Bristol vs Manchester
Not opinions, measured walking data. On what we can measure, Manchester leads 3–2 (1 within the tie margin). Character is a different question: Bristol is the merchant harbour; Manchester is the city that rewrote pop.
Change the matchup
Places with a story
spots where a route tells you what happened there
Bristol
42
Manchester
65
Manchester leads
How often you pass a story
metres from one story to the next; fewer is better
Bristol
347
Manchester
293
Manchester leads
Historical figures
real people you meet in its stories
Bristol
9
Manchester
12
Manchester leads
Instagrammability
score /100, on the index’s fixed scale
Bristol
38
Manchester
23
Bristol leads
Group outings
of every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+
Bristol
19
Manchester
19
Tie
International visitors
% of player reviews written in a foreign language
Bristol
2
Manchester
1
Bristol leads
| What we measure | Bristol | Manchester | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Places with a storyspots where a route tells you what happened there | 42 | 65 | Manchester |
| How often you pass a storymetres from one story to the next; fewer is better | 347 | 293 | Manchester |
| Historical figuresreal people you meet in its stories | 9 | 12 | Manchester |
| Instagrammabilityscore /100, on the index’s fixed scale | 38 | 23 | Bristol |
| Group outingsof every 100 plays, how many bring a group of 3+ | 19 | 19 | tie |
| International visitors% of player reviews written in a foreign language | 2 | 1 | Bristol |
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, Manchester in blue. All bars share one scale, so lengths are comparable everywhere on the chart.
Bristol scorecard
The merchant harbour
Manchester scorecard
The city that rewrote pop
