Bath

51.3781, -2.35968

Bath Travel Guide

City Map

City Introduction

Bath is not one of England’s largest cities, but certainly one of the best known for visitors. The whole city center is like going back to the Georgian time in the 18th century, where architects and builders transformed Bath from a relatively ordinary provincial town into a famous resort.

Bath is home to the only natural hot spring on the British Isles, and they were already appreciated and used in Roman times. Over time, much of the city’s life has been centrered around the spring, and it still is. Today, it is both possible to see the preserved parts of the Roman baths and to take a dip in the warm water in modern spa facilities.

The Georgian architects created Bath with elegance and included elements in the city plan such as Queen Square, The Circus and Royal Crescent. They are fine streets and squares in the city, which also houses Bath Abbey and Pulteney Bridge as attractive architectural features.

Bath is located in a valley made by the winding of the Avon River, and in the area around the city there are many things to see and do in the nature and of cultural-historical value. Stonehenge is located in the surrounding area and you can easily visit interesting cities such as the large city of Bristol and the diocese of Wells.

Top Attractions

Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey is a beautiful church that is also one of England’s best-known church buildings. It was founded in the 6th century, but the current Gothic building is more recent and was built over several centuries with a final completion in the 1530s.

The church was a monastery church until 1539, when the British monasteries changed their status. Bath Abbey was at that time transferred to the Crown. Valuables were removed from the church, which was allowed to decay until 1874, when Queen Elizabeth I initiated a restoration. After it, Bath Abbey was consecrated as an Anglican parish church.

In the latter half of the 19th century, the church was thoroughly restored, and on that occasion the originally intended vaulted ceilings were erected. In Bath Abbey you can see a number of monuments to various people, including James Montague, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and Arthur Phillip, who was the first governor of the colony of New South Wales.

In connection with Bath Abbey, there is an interesting crypt museum, the Bath Abbey Heritage Vaults, where you get an interesting look back at the history of Bath and Bath Abbey.

 

Roman Baths, Bath

Roman Baths

The Roman Baths are the most famous attraction in Bath. These are the large and impressive Roman baths that were built in the years 60-70 above the only hot spring in the British Isles. The large facility has today been excavated and is quite well preserved. The current buildings that make up the visitor center and which lie above the preserved Roman parts were primarily built in the latter half of the 18th century. They are quite beautiful in themselves.

As a visitor, you walk around the original Roman floors, and you can see the construction of the large bathing facility. This is done through the many rooms for self-viewing and through a classy exhibition which, among other things, contains a large model of the entire Roman bathing facility.

In the beautiful Restaurant Pump Room, you can also taste the warm and mineral-rich spring water, whose journey to the source starts as rainwater in the Mendip Hills. From here the water flows to a depth of 2,700-4,300 metres, where geothermal energy heats it up to between 64 and 96 degrees. Through cracks in the underground, the water comes up to the surface, where it has a temperature of 46 degrees.

 

Pulteney Bridge, Bath

Pulteney Bridge

Pulteney Bridge is a bridge that spans the River Avon. It is particularly worth seeing because it is one of the only ones in the world where shopping arcades have been built on the bridge itself and along its entire length.

The bridge was completed in 1773 and is named after Frances Pulteney, who in 1767 inherited the Bathwick mansion and associated land on the east side of the river. Pulteney wanted to create a new district in Bath, and a prerequisite for him was a stately bridge as access from the center of Bath.

The bridge was designed by Robert Adam, who had seen both the Rialto Bridge in Venice and the Ponte Vecchio in Florence as inspiration, as well as Andrea Palladio’s proposal for an unbuilt Rialto Bridge. Robert Adam primarily followed the lines of Palladio’s proposals when designing Pulteney Bridge.

Floods in 1799 and 1800 destroyed the north side of the bridge, which did not have a strong enough foundation, and it was subsequently rebuilt in a less elegant version than Adam’s version seen to the south. Later, the north side also got smaller shoots towards the north, but this is not visible from a walk over the bridge, which from this angle seems like a normal street in the city.

 

Thermae Bath Spa

Thermae Bath Spa is a spa center where you can bathe in Bath’s hot spring water. The modern center opened in 2006, and in addition to the bath itself, you can enjoy a wide range of different wellness services. At the top there is an outdoor swimming pool, from which there is a fine view of the city centre.

The experiences at Thermae Bath Spa are something special in the British Isles, as Bath is the only place with hot springs. It is thus a unique experience in this region, and one can think back to the Romans’ use of the same water in their bathing facilities.

Other Attractions

Theatre Royal, Bath

Theatre Royal

The Theater Royal in Bath was founded in 1805 and has ever since been one of the leading theaters in England outside of London. The theater replaced the Old Orchard Street Theatre, which had gained the status of Royal Theater in 1768 as the first outside the English capital.

The present entrance building to the theater was built in 1720 as a residence, while the theater building behind it was completed in 1805. Inside, the place is very elegantly furnished, and it is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Bath.

 

Queen Square

Queen Square is one of the squares in Bath where you can see Georgian houses and town planning by the architect John Wood the Elder, who himself lived in a house here. In the middle of Queen Square’s green area you can see an obelisk. It was erected in 1738 as a monument to Prince Frederick Louis of Wales.

The northern side of the square is the oldest. It was built in the first half of the 18th century, while the houses to the west are around 100 years younger and built in a different style than intended by John Wood.

 

Parade Gardens, Bath

Parade Gardens

Parade Gardens, also called Bath City Park, is a lovely green oasis along the River Avon in the center of Bath. From here you can enjoy an excellent and atmospheric view of, among others, Pulteney Bridge and Bath Abbey.

With the park’s location immediately next to the city’s biggest sights, Parade Gardens is a very popular place for both locals and tourists, if you fancy a nice trip in a recreational setting.

 

Victoria Art Gallery

Victoria Art Gallery is an art museum where you can see works by British oil painters from the 17th century to the present day. Here are works by, for example, Gainsborough and Sickert, and you can also experience pictures from Bath over the centuries. There are also various art objects in the gallery’s fine exhibition.

The Victoria Art Gallery was opened in the year 1900 with the dedication of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on the British throne. The museum was also named after Queen Victoria. The building was designed by John McKean Brydon in 1897 and opened as a combined library and gallery.

 

Guildhall, Bath

Guildhall

The Guildhall is one of Bath’s great monumental buildings in the centre, and its history goes back to 1359, when a Guildhall is first mentioned in the city. Over time, the building was expanded several times, and the current one was designed by Thomas Baldwin and built 1775-1778.

Guildhall is used today to hold various companies and events. The two most impressive rooms in the Guildhall are the Council Chamber and the Banqueting Room.

 

Museum of Bath Architecture

The Museum of Bath Architecture is a museum that depicts the exciting story behind the transformation of the city of Bath from an ordinary provincial town to an architectural gem and a world-famous spa resort.

There is a focus on the architecture in many ways; where the inspiration came from, which materials were used, who was behind the planning and much more. The whole thing is spiced up by models and many effects from Bath’s building and interior design background.

Today, the city of Bath itself is almost a museum of fine architecture from the 18th century Georgian era. Among the good building and urban planning examples that you can enjoy for yourself are the square Queen Square and the building ensembles The Circus and Royal Crescent.

 

Sally Lunn's House, Bath

Sally Lunn’s House

Sally Lunn’s House is one of the city’s more special, but very well worth visiting, attractions. The place is a restaurant based on the French woman Sally Lunn who came to England more than 300 years ago. With her she had a recipe for the lovely buns, now named Sally Lunn’s Buns. The buns are used for all the restaurant’s dishes and were, for example, used as a plate for various meat dishes and as a sweet dessert with fruit.

One should make the trip past the site, which is set up in Bath’s oldest preserved residential building. The atmosphere in the small living rooms is wonderful, and you can end the visit with a trip to the museum in the basement, where the original kitchen from the 12th century has been preserved to this day.

 

Holburne Museum of Art

At the end of the beautifully landscaped Great Pulteney Street is the Holburne Museum of Art. It is set in the 18th-century Sydney Hotel, located by the green area of ​​Sydney Gardens.

The museum’s collection consists of a wide range of fine art objects, handicrafts and household goods. At the museum you can see, among other things, paintings, sculptures, furniture and porcelain. In addition to the site’s permanent collection, changing exhibitions are also arranged.

 

Royal Crescent, Bath

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent is a row of buildings consisting of 30 identical houses that were built in a circular section. This type is seen in several places in England. The houses were built in the years 1767-1774, and they are considered one of the finest Georgian buildings in the country. It is also some of the most beautiful Palladian architecture in Bath.

The easternmost house with house number 1 is set up as a museum, which exhibits the furnishings of the time in well-to-do homes, as the houses on Royal Crescent were.

 

The Circus

The Circus is a square that lies like a circle with distinguished Georgian buildings around it. There are three rows of houses, which were built in the years 1754-1768. The houses are located in three equal parts of a circle, and this completes the strict symmetry, according to which the square was laid out.

The Circus was designed by the architect John Wood the Elder as part of his plan to create a center of Bath with many buildings in the symmetrical Palladian style, one of those used in the Georgian era in England. Only Queen Square and The Circus were completed by this type of urban space.

Day Trips

Prior Park, Bath

Prior Park Landscape Garden

Prior Park is an English landscape garden where you can take wonderful walks on paths over lawns or in woods. From several places there is a fine view of Bath and the hilly terrain around the city.

The park was laid out in the years 1734-1764 by local entrepreneur and philanthropist Ralph Allen. It was built in connection with the stately mansion that lies to the south in the park. The mansion was designed by John Wood the Elder and was the property of Ralph Allen. Since 1830 it has housed a Catholic college.

There is also another building in the park. It is a famous decorative bridge that is one of the only ones in the world in pure Palladian style.

 

Beckford’s Tower

Beckford’s Tower is a tower that was designed in 1825 and completed for William Beckford two years later. The function of the 36 meter high tower was partly as a study chamber and partly for storage of William Beckford’s art collection.

A museum has now been set up in the tower, which exhibits original furnishings from the site and conveys the story of the writer and art patron Beckford. From the top there is a nice view.

 

Wells Cathedral

Wells

The town of Wells is quite small by English standards, with around 10,000 inhabitants, but it attracts many tourists with its status as an old bishop’s seat. In addition to the well-known sights, the city’s central streets such as Sadler Street, Vicars Close and Market Place are very atmospheric to walk around.

Wells Cathedral is the episcopal seat for the cities and boroughs of Bath and Wells, and the first church on the site dates back to the year 705. The present building was mainly built from around the year 1175 until its consecration in 1239; however, with changes over the following centuries.

The 30 meter high beautiful western facade was completed in 1260, and it is richly decorated with more than 300 preserved figures in various niches. The fine extension Kapitelhuset/Chapter House was completed in 1306. Later in the 13th and 15th centuries, the two towers to the west were added. In the latter half of the 15th century, the building was completed in largely the appearance you can see today.

Internally, Wells Cathedral is three-nave and with a special inward-facing arch construction that was devised to avoid a collapse of the central tower. The stained glass windows in the cathedral are also some of the best preserved from medieval England. The oldest windows date from the 1280s and are the ones immediately to the left of the steps to the Chapter House.

 

Bristol, England

Bristol

Bristol has been one of England’s economically and culturally leading cities over the last many centuries and it hosts a number of interesting sights. Not least, the trade along the river has made its mark since industrialization, and the artificially created river port now forms an environment for many cultural activities, promenades and simply boasts a nice atmosphere.

There are several museums in the city. Among them is the great ship SS Great Britain, which was the world’s largest when constructed in 1843. You can also get the story of the English colonial history in the city, which also offers art, entertainment and really good shopping.

Read more about Bristol

 

Stonehenge, England

Stonehenge

The prehistoric monument Stonehenge with its stone circles has puzzled the modern world for many years. The question is why and how these huge megaliths have been erected here on Salisbury Plains. It is estimated that the ramparts surrounding the facility are from the Neolithic age, around 5,000 years ago, while the stone setting is estimated to be 4,000-4,500 years old, which means from the Bronze Age.

Stonehenge fascinates with its mystery and with what the facility has been used for. There are also several theories about how it was built. The monument forms a large double circle of stones, of which the outer ones are the largest, and they were transported here from several hundred kilometers away. There have been several theories about the use of stone circles like Stonehenge. It is believed that the place has been used as a center for healing, where both patients and experts were attracted.

Shopping

Bhs

39 Stall Street/1 Southgate
bhs.co.uk

 

Jollys

7-14 Milson Street
houseoffraser.com

 

Marks & Spencer

16-18 Stall Street
marksandspencer.com

 

Southgate

Southgate
southgatebath.co.uk

 

The Corridor

Union Street/High Street

 

The Podium

Northgate Street
podiumbath.com

 

Shopping streets

Stall Street, Union Street, Broad Street, New Bond Street, Milsom Street, Southgate

With Kids

Museum

At-Bristol
Anchor Road, Bristol
at-bristol.org.uk

 

Zoological garden

Bristol Zoo
Guthrie Road, Bristol
bristolzoo.org.uk

 

Safari Park

Longleat Safari Park
Warminster, Wilshire
longleat.co.uk

 

Aquarium

Seaquarium
Marine Promenade, Weston-super-Mare
seaquarium.co.uk

City History

Aquae Sulis

The city of Bath has its roots even before Roman times, when Celtic people came to the hot spring on the site to honor the goddess Sulis. The Romans came to England in the year 43, and they quickly gained control of the southern part of the country and thus also Bath, which they called Aquae Sulis. The construction of the Roman baths took place in the year 60-70, and it is a very visible memory of this time to this day. At that time, the Romans had also erected temples to the Sulis of the Celts and to the Minerva of the Romans, and a community had emerged on the site.

After the final withdrawal of the Romans from the British Isles in 407, Bath’s history is not known in detail, but it is believed that people continued to live in the Roman facilities; however, the large complexes fell apart like the baths.

 

Burghen Bath

Saxons came into being, and in the 800s so-called Burghs were established, which were fortified cities that were to protect against not least possible attacks by Danish Vikings. Bath was one of those cities and it strengthened it as a regional center. Despite a relatively small size, the first king of England, Edgar, was crowned in the city in 973.

 

Medieval times and Textile

In 1088 there was a revolt in Bath, and the city was partially burned, but was soon rebuilt. In the following century, the bishop moved here, and the building of Bath Abbey was started. It became one of the dominant institutions of the Middle Ages in the city. And in 1189, Bath received the first mercantile rights. In the Middle Ages, the primary industry in the area was wool and not least the textile production that came with the wool.

In 1539, King Henry VIII closed the city monastery and most buildings were demolished. Bath Abbey remained standing, but in the following decades it lapsed due to the void that arose after the convent closure. The 16th century was also where wool and textile production began to decline. Instead, an incipient tourism sprouted for the city’s hot spring, which is said to have healing effects.

From 1590 Queen Elizabeth I’s new town rights came to Bath again in the city. A mayoral position was introduced, a new one was built, and then progress was made such as cleaning up the streets. However, the improved hygiene conditions could not keep the plague epidemics away from cities, the disease hit Bath in the years 1604, 1625, 1636 and 1643.

 

Boom in the 18th century

The 18th century was where Bath became a fashionable place and people and funds poured into the city, experiencing the beginning of a thriving period of growth with large increases in population and the construction of many of the prestigious buildings seen in Bath Today.

These include The Circus, Royal Crescent, Pump Room, Pulteney Bridge and Assembly Rooms. Institutions were also founded, a hospital in 1742 and the first bank in 1768 are just a few examples. Already in 1718 a program for cleaning and paving of streets as well as street lighting began. It was a booming time for Bath, and through the summer was packed with wealthy tourists.

 

Industrialization

At the beginning of the 19th century, more than 30,000 people lived in Bath, which was a considerable amount according to the conditions of the time. Bath was a significant city, but although the number of citizens doubled over the century, it was the new industrial cities in Central England that were now attracting both people and investment. Bath was back in the role of a provincial town, but now a very beautiful and fashionable one of a kind. The railway opened from Bristol in 1840, and the following year it was also possible to drive to London, which facilitated the continued development of tourism. In 1880, the ancient Roman baths were rediscovered, creating new interest in the city.

 

1900s to present day

Throughout the 1900s, tourism was continuously developed, and it is also the city’s primary source of income today. During World War II, the city was bombed, but rebuilding soon after the war ended.

Many different museums were opened in the latter half of the 20th century, and it provided a strengthened tourism industry, with more and more for tourists to see, in addition to the Roman baths and the unique and harmonious city plan and buildings of the unique city.

Geolocation

In short

Bath, England Bath, England[/caption]

Overview of Bath

Bath is not one of England’s largest cities, but certainly one of the best known for visitors. The whole city center is like going back to the Georgian time in the 18th century, where architects and builders transformed Bath from a relatively ordinary provincial town into a famous resort.

Bath is home to the only natural hot spring on the British Isles, and they were already appreciated and used in Roman times. Over time, much of the city’s life has been centrered around the spring, and it still is. Today, it is both possible to see the preserved parts of the Roman baths and to take a dip in the warm water in modern spa facilities.

About the Whitehorse travel guide

Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English

About the travel guide

The Whitehorse travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Canadian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

Whitehorse is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

Read more about Whitehorse and Canada

Canada Travel Guide: https://vamados.com/canada
City tourism: https://visitwhite-horse.ca
Main Page: https://www.vamados.com/

Buy the travel guide

Click the “Add to Cart” button to purchase the travel guide. After that you will come to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. Upon payment of the travel guide, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the travel guide immediately or use the download link in the email later.

Use the travel guide

When you buy the travel guide to Whitehorse you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Gallery

Gallery

Other Attractions

Theatre Royal, Bath

Theatre Royal

The Theater Royal in Bath was founded in 1805 and has ever since been one of the leading theaters in England outside of London. The theater replaced the Old Orchard Street Theatre, which had gained the status of Royal Theater in 1768 as the first outside the English capital.

The present entrance building to the theater was built in 1720 as a residence, while the theater building behind it was completed in 1805. Inside, the place is very elegantly furnished, and it is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in Bath.

 

Queen Square

Queen Square is one of the squares in Bath where you can see Georgian houses and town planning by the architect John Wood the Elder, who himself lived in a house here. In the middle of Queen Square’s green area you can see an obelisk. It was erected in 1738 as a monument to Prince Frederick Louis of Wales.

The northern side of the square is the oldest. It was built in the first half of the 18th century, while the houses to the west are around 100 years younger and built in a different style than intended by John Wood.

 

Parade Gardens, Bath

Parade Gardens

Parade Gardens, also called Bath City Park, is a lovely green oasis along the River Avon in the center of Bath. From here you can enjoy an excellent and atmospheric view of, among others, Pulteney Bridge and Bath Abbey.

With the park’s location immediately next to the city’s biggest sights, Parade Gardens is a very popular place for both locals and tourists, if you fancy a nice trip in a recreational setting.

 

Victoria Art Gallery

Victoria Art Gallery is an art museum where you can see works by British oil painters from the 17th century to the present day. Here are works by, for example, Gainsborough and Sickert, and you can also experience pictures from Bath over the centuries. There are also various art objects in the gallery’s fine exhibition.

The Victoria Art Gallery was opened in the year 1900 with the dedication of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee on the British throne. The museum was also named after Queen Victoria. The building was designed by John McKean Brydon in 1897 and opened as a combined library and gallery.

 

Guildhall, Bath

Guildhall

The Guildhall is one of Bath’s great monumental buildings in the centre, and its history goes back to 1359, when a Guildhall is first mentioned in the city. Over time, the building was expanded several times, and the current one was designed by Thomas Baldwin and built 1775-1778.

Guildhall is used today to hold various companies and events. The two most impressive rooms in the Guildhall are the Council Chamber and the Banqueting Room.

 

Museum of Bath Architecture

The Museum of Bath Architecture is a museum that depicts the exciting story behind the transformation of the city of Bath from an ordinary provincial town to an architectural gem and a world-famous spa resort.

There is a focus on the architecture in many ways; where the inspiration came from, which materials were used, who was behind the planning and much more. The whole thing is spiced up by models and many effects from Bath’s building and interior design background.

Today, the city of Bath itself is almost a museum of fine architecture from the 18th century Georgian era. Among the good building and urban planning examples that you can enjoy for yourself are the square Queen Square and the building ensembles The Circus and Royal Crescent.

 

Sally Lunn's House, Bath

Sally Lunn’s House

Sally Lunn’s House is one of the city’s more special, but very well worth visiting, attractions. The place is a restaurant based on the French woman Sally Lunn who came to England more than 300 years ago. With her she had a recipe for the lovely buns, now named Sally Lunn’s Buns. The buns are used for all the restaurant’s dishes and were, for example, used as a plate for various meat dishes and as a sweet dessert with fruit.

One should make the trip past the site, which is set up in Bath’s oldest preserved residential building. The atmosphere in the small living rooms is wonderful, and you can end the visit with a trip to the museum in the basement, where the original kitchen from the 12th century has been preserved to this day.

 

Holburne Museum of Art

At the end of the beautifully landscaped Great Pulteney Street is the Holburne Museum of Art. It is set in the 18th-century Sydney Hotel, located by the green area of ​​Sydney Gardens.

The museum’s collection consists of a wide range of fine art objects, handicrafts and household goods. At the museum you can see, among other things, paintings, sculptures, furniture and porcelain. In addition to the site’s permanent collection, changing exhibitions are also arranged.

 

Royal Crescent, Bath

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent is a row of buildings consisting of 30 identical houses that were built in a circular section. This type is seen in several places in England. The houses were built in the years 1767-1774, and they are considered one of the finest Georgian buildings in the country. It is also some of the most beautiful Palladian architecture in Bath.

The easternmost house with house number 1 is set up as a museum, which exhibits the furnishings of the time in well-to-do homes, as the houses on Royal Crescent were.

 

The Circus

The Circus is a square that lies like a circle with distinguished Georgian buildings around it. There are three rows of houses, which were built in the years 1754-1768. The houses are located in three equal parts of a circle, and this completes the strict symmetry, according to which the square was laid out.

The Circus was designed by the architect John Wood the Elder as part of his plan to create a center of Bath with many buildings in the symmetrical Palladian style, one of those used in the Georgian era in England. Only Queen Square and The Circus were completed by this type of urban space.

Other Interesting Guides

Similar to Bath Travel Guide