BristolLondon
City Stories Index · United Kingdom · 2026 edition

Bristol vs London

Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, London leads 4–2. Character is a different question: Bristol is the merchant harbour; London is the city of kings and crowds.

Change the matchup

VS
  • Places with a story

    spots where a route tells you what happened there

    Bristol

    42

    London

    594

    London leads

  • How often you pass a story

    metres from one story to the next; fewer is better

    Bristol

    347

    London

    273

    London leads

  • Historical figures

    real people you meet in its stories

    Bristol

    9

    London

    184

    London leads

  • Instagrammability

    score /100, on the index’s fixed scale

    Bristol

    38

    London

    31

    Bristol leads

  • Group outings

    of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+

    Bristol

    19

    London

    14

    Bristol leads

  • International visitors

    % of player reviews written in a foreign language

    Bristol

    2

    London

    8

    London leads

Differences under 5% count as ties. Sample sizes and definitions on the methodology page.

What their stories are about

How many places with a story each city has per theme: Bristol in orange, London in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.

BristolLondon
9 places
arts & culture
141 places
3 places
faith & churches
111 places
2 places
royalty & nobility
104 places
5 places
crime & dark history
95 places
1 place
parks & leisure
74 places
12 places
legends & myths
70 places
5 places
guilds & trade
68 places
4 places
industry & modern era
57 places

Bristol scorecard →

The merchant harbour

London scorecard →

The city of kings and crowds