Bath’s Highlights

Landmarks and architecture – some of Bath’s highlights

As a cosmopolitan city, Bath has a wide range of museums, travel links, and attractions. One of the first things you’ll notice is the colour of the golden limestone, which is quarried from under the hills of Bath and used in nearly all of the city’s buildings.  A series of crescents line the city’s more luxurious districts, all made from the same Bath stone. The most famous of these is the Royal Crescent, which has been a popular site for Hollywood films such as Vanity Fair and The Duchess.

Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey stands at the heart of the city of Bath and is an impressive gothic structure built in 1616 and additions to the building continued until 1874. King Edgar was crowned King of all England in the Abbey in 973, and aspects of that elaborate service are still seen in modern coronation ceremonies. The Abbey hosts services as an Anglican Church and choir services for the general public. There is also a public viewing tower with splendid views of the entire city.

At Christmas, Bath Abbey hosts Bath Spa University’s Christmas Carol Concert which is well attended by staff, students, the general public and the board of governors.

Outside the Abbey and Roman Baths, the Abbey Courtyard plays host to unicycle riders, fire jugglers and tightrope walkers, which attracts large crowds. You will often find small live music bands in between the streets of Bath, too.

Bath Christmas Market

Every Christmas, Bath’s Abbey Courtyard and the surrounding areas undergo a complete transformation, with stalls selling handmade Christmas gifts and traditional mulled wine and mince pies. Such is the demand for the Bath Christmas Market, the organisers have had to extend the market for an extra week. For more information about the Christmas market, please click here 

Holburne Museum

Originally a hotel in the 1840s, the Holburne Museum is now Bath’s art and cultural heriatge museum, with a wide range of collections for viewing.  The museum is open FREE of charge Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday (and Bank Holidays) 11am to 5pm. There is a charge for our temporary exhibitions.

King’s Circus

Prior to building the Royal Crescent, John Wood the Elder designed and built another iconic landmark in Bath; The Circus (1754-1767). Known as Wood’s temple to the sun, this building is one of a kind and, as its title suggests, is a circular structure made from the famous Bath stone. The Circus was Britain’s first circular street and high profile residents included Tomas Gainsborough (a famous landscape and portrait artist) in 1759 and more recently Hollywood actor Nicholas Cage. The Circus leads to the Royal Crescent via Brock Street, which is full of boutique shops and small independent restaurants and bars.

Pulteney Bridge/Pulteney Street

Built in 1774, Pulteney Bridge is one of the only bridges in the world to feature a shopping arcade. It is likened to the Rialto Bridge in Venice and is one of a kind in Britain. Crossing the River Avon just behind the weir, it is famous for its beautiful views, and is one of the most photographed spots in Bath.

While Pulteney Bridge was built to connect the eastern side of Bath with the west of Bath across the River Avon, it also serves as an entrance to one of the most prestigious addresses in Bath; Great Pulteney Street, leading eventually to the Holburne Museum.

Pump Room

The Pump Room was built alongside the Roman Baths in the 1700s as a place for high society to meet and listen to music, or to view the Subscription Book, containing details of the notable residents in Bath at the time.  The Pump Room is open to visitors and you can treat yourself to afternoon tea, or if you’re feeling particularly extravagant, a champagne tea.

Royal Victoria Park

The Royal Crescent features a large grass lawn, which is open to the public for picnics and is a quiet lunchtime getaway for locals.  Opposite the crescent is the Royal Victoria Park, an area of parkland that covers 57 acres of land in Bath and also contains Bath’s 9 acre botanical garden, a duck pond and a children’s play area. It is one of the first British public parks outside of London and was opened in 1830 by Princess Victoria (Queen Victoria). During the opening, a gust of wind blew up Princess Victoria’s skirt - Victoria did not take kindly to the comments that she had chubby ankles and vowed never to visit Bath again due to humiliation. She would even shut the curtain if her train passed through Bath.

Fortunately, Bath’s relationship with the royal family is now much better, with regular visits from the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles (wife of Prince Charles, heir to the throne). Prince Charles himself opened his shop chain Highgrove in Milsom Street in 2010 and Camilla Parker Bowles switched on Bath’s Christmas lights in the same year. 

Royal Victoria Park is often the site for international music festivals (held between May and June), the Guitar Festival, the Mozartfest and other music concerts. Many events are held in the vast expanse of grounds e.g. ‘Party in the Park’ for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and throughout the summer months, a large cinema screen is set up in the park in the evenings where people can come along with picnics and watch films.

The Royal Victoria Park is also used for hot air balloon launches. You will often see hot air balloons landing in Victoria Park or on the Royal Crescent lawn itself.

The Roman Baths

The history of Bath stems primarily from the discovery of sacred natural hot springs in the city. Legend has it that Bladud, son of King Lud discovered the healing powers of the Roman Baths. Bladud was a pig herder and was thought to have leprosy. His herd of pigs also had various skin diseases but after stumbling through swamp ground surrounding the natural spring, Bladud and his pigs were all cured. It is thought that Bladud dedicated the city of Bath to the goddess Athena, or Minerva (Roman goddess of medicine and magic).

After draining the land around the natural spring, the Romans built a series of buildings, baths and a temple to Sulis Minerva. Many local people, as well as visitors from Roman Britain and Europe visited the baths to bathe in their healing waters. 

In recent history, the Great Baths have been through a number of restorations. Flooding from the River Avon meant that the Great Bath was swamped in black mud and in 1878 a leak from the King’s Bath led to the discovery of the Roman Sacred Spring. Although the baths are closed for public bathing, they are open as a museum and you can still see the inscriptions people pledged to the goddess Sulis Minerva.

The Royal Crescent

Built around 1767-1775, by Wood the Younger, the Royal Crescent was associated with the social elite and has been home to a series of notable people. In 1785, Marie-Louise, princess de Lamballe (Lady in waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette) resided in Number 1 Royal Crescent. This address is now owned by Bath Preservation Trust, who have restored the house to its Georgian roots using only materials which were available at the time. Open as a museum, visitors can see how the aristocrats used to live in the 18th century. 

Other crescents include Somerset Place, which was built by John Everleigh and until recently was part of Bath Spa University. Camden Crescent, also built by Everleigh, was unfortunately never completed due to the unsafe land conditions around the crescent (a land slide destroyed several houses). The remaining buildings have been standing strong for 200 years now.

Sally Lunn’s

Sally Lunn’s is the oldest house in Bath and currently operates as a tearoom. Sally Lunn, born Solange Luyon, was a French refugee who became a baker. Her infamous Sally Lunn Bun was considered a delicacy in Georgian England and drew prestigious guests such as Beau Nash and Ralph Allen. You can still enjoy The Sally Lunn Bun today, washed down with a pot of English tea.

Thermae Bath Spa

Although the Great Roman Baths are closed for public bathing, a £45million development was launched in the new millennia for the Thermae Bath Spa. 
The new Thermae Bath Spa is Britain's only natural hot spring spa and  consists of a number of steam rooms, treatment rooms where guests can receive massages, an indoor pool and an outdoor rooftop outdoor pool with wonderful views across Bath.