Surrounded by parkland and rolling hills, situated on a bend of the River Avon and graced by some of the most beautiful city architecture in Europe, Bath has the unique distinction of being Britain’s only city with World Heritage Site status. It is also the site of Britain’s only hot springs, around which the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that gave the city its name and still flows with natural hot water.
Bath has around 5,000 buildings listed for their architectural merit, and some of the finest Georgian architecture in Britain is found here - the Royal Crescent, the Circus, the Pump Room, the Assembly Rooms and the Pulteney Bridge are all Georgian masterpieces.
Yet the city is far more than museums and old buildings. It has a lively cultural scene with several festivals and all kinds of shows, concerts and exhibitions filling up the events calendar. Being a university town, it also has a vibrant nightlife, and the dining scene equals that of almost any other British city.
Adding to the attractiveness of Bath is its lovely surrounding countryside and the Cotswolds area with its gentle hillsides and pretty towns and villages, and the ubiquitous local golden sandstone (found in the most stately city building and the tiniest cottage) is a visual reflection of the city’s links with its environs.
After a long period of gestation and many delays, the city’s long-awaited new bath and spa facilities, which use natural thermal water from the same springs that gave rise to the Roman baths nearly two millennia ago, opened in August 2006. This modern therapeutic spa complex has made the city’s thermal waters available to its residents and visitors for the first time in 28 years, bringing the city back in touch with its historical origins. It also promises to make Bath an even greater international tourist destination in the years ahead.
Read the full Bath guide
