No worries
I grew up in Bristol, so I've put together a little tour for you of Bristol's main student areas, with a historical focus
- Start at Stoke Bishop Halls
- Then walk across the Downs (400 acres of parkland in the middle of the city, much loved by sunbathing students, football players and dog walkers) and down Blackboy Hill / Whiteladies Road. Have a look at some of the Georgian Architecture. A lot of it is built in Bath Stone, and many of the houses were built by slave traders - Bristol was one of the primary ports in the transatlantic slave trade, and Clifton was an area favoured by the merchants who sold them. If you want to see a cobbled street, then turn right at the fishmongers onto Wellington Rd, and then right again onto Mornington Road, turning the corner to see the cobbles.
- When you get to the bottom of Whiteladies Rd, keep going across the Triangle.
- Turn left and go up University Road, and have a look around the university buildings.
- Go back towards the Triangle and then have a look at the Clifton halls. Optionally, you can go and have a look at the student's union, which is on Queen's Road.
- Continue down Park Street - there's lots of nightlife and independent shops here. At the bottom is Bristol Cathedral, where construction started in 1140 and continued for another 700 years. You can go inside, if you so wish, which is free (although there is a donation box!) It's quite a spectacular building, and worth a look.
- At this point you could take a 5 minute diversion to see the Hatchet pub, Bristol's oldest pub, which is on Trenchard / Frogmore Street, and is accessible from a set of steps on the left hand (east) side of Park St at the bottom of the hill. If you're gay, then this is one of Bristol's two gay nightlife districts (along with Old Market), although the Hatchet isn't a gay bar.
- Take a look at the Harbourside - it's been really nicely redeveloped in recent years and has lots of nightlife, and a good museum which is focused on local history (M-Shed) and some other cultural things (Watershed, Arnolfini)
- Head back towards the Centre, and then go down Corn Street. Go to St Nicholas Market (known locally as St Nick's) It's a big, historic stone building but it's not immediately obvious which building it is, so don't be afraid to ask someone. Have a look at the independent stalls, especially Beast - they sell t-shirts & other items full of local humour. There's also a sweet shop there that sells lots of sweets, including rare stuff like marshmallow fluff. Go for lunch in St Nick's - there's a brilliant pie shop there called Pieminister (my recommendation), along with an inexpensive Moroccan restaurant, a veggie cafe and a vegan falafel place and a few others.
- Walk further down Corn Street. When you get to the non-pedestrianised bit, look to your right. The bridge you see is Bristol Bridge, where Bristol was founded c.1000AD (it was called Brigstowe at that point).
- Walk along Wine Street and then down Union Street, before turning right onto the pedestrianised shopping area, known as Broadmead. This (along with Cabot Circus; keep walking in a straight line to get there) is the main shopping area in Bristol.
Whistlestop tour complete, you can now get a 8/9 bus from Rupert Street back up to the top of Whiteladies Road, if you are driving and have left your car there. The whole route is 3-4 miles long, but there's a lot to see along the way, so you'll walk the whole way down. It is, however, entirely downhill or flat land, so it's fairly easy!