The Crusaders have booked a two-match pre-season tour to Europe, before they kick off their Super Rugby Pacific title defence next year.
They'll travel to Ireland to face Munster at Limerick - where new coach Rob Penney spent two years - on February 3, before heading to England to face Bristol on February 9.
The tour is a stepping stone towards a fully fledged world club championship, which NZ Rugby and Rugby Australia have worked towards for a potential 2025 debut.
"The Crusaders are thrilled to be coming over to the UK to face some stiff competition away from home," said chief executive Colin Mansbridge.
"New Zealand and Australian clubs have been working on the world club competition for years, so when an opportunity for Super teams to play northern hemisphere counterparts came up, it was just too good to pass up."
The Crusaders will be without their sizeable All Blacks contingent for the tour. Those players will still be on post-World Cup leave.
Munster are the current United Rugby Championship titleholders, beating the Stormers in the final last month.
Bristol rugby director Pat Lam coached the Blues from 2009-2012 and played three games for the Crusaders in 1996.
"The Crusaders are the reigning Super Rugby champions and we’re relishing the opportunity to take on the best club side in the southern hemisphere at what is sure to be a packed-out Ashton Gate," said Lam.
The southerners have played just one game in Europe, when they travelled to London to face the Sharks, after the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.
