If you live in the South West/West of England there's a good chance you've heard of Cabot Circus, the latest all singing, all dancing shopping centre which opened just in time for the Xmas rush towards the end of 2008.

*Where is it?*
Cabot Circus is located close to the end of the M32 which is linked to the M5 and M4. It's well signposted and easy to find from the centre of Bristol and the motorway and has parking for 2500 cars.

*Parking charges*
To park at the centre is in my opinion very expensive, it ranges from £3 for up to 2 hours right up to £16 for a whole day!. I therefore choose to park at the Park and Ride 10 minutes away in Bristol Road which costs only £2 per person for a return on Saturdays.

*Shops*
There are over 100 shops at Cabot Circus made up of a mixture of big high street names and top end expensive boutiques spread over 3 floors. The shops include La Senza, Zavvi (well not anymore!) Apple, Next, H&M, The Body Shop, Radley and many others. When the centre opened much fanfare was made about the inclusion of Harvey Nichols which I was very keen to visit when we first went at Xmas, I was disappointed however at the small size of the place and the high prices, including this store was a mistake I think and should have been a Selfridges or John Lewis instead.

*Restaurants and cafes'*
There is a very good selection of places to refuel during a hard days shopping, most of them being on the top floor with the odd coffee shop and café dotted about between the shops for convenience. Nandos, Giraffe, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, La Tasca and Frankie & Benny's are all well worth a visit being easy to find (once you get the hang of the layout) and packed with efficient, friendly staff.

*Entertainment*
As well as a vast array of shops and eating places there is also a Cinema de Lux close to the restaurants, the 13 screens and 3000 seats offer plenty of scope for a good night out with order-in-your-seat concessions and bar etc....

*Layout*
The one gripe I have with this place is the frankly quite odd layout, it's been architect designed to look amazing which when you first set foot in the place does take the breath away but then you start to wonder how you're meant to get around without getting lost? It can be daunting the first few times you visit but there are maps available and staff on hand to help.

It can take a while to get from one floor to another, there are two huge escalators which you have to walk all the way around each floor to access, there are stairs too and lifts but they always seem to have queues so I tend to avoid them.

Despite that I always enjoy visiting Cabot Circus and I like the fact it's so close to Broadmead and the rest of Bristol City Centre if for any reason you want a change of scenery.