Introduction
Most of the other places named Bristol are in the United States, then Canada, but there are other places named Bristol around the world. This page takes a look at those.
Playa Bristol - Argentina
The Playa Bristol is a beach in Mar del Plata, Argentina, named after the Bristol Hotel.
In the mid-19th century the beach was the location of a small port. The rancher Patricio Peralta Ramos created the first settlement by the sea. The railway arrived in 1886, bringing the first vacationers. At first the hotels were simple, until the luxurious 3-story Bristol Hotel was built, occupying three blocks. The Bristol opened in 1888, and was patronised by wealthy families of Buenos Aires and other parts of the country who would come to bathe in the sea.
The beach is the most popular in Mar del Plata, mainly due to its proximity to the commercial centre of the city. Playa Bristol and Plaza Colon, in front of the Casino Central, are the focus of the town for visitors.
Playa Bristol, Argentina
Image: Wikimedia
I've wondered for a long time about why there are so many hotels named Bristol around the world. Most I've heard of seem to be of very high quality. Most seem to be named after the city of Bristol, England as many use the city's coat of arms in their logo, or after Frederick Hervey, the fourth Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730-1803). According to his biographer: "So widely famed was the Bishop as a traveller, and so great his reputation as a connoisseur of all good things, that Lord Bristol's hotel...came to be the best known and regarded in every city or town where he sojourned and was thus the precursor of the Hotels Bristol to be found all over Europe."
Argentine: Playa Bristol (Cozy Beaches)
Playa Bristol (Wikipedia)
Bristol - who or what's behind the popular hotel name (Famous Hotels)
Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol (Wikipedia)
Hotel Bristol (Wikipedia)
Speightstown - Little Bristol - Barbados
Speightstown is also sometimes known as Little Bristol, it is the second largest town in Barbados.
Speightstown was formally settled around 1630 and in the earliest days of settlement was Barbados's busiest port. The place is named after William Speight, a member of Barbados' first Assembly during the Settlement years, and the former owner of the land where the town is located. Ships laden with sugar and other commodities left Speightstown bound directly for London and especially Bristol. For this reason Speightstown is sometimes known as Little Bristol.
The English city of Reading was twinned with Speightstown, Barbados at a meeting of the Borough Council on January 21 2003.
Images: Wikimedia
Don't Visit Speightstown Without Reading This (ClassiMax)
Getting to Know Barbados: Charming Speightstown (Royal Westmoreland)
Speightstown (Barbados Pocket Guide)
Speightstown (Wikipedia)
Twinning with Speightstown, Barbados (Reading - Internet Archive)
Bristol - Costa Rica
Bristol is located in Limón Province, Costa Rica.
In June 1796, the schooner La Tigresse set sail from Bristol, England, en route to the Caribbean island of Grenada. Along the way, it ran into a storm and according the the ship's log, floated aimlessly for nine days and nine nights. On the morning of the tenth day, the schooner ran aground on the white sand beaches of Costa Rica's Limón Coast. The remaining crew obviously liked the sparsely populated land they found, and set up home a few miles inland. They named their new home after their old one - Bristol, England.
Bristol, Costa Rica (Caribbean History Online)
Bristol - Jamaica
Bristol is a locality in the parish of Trelawny, in the county of Cornwall, Jamaica.
Bristol - Peru
Bristol is a city located in the Loreto region of Peru. The name is most famously associated with Bristol, England. Its adoption in this Peruvian context is likely due to historical or colonial influence, perhaps named after an explorer, company, or settlement connected to the English city. In Spanish, the local language, the name would be pronounced similarly to the English, though the accentuation might shift slightly depending on local dialect.
Bristol, Peru, is situated deep within the Peruvian Amazon basin, making it a relatively remote settlement within the Loreto Department. The Loreto region is characterized by its vast rainforest ecosystems, major rivers like the Amazon and its tributaries, and a rich biodiversity. Settlements in this area often serve as vital hubs for local commerce, resource extraction (such as timber or oil), and as launching points for ecotourism ventures into the jungle. Life in Bristol is intrinsically linked to the rhythms of the river and the surrounding natural environment.
Bristol Island - South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Bristol Island is an uninhabited island in the South Sandwich Islands, an archipelago in the Southern Ocean. The island is almost entirely surrounded by ice cliffs and largely covered with ice. It features both the oldest rocks of this archipelago and an active volcano that last erupted in 2016.
The island is almost inaccessible and thus among the most poorly studied of the South Sandwich Islands. The islands were all discovered by the expedition of British Captain James Cook in 1775. He named Bristol Island after Admiral Earl of Bristol" in England. The Earl of Bristol at the time was Augustus Hervey, the 3rd Earl of Bristol.
Bristol Island, South Sandwich Islands, in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
To the west are Grindle Rock, Wilson Rock and Freezland Rock.
Image: Wikimedia
Bristol Island (Wikipedia)
Bristol Island Volcano (Volcano Discovery)