Saint Nicholas Market, Bristol

Locals call it St. Nick鈥檚, but this is no cosy Christmas pop-up. Saint Nicholas Market has been dealing in the real stuff since 1743, making it the oldest market in Bristol and still a bustling knot of trade. It all unfolds inside the Exchange, an 18th-century showpiece by John Wood the Elder, dressed in an ornate exterior and fronted by a clock with plenty of attitude. Out on Corn Street, you鈥檒l spot the famous 鈥渘ails鈥� 鈥� solid bronze-topped tables where merchants once thumped down deals on the spot. Allegedly, that is where the idiom 鈥減ay on the nail鈥� comes from.

Inside, the market breaks into three personalities: the grand Exchange Hall, the bright Glass Arcade, and the maze-like Covered Market. Between them, you鈥檒l wander past racks of vintage jackets, stacks of vinyl, handmade jewellery, and piles of well-thumbed books. The Glass Arcade turns the tempo up for your taste buds 鈥� a fragrant tangle of global street food where Moroccan tagines face off against jerk chicken, falafel, and good old steak-and-ale pies.

It鈥檚 still fiercely independent, still in the thick of the Old City, and still very much part of Bristol鈥檚 pulse. A few years back, The Guardian put it among the UK鈥檚 top ten markets, and in 2016 it bagged Britain鈥檚 Best Large Indoor Market.

Awards aside, it鈥檚 the sort of place that pulls you in for 鈥渏ust a look鈥� and somehow keeps you there until you鈥檙e leaving with a bag of baklava, a second-hand novel, and possibly a vintage lampshade you didn鈥檛 know you needed.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Saint Nicholas Market
Sight Location: Bristol, England (See walking tours in Bristol)
Sight Type: Shopping
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Bristol Introduction Walking Tour

Walking Tours in Bristol, England

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