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With its rich cultural, architectural and maritime heritage, a dynamic range of creative industries and an eclectic mix of communities, Bristol is widely recognised as an exciting and cosmopolitan European city.

The UK Cities Monitor 2008 rated Bristol as offering the best quality of life for employees among all the English core cities, and Bristol was selected as one of the world's top 10 cities to visit in 2009 by DK Eyewitness, the best-selling guidebook publisher.

The many attractions of the city are complemented by the areas of natural beauty within easy reach of Bristol, including the Cotswolds, the Mendips, the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. The World Heritage city of Bath is just twelve miles from Bristol and the coastal towns of Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare are also close at hand.

Housing

Bristol and surrounding towns and villages offer a wide choice of housing. In recent years, much of the new housing development has taken place to the north of the city, in locations such as Bradley Stoke and Emersons Green, but there has also been infill development throughout the city. Waterfront development has helped to transform the city's historic Harbourside area over the past ten years.

The Georgian and Victorian areas of Clifton and Redland, lying to the north of the City Centre, lead to the affluent suburbs of Sneyd Park, Stoke Bishop, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym.

Many people now walk or cycle to work in the centre from the inner lying districts. Many people commute into Bristol from Portishead, Weston-super-Mare, Nailsea, Thornbury and other towns. Nearby rural locations include villages such as Chew Magna, Almondsbury and Tockington, which lie within easy reach of Bristol.

Education

Bristol has six new secondary schools and academies that are among the best equipped and most modern schools in the country. A further five schools will be rebuilt over the next three years. By 2013, Bristol will be the first city in the country to rebuild or significantly refurbish all its secondary schools.

The improvement in facilities has helped to raise educational standards and aspirations amongst pupils. The last five years have seen an increase both in the number of pupils achieving five GCSEs grade A* to C and in the number of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs overall.

Schools in adjoining education areas add to the choice and quality of the educational offer in the wider Bristol area as do the twelve private schools in Bristol. When the results of all Bristol schools are taken into account, Bristol performs above the average for England in GCSE examinations.

Culture

Bristol City Centre offers a variety of cafes, bars, restaurants, markets, festivals and events, theatres, concert venues, cinema, arts and media centres, museums and galleries and other cultural amenities. Many of these amenities are in or close to the City's celebrated Harbourside waterfront.

The new award winning Cabot Circus Shopping Centre has raised Bristol to being one of the leading shopping centres in the country.

Cultural facilities in the City Centre include Bristol Museum, which hosted a major exhibition by the world-renowned Bristol-born graffiti artist, Banksy, during the summer of 2009.

Colston Hall, Bristol's Grade II listed music hall, has been redeveloped into one of the South West's top concert venues and Bristol's Industrial Museum on the Harbourside is being transformed into the new £24 million Bristol Museum.

Recreational Activities

Bristol hosts a number of notable sporting events and clubs, including: the Bristol Half Marathon, Bristol Rovers FC, Bristol City FC, Bristol Rugby Club, Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, two circus schools, a climbing centre and much more. Bristol has been selected to be part of England`s 2018 World Cup bid to FIFA.

The Bristol area is served by a network of cycle and footpaths, including a number of long distance paths. The Avon Cycleway, an 80 mile circular route, passes through picturesque villages and a variety of landscapes. The popular Bristol Bath cycle path links the centre of Bristol to the outskirts of Bath along the track of the former Midlands Railway.

Bristol and the surrounding area have a number of high quality golf courses including a several within the city (Henbury, Knowle and Shirehampton). Modern leisure centres and swimming pools are located throughout Bristol, including open-air pools.

Alternative Energy / Environmental Issues

Bristol was the only city in the UK to be short-listed for the coveted European Green Capital Award in 2009.

Bristol's reputation as a sustainable city stems from a number of factors, including the strong commitment of the City Council and Bristol residents to 'greening' the city, and the influence of a number of national organisations that have chosen to locate their headquarters in the city (e.g. The Environment Agency, Sustrans and the Soil Association).

Bristol is committed to encouraging sustainable commercial property development. The Cabot Circus retail and leisure development became the first UK retail project of its kind in the UK to achieve a BREEAM "Excellent" rating, and the Environment Agency's new national headquarters will be the UK's greenest building.