Updated in September 2026, this We The Curious guide covers ticket prices, opening hours, parking or transport, accessibility and what to see.
We The Curious is Bristol‘s science centre and educational charity on the Harbourside, home to the UK’s only 3D planetarium. This guide was checked against the official website in September 2026. At that point, a standard adult ticket without a donation cost £21.20, well above the £14–15 range still quoted on many older Bristol guides.
Quick facts
| Opening hours | Tue–Sun, 10am–5pm (term time); daily 10am–5pm (school holidays and bank holidays); closed 24–26 December |
| Ticket prices | Adult £21.20, child (2–15) £14.50, without donation; adult £23.40, child £16.00, with donation |
| Address | One Millennium Square, Anchor Road, Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5DB |
| Nearest transport / parking | Millennium Square Car Park, directly beneath the venue; First Bus 8 or 9 from Bristol Temple Meads to College Green |
| Typical time needed | 2.5 to 4 hours |
We The Curious opening hours
We The Curious opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, during Bristol school term time. During Bristol school holidays and bank holidays, it opens every day, 10am to 5pm. It closes on 24, 25 and 26 December, and does not always open on Mondays outside holiday periods, so it is worth checking the calendar before travelling.
We The Curious ticket prices
A standard adult day ticket costs £21.20 without a donation, or £23.40 with a Gift Aid donation.
| Ticket type | With donation | Without donation |
|---|---|---|
| Adult (16+) | £23.40 | £21.20 |
| Child (2–15) | £16.00 | £14.50 |
| Adult open concession | £17.60 | £15.90 |
| Child open concession | £12.00 | £10.80 |
| Age 0–1 | Free | Free |
Open concession tickets are available to disabled visitors, over-65s, students, home educators and anyone on Universal Credit, with no ID required. A planetarium show costs an extra £4 per ticket (£3 concession) and must usually be booked alongside a day ticket. Late entry tickets, from 3pm at weekends and holidays or 2pm on term-time weekdays, are cheaper.
Opening hours and ticket prices were checked on the official website and last updated in September 2026. Book tickets on the official We The Curious site.
5 experiences worth booking in Bristol
- 🎨 Take a street art tour in the birthplace of Banksy.
- 🏚️ Go underground to Bristol’s secret air raid shelters before visiting St Nicholas Market.
- 🚲 Cover Bristol’s highlights on a bike tour.
- ⚓ On a harbourside history tour, enjoy 700 years of stories.
- 👻 Discover the city’s dark side on an evening ghost walk.
How to get to We The Curious
We The Curious is a five to ten minute walk from Bristol city centre, on the Harbourside. Bristol Temple Meads station is around 20 minutes away on foot, five minutes by taxi, ten minutes by bus, or 17 minutes by ferry. First Bus services 8 and 9 stop at College Green, a short walk away. The 902 Portway Park & Ride service stops directly on Anchor Road, next to the venue.
Parking at We The Curious
The nearest car park is Millennium Square Car Park, an underground, 24-hour car park directly beneath the building. Charges apply: £3.50 for up to one hour, rising to £25 for up to 24 hours. It has 22 Blue Badge spaces and lift access to street level. Note that We The Curious sits within Bristol’s Clean Air Zone, so older, more polluting vehicles may incur a £9 charge for private cars.
How long to spend at We The Curious
Most visitors spend two and a half to four hours at We The Curious. This covers both exhibition floors, with over 200 interactive exhibits, plus time for a planetarium show if booked. Families with younger children, or anyone adding a planetarium show and a stop at the café, should allow closer to four hours.
Accessibility at We The Curious
We The Curious is a step-free, open-plan building with lifts between floors and level access to every exhibit. There are 22 Blue Badge spaces in the on-site car park, two loan wheelchairs, ten free sensory bags, and a dedicated Quiet Room with weighted blankets. A Changing Places toilet is available on the ground floor, and a hearing loop operates in the planetarium. The quietest time to visit is 3pm to 5pm on weekdays.
Inside We The Curious: what to see
We The Curious is spread across two floors, with more than 200 hands-on exhibits covering subjects from bubbles and brains to rainbows and robots.
The ground floor includes Project What If, a flagship gallery built around questions submitted by the local community, exploring health, consciousness and the universe through interactive installations.
The first floor holds a set of exhibits on sound, light and perception, including a darkened space where two strangers can meet only by voice.
The centre’s planetarium is the UK’s only 3D planetarium, with daytime shows suitable for most ages and adults-only Planetarium Nights held on selected Thursday evenings.
Live Science Team demonstrations and creative workshops run throughout the day in the main exhibition spaces, included in the price of a day ticket.
The Double Puc Café serves handcrafted coffee and vegetarian food, and follows the same opening hours as the exhibition floor.
Practical visitor tips
| Area | Tip |
|---|---|
| Timing | Arrive within your booked timeslot, as walk-up capacity is not always available, especially in wet weather. |
| Crowds | The quietest time to visit is 3pm to 5pm on weekdays, outside school holidays. |
| Layout | Exhibits are arranged over two open-plan floors, connected by lifts and a central staircase. |
| Entry process | Tickets are sent by email and scanned from a phone at the entrance; there are no printed tickets. |
| On-site logistics | The shop and Double Puc Café keep the same hours as the main exhibition floor. |
Frequently asked questions about We The Curious
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is We The Curious suitable for children? | Yes. Children aged 11 and under must be supervised by an adult throughout the venue, including the planetarium. |
| Do you need to book tickets in advance? | Booking online is strongly recommended, since walk-up capacity is not guaranteed. |
| Is We The Curious open on Sundays? | Yes, from 10am to 5pm all year round, except 24 to 26 December. |
| Are dogs allowed at We The Curious? | Only registered guide and assistance dogs; other pets are not permitted. |
| Can under-6s watch the 3D planetarium show? | No. Under-6s can only attend 2D planetarium shows, due to eye health restrictions. |
Things to do near We The Curious
- Bristol Aquarium — tropical marine and freshwater displays, on the same plaza as We The Curious.
- Bristol Dockyards, formerly Brunel’s SS Great Britain — a historic passenger steamship, a short walk along the harbourside.
- M Shed — Bristol’s free social history museum, on the opposite side of the Floating Harbour.
- Bristol Museum & Art Gallery — art, natural history and world cultures, around 15 minutes’ walk away.
- Cabot Tower and Brandon Hill — a Victorian viewing tower with city views, roughly 15 minutes’ walk uphill.
Alternative attractions
- Techniquest, Cardiff — an interactive science discovery centre with a planetarium, around 45 minutes’ drive.
- Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium, Hampshire — hands-on STEM exhibits and a planetarium, about 1 hour 50 minutes’ drive.
- Aerospace Bristol, Filton — an aviation museum housing Concorde 216, roughly 25 minutes’ drive.
- STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway, Swindon — railway engineering and heritage displays, around 1 hour’s drive.
- Bristol Zoo Project, South Gloucestershire — a wildlife conservation park with hands-on family activities, about 20 minutes’ drive.
More Bristol area travel
Other Bristol area travel guides on Planet Whitley include:
- What to expect when visiting Bristol Cathedral.
- Key details for visiting No. 1 Royal Crescent in Bath.
- Visitor guide to the Jane Austen Centre in Bath.
- Prices, times and visitor tips for Bath Abbey.
- Complete guide to visiting the Roman Baths in Bath – one of Britain’s top Roman sites.
