Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, 20mi southwest of Hartford. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 60,477. Bristol is best known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to Lake Compounce, America's oldest continuously operating theme park. Bristol was known as a clock-making city in the 19th century, and is home to the American Clock & Watch Museum. Bristol's nicknames include the "Bell City", because of a history manufacturing innovative spring-driven doorbells, and the "Mum City", because it was once a leader in chrysanthemum production and still holds an annual Bristol Mum Festival. In 2010, Bristol was ranked 84th on Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live". In 2013, Hartford Magazine ranked Bristol as Greater Hartford's top municipality in the "Best Bang for the Buck" category.Bristol is about 20 miles west of Hartford, 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 69.5sqkm, of which 68.4sqkm is land and 1.0sqkm, or 1.51%, is water. The city contains several distinct sections, including Chippens Hill in the northwestern quarter of Bristol, Edgewood in the northeastern quarter, and Forestville, and in the southeastern quarter. The majority of Bristol's cityscape is residential in character, though since 2008 there has been a push for commercial development in the city. The city is part of the Naugatuck Valley Regional Planning Organization following the closure of the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency, the metropolitan planning organization for Bristol, New Britain, and surrounding towns for decades.
