long to get served which can be such a relief. I can't remember the exact pricing, but I think it was pretty similar to other places in the area. The toilets unfortunately let the place down a little bit. There are only two toilets in the ladies, which is a bad start anyway, but even worse when one of them is out of order. Cue: queue. They're also pretty miserable...decorated in black from ceiling to the floor with poor lighting so that you can barely see yourself in the mirror. In addition, it's freezing in there. Pretty sure I could see my breath. Oh and there was no toilet roll, boooo. Aside from that though, I did actually have a really fun night. When I go back to Bristol I'd quite like to try somewhere else, but I could easily be persuaded to come back to omg.

If you're in Bristol then you MUST go to omg!!…read more I have had the best nights of my life going to this place! and haven't spent an arm and a leg either!! Drinks are so cheap its unreal! Wednesdays are a good night out as its their student night! Its free entry and £1.50 drinks! Fridays and Saturdays are always busy! their bar is so big you barley ever Queue for drinks. Their sound systems is just amazing! If you love base then Omg is the right place for you! They have unisex toilets that have about 8 cubicles and also a separate men and woman's toilets! So again, You barley have to Queue! Omg also has so many funky booths around the club to sit in with Friends, which is always good. 10/10 club! would deffo recommend you to go!

A brilliant venue for up and coming artists to use and forfill their creative talents. The spaces…read moreavailable are pretty good, from rehearsal rooms for bands to some quite large spaces for theatre groups to use to rehearse in. The price is extremely reasonable as well fo rent spaces. The one downside is that if you rehearse late at night then the heating isn't good, so wrap up warm. I'll usually turn up with a t-shirt, jumper, hoodie and coat as well as a scalf, hat and gloves, and if I stand still for 2 minutes i'll still feel the cold!

The Island is absolutely without a doubt my favourite venue in Bristol…read more The Island is run by Artspace Lifespace, an artist led initiative that recycles vacant, under-used and problem properties. They have sone a stunning job at revamping this old fire station. The walls of the Boneyard Bar are painted a bright cerulean and their are some stencils by the art tart above the door and day of the dead artwork on the walls. Artwork dons all the walls and every event is done differently. The Island is a huge complex, not all of which opens up. For some of the larger events, stalls are built in the large courtyard. Every event I go to, the experience is different. The Island is the HQ for The Invisible Circus, who undoubtedly put one of the most creative and interactive nights in the UK. I have seen the best fireshow, the best arial performance and had the best crumpets at the Island! Its a fantastic space and worth keeping an eye out to see what nights are happening here, from the spectacular carnyville, heavy metal acid panto to klezmer craziness, the Island is an amazing creative hub in the heart of the City.

Extremely unpleasant experience Had tickets for before…read more11.30, were in the queue 20 minutes before this and had asked the bouncers if this was fine when we joined the queue. We were assured that as we were in the queue it would be fine. Queue moved very slowly (I suspect partly intentionally on the part of the club). When we finally got inside the bouncer called my friend a "f*ck*ng weirdo" under his breath (Bouncer in question was short, balding ginger man, mentioning this as behaviour was entirely unneccesary, rude and unprofessional). We were then told we could not use our tickets as it was after 11.30 and would have to pay extra, despite what we had been told earlier. When we tried to bring this up we were shut down and all the staff were incredibly rude. In short: Do not go here if you want to have fun and not deal with unpleasant people.

From the owner: An optical trilogy in the epiphany of soundread more

One of Bristol's oldest music venues, this intimate pub is a bit of a halfway house where you can…read moresee the wannabes on their way up and the never quite weres coming back down the other side. If you know your stuff you can catch some really big pre-fame names (I saw Radiohead for £3.50 many, many years ago, though once turned down the chance to see some new band called 'Oasis' in favour of watching the footie in a pub down the road). Weekends are dominated by tribute nights, which can be fun if you get the right one, while up-and-coming acts vie for your attention during the week, when there are also cheap drinks offers early in the night. Be warned: when stage diving keep an eye on the pillars as a mate of mine almost knocked himself out at a Moonflowers gig in the early 90s...

Just over the Bristol Bridge from town, The Fleece is a small pub and music venue mostly catering…read moreto the rock scene. The floor is paved with flag stones, convenient if you spill your drink! Probably easier to keep in a decent state with the dancing and moshing that goes on here too. It's on the circuit for small bands trying to get a break. That means the odd act that will be topping the charts in a few years time and not a few bands that definitely won't It's a good space for a band to play, perhaps not quiet enough for singer songwriter type acts. The drinks on offer here aren't too badly priced (and a lot cheaper than the O2 academy, which also has a very dire range on offer, thanks to the corporate sponsorship). Things tend to be a bit calmer here too. Although this might just be because it's not such a big place. A gig here generally gets going towards the end, and their will be the risk of crowddivers falling on you, but I've never been there when things get out of control. If you like live music have a look for a band you know (or a tribute to them) and get a ticket for a good night.

Described by the NME many years ago as "a floating toilet", the Thekla has thankfully had a few…read moremakeovers since and is now quite possibly the best club and gig venue in Bristol. The downstairs main room is fairly small and generates a great atmosphere, and there are also balconeys overlooking the dancefloor and stage, which are great for gigs. Moving upstairs, there's a decent bar which is open during day times and has a daily happy hour and food offers. On sunny days, though, you're better off taking your pint/burger out on the open air deck, which is heated, has plenty of seating and offers great views across the harbour.

A club on a boat! The Thekla (I don't know if that's the name of the boat as well as the club) is…read moremoored up in Bristol harbour with a few good nights and live music as well. There's no need to worry about sea sickness, the boat doesn't sway or anything. Its over two floors (decks?) and has an outside area at the bow of the ship. The upstairs bar is open all week and the bottom opens for club nights (Socialism, electro-indie on Saturdays is my favourite). Being on a boat, things are a bit crowded, but theres plenty of space on the bottom floor (in the bowls of the ship?) to dance. The staff (bouncers and bar staff) are friendly, and there's always a good atmosphere. There's no premium for floating whilst you drink, with the nights I've been too, priced around a fiver. A novelty that's a good night out too.

Just hiding below Park Street are a few little clubs and pubs including The Academy, Basement 45…read moreand the Hatchet. You'll also find an odd looking building, which is home to possibly the most cheesy gay club in town. The drinks aren't too expensive, the music's fun, it's definitely a popular spot for the city's gay crowd. Look out for their themed nights!

Looks like an old pub on the outside but inside is a different story, very fun, vibrant atmosphere,…read moregreat dance floor to the rear and chill seating at the front. Reasonable drink prices, clean toilets and friendly staff. Would definitely go back next time I'm in Bristol.

This brand new club (opened February 2009) should be scoring a perfect 5 out of 5 as a club and it…read moreis surprising what lets it down... Let's start where it is great : 1. The owners are really passionate about music and clubbing. 2. It is in the town centre but tucked away near the Hatchett and opposite the Queenshilling so the out-of-towner crawls can't find it. 3. It has friendly door staff. 4. It is small and like a cave. This is a very good thing - superclubs are tedious. There are two rooms plus a bar with plenty of seats, and the main room has a separate bar as well. 5. The bar staff in the main room dance. This means they like working there. 6. The crowd is friendly and sometimes this is used as a late night drinking spot by the gay crowd at the Queenshilling which makes it friendlier still. 7. They get a wide range of music and some of the hottest talent. This sometimes includes techno - proper techno. Not 'we'll say it's techno but it's actually hard trance' techno. Techno. So what's the problem? It's the sound system. It's fantastic, crisp and clear and loud. Too loud. There are moments near the end of the night as the volume is pushed a little where your teeth rattle and you can feel your brain pushing against the side of your head. Everyone leaves the dance floor and stand in the corridor waiting for it to change tune to something with less bass and goes back on again yet the owners/sound system guys just don't get the hint. So a small thing which hopefully can change. Check it out but be prepared for the bass!

This club has a certain 'laissez faire' quality to it. Small, dark and cavernous it's the sort of…read moreplace where anything goes once you're in. I've been to a few different nights here, and they've all been pretty good. If you're into house and electro, I'd recommend you sample Duvez Vous, a regular night hosted by the club, which tends to attract a good crowd of party people. And if you're a bit of a dirty stop-out, you'll be pleased to know that Basement 45 is blessed with a late license, meaning that parties such as Duvez Vous go on until 8am. My only criticism of this club is that the sound system tends to be a little bit on the quiet side (you can just about hold a conversation on the dance floor without having to raise your voice - that ain't right!) But if you're looking for a place to go and let your hair down, without fear of judgement or compulsory dress codes, Basement 45 is definitely worth a trip.

Oh the cheese! What a fun place. Light up dance floor, VW…read morevan as the DJ box, poles to dance on! One room completely decked out in leopard print, and another in zebra print. Music policy is true cheese, 70's, 80's and 90's, and they show the attached music videos on the screens. Drinks are just about standard Bristol prices. Maybe I'm getting old, but I always seem to complain about drinks prices! This place can get really packed, especially round the bar area, so be prepared to fight/wait for a drink! The toilets are OK, not brilliant... just up a really tight staircase. I've witnessed a couple of fights, but they do have a visible security presence throughout the club. Girls, do watch out for gentlemen who think you are public property. (but is that any different to any other nightspot in Bristol?) Best thing is (on the occasions I've been) Free Entry! Overall. Similar in concept to Reflex, but much nicer!

Great place to grab a bite and a drink in bristol. They have lunch specials, and a lot of great…read morebeers on tap.

From the owner: Our handsome building at 25 West Street houses our award-winning restaurant, a state-of-the-art…read morestage and sound system for music and performance events, a sun-drenched roof terrace, and The Wardrobe Theatre showing original, fringe theatre, at the back of the venue. Our ethos is underpinned by our commitment to Sustainable, Ethical, Local and Fair values. Since our inception, we’ve worked hard to bring quality values across the business. From the great suppliers we work with to the food we serve and the booze you drink. South West produce is at the heart of our offering. Knowing where our food and booze come from, how it has been prepared, and even the names of our farmers and producers mean a lot to us. We aim to source everything from within a 60-mile radius and keep it fresh with seasonally changing menus. Our chef and bar teams work hard to bring you the most delicious and well-crafted food and drink in Bristol. Our chefs will have a couple of special dishes always available. In keeping with our commitment to no food waste, we aim to use all surplus produce, including usual prep waste, in the preparation of dishes.