Bath
UNESCO World Heritage Site: City Of Bath (1987). A Spa City Founded By The Romans Around Hot Springs, Rebuilt In Honey Coloured Stone In The 18th Century With The Royal Crescent, The Circus And Pulteney Bridge, And The Roman Baths And Bath Abbey At Its Centre. Associated With Jane Austen · Bath, England
Bath is a small city in Somerset built around the only hot springs in Britain, 90 minutes by train from London. The Romans founded Aquae Sulis here around AD 60, and the Roman Baths still show the Sacred Spring, the Great Bath and a temple. In the 18th century architects built the Georgian city in honey-coloured stone: the Royal Crescent, the Circus and Pulteney Bridge, which has shops along its sides. Bath Abbey has a famous fan-vaulted ceiling and a tower tour. Thermae Bath Spa has a rooftop pool with views. The Jane Austen Centre tells of the writer who lived here in the early 1800s and is small and quite commercial. UNESCO lists the whole city. It is crowded with day-trippers from late morning, peak queues at the Baths can be long, and the hills and cobbles are tiring. Prices in the centre are high, and a table near the Abbey in summer can cost more than the food is worth. A Christmas market in December draws large crowds and pushes hotel rates up.
Roman Baths and Bath Abbey in the centre of the city, about 160 km west of London and 20 km south-east of Bristol, Bath, England, United Kingdom
The streets, the Royal Crescent lawns, Pulteney Bridge and the river walk are open at all hours and free to enjoy. The Roman Baths commonly open daily from morning to early evening, with longer hours in summer and a few days closed around Christmas; the last entry is about an hour before closing. Bath Abbey is generally open daily for visits except during services, and the tower tours run on set days only. The Thermae Bath Spa and the Jane Austen Centre keep their own hours, and the Austen Centre is commonly closed on some winter days. Museums may close on Mondays or part of the week. Confirm each venue's hours before you go.