Bezienswaardigheden

  • The Roman Baths

    Adres:
    Abbey Church Yard, Bath BA1 1LZ .

    Constructed in around 70AD as a grand bathing and socialising complex, the Roman Baths is one of the best-preserved Roman remains in the world, where 1,170,000 litres of steaming spring water, reaching 46°C, still fills the bathing site every single day. 

    The Roman Baths is the site of extensive ruins and an interactive museum filled with many treasures and visual snippets that transport you back to Roman times and the lives of the Aquae Sulis people. Walk on ancient pavements as the Romans did 2,000 years ago, and explore ancient chambers historically housing changing rooms and tepid plunge pools. 

    Be sure to pick up an audioguide and listen to fascinating commentary as you slowly make your way around the site, available in 12 languages and with special guides for children.

    After your exploration you can take a sip of the spa water in the Pump Room containing 43 minerals, which for centuries has attracted visitors to Bath for curative purposes. This is a unique opportunity to get a real taste (literally!) of Roman Bath. If that doesn’t quite take your fancy then opt for afternoon tea in the Pump Room restaurant accompanied by music from the Pump Room Trio.

    From mid-June to the end of August, the Roman Baths are open until 10pm, illuminated by torchlight. The flickering torches cast shadows on the ancient pavements and create a beautifully romantic and magical atmosphere.

  • Thermae Bath Spa

    Adres:
    Hetling Pump Room, Hot Bath Street, Bath, BA1 1SJ .

    In the heart of the city, Thermae Bath Spa is an award-winning natural spa where you can now bathe in Britain’s only naturally warm, mineral-rich waters as the Celts and Romans did over 2,000 years ago.

    By day and by night, you can relax in the indoor Minerva Bath and open-air rooftop pool with spectacular views over the city of Bath. Additionally, you can refresh your senses in the Wellness Suite and choose from over 40 spa treatments and packages. Thermae Bath Spa is a perfect place to go for a spa break whilst visiting Bath!

    There are no joining or membership fees at Thermae Bath Spa and you can simply choose a two-hour spa session in the New Royal Bath. A spa session gives full use of the indoor Minerva Bath, open-air rooftop pool, Wellness Suite plus access to the Springs Café & Restaurant.

    Spa treatments range from traditional massages, facials and Hot Stone therapies to our the Spa’s signature treatment, Watsu, which involves being gently stretched, guided and massaged in the thermal waters of the historic Hot Bath. The selection of spa packages offer great value with a choice of spa sessions, treatments and meals in the Springs Café Restaurant. All spa treatments and packages including treatments should be booked in advance.

    The Cross Bath is a separate building with its own open-air thermal bath and provides an alternative to the more extensive spa facilities in the New Royal Bath. Fed by its own natural spring, this beautiful building with its own changing facilities can be enjoyed by individuals or as a unique venue for an exclusive spa break for a group up to ten people.

    If you wish to take a little bit of Thermae back home with you, the Thermae Bath Spa Shop has an expanded range of spa, health and beauty products and a full selection of spa gift vouchers.

  • Bath Abbey and Tower Tours

    Adres:
    Abbey Churchyard, Bath, BA1 1LY .

    There is nowhere else quite like Bath Abbey. Magnificent stained-glass windows, columns of honey-gold stone and some of the finest fan vaulting in the world, create an extraordinary experience of light and space. But there is more to it than that. There has been a place of Christian worship on this site for over 1,200 years and the Abbey remains a living church with services taking place throughout the entire week. Come and experience the special atmosphere and rich history of this holy and uplifting place.

    The first sight most visitors have of Bath Abbey is the West front’s unique ladders of Angels, which was inspired by Bishop of Bath, Oliver King’s dream of ascending and descending angels.

    Tower Tours (every day except Sunday) offer the chance to go behind the scenes and enjoy stunning views of the city. You will also get to visit the Abbey bell and ringing chamber, sit behind the clock face and stand on top of the Abbey’s vaulted ceiling. Tickets are available from the Abbey Shop: £8 Adults / £4 Child (5-15 years).

    Bath Abbey Tower Tours are a great way to experience a sneak peek behind this iconic landmark and enjoy a breathtaking view over the whole of Bath. Begin your Tower Tour journey by ascending the spiralling staircase until you reach the bell ringing chamber. Once you’ve learnt about the history of the bells, continue climbing the tower to view these for yourself.

    The tour continues behind-the-scenes, reaching a hidden room that reveals the Abbey clock. After meandering through more passageways, you’ll find yourself on top of the great vaulted ceiling. Remember gazing upwards when you were in the Abbey? Well now you’re standing right on top of it! Surprisingly, there are small holes in the ceiling so that you can peer down below and see what’s happening on the ground floor below, very useful for bell-ringers to know when to start ringing at wedding ceremonies.

    After mastering the 212 steps to the top, you’re congratulated with a spectacular sight of the Bath cityscape and beautiful surrounding countryside. From this unique vantage point, look down into the ancient ruins of the Roman Baths, and peer across to the rooftop pool at Thermae Bath Spa.

  • The Pump Room Restaurant

    Adres:
    Pump Room, Stall Street, Bath, BA1 1LZ .

    The Pump Room, with its Corinthian columns, glittering chandelier and spa fountain, embodies what was once the heart of the Georgian social scene, when high society flocked to the city for the waters which they believed would relieve all their illnesses and discomforts. Whilst the Romans would have bathed in the mineral rich water, it was the Georgians who began drinking it in the late seventeenth century. They came here to take the waters, which you can still do today.

    Adjacent to the historic Roman Baths, The Pump Room Restaurant is one of the city’s most magnificent and elegant dining establishments. Open for breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner (in July and August), The Pump Room Restaurant serves delicious modern British cuisine by renowned caterers Searcys. 

    One of the most popular quintessentially British traditions to enjoy when visiting Bath is afternoon tea. The Pump Room Restaurant provides the perfect backdrop for this sophisticated experience, offering a selection of different teas, coffees or Champagne with delicate sandwiches, pastries and cakes. You’ll also find Bath Buns on the menu, a local delicacy that’s not to be missed! Special children's afternoon tea menus are often available during holidays.

    The Pump Room Trio also play in the restaurant daily, providing a wonderful musical accompaniment to your morning coffee or afternoon tea.

    You’ll also find a fountain flowing with the warm spa water that the city is founded upon, used to heat the Roman Baths and Pump Room in the winter months. You can taste the water, which contains 43 minerals – beware, though, it has quite an extraordinary taste to it!

  • Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum

    Adres:
    Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath, BA1 2QH .

    Housed in the magnificent Assembly Rooms, the Fashion Museum Bath holds a world-class collection of contemporary and historic dress. You’ll see everything from historic Georgian gowns to cutting-edge fashion from leading designers.

    The museum features more than 160 dressed figures which chronicle the story of fashionable dress over the past 400 years. You’ll also find a dressing-up area where children and grownups alike, can try on coats, hats, corsets, dresses and bonnets and have a photo taken against an image of Bath's Royal Crescent.

    Visit the Fashion Museum shop to browse a wide range of gifts, fashion accessories and books, and stop off at the Assembly Rooms Café, where you can enjoy coffee or lunch in historic surroundings.

    The Assembly Rooms is one of Bath's most prestigious venues, perfect for business events, weddings and parties.

    Designed by John Wood the Younger in 1769 this fine set of public rooms was purpose built for a particular eighteenth century form of entertainment: the assembly. When they were completed in 1771, they were described as ' the most noble and elegant of any in the kingdom'.  This beautiful building has been voted the UK's top City Wedding Venue.

    Each of the four rooms had a specific purpose, as their names suggest, but they could all adapt for other functions, as they still do today. Guests can move easily, behind closed doors, from room to room throughout the day and there is a small formal garden, well suited to drinks receptions.

    Entry to the Assembly Rooms, where the collection is housed, is included in the Fashion Museum ticket. The Assembly Rooms is one of Bath’s most magnificent Georgian buildings and is where guests used to gather to dance, drink tea, play cards and listen to music.

    The museum hosts an exciting series of fashion-themed events for all ages, including workshops, talks and tours.

    Please note, the Fashion Museum is owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council and is not affiliated with the National Trust. Members of the National Trust are not entitled to free entry to the Fashion Museum.

  • Royal Crescent and No.1 Royal Crescent Museum

    Adres:
    1 Royal Crescent, Bath, BA1 2LR .

    The Royal Crescent is a row of 30 terraced houses laid out in a sweeping crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood, the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a Grade I listed building. Although some changes have been made to the various interiors over the years, the Georgian stone façade remains much as it was when it was first built.

    No. 1 Royal Crescent provides visitors with an opportunity to look beyond the Crescent's famous Palladian facade and see what life was like for the wealthy and their servants in eighteenth-century Bath. Built between 1767 and 1774 to the designs of the architect John Wood the Younger, the Royal Crescent is justly considered one of the finest achievements of eighteenth-century urban architecture, and represents the highest point of Palladian architecture in Bath.

    No. 1 was the first house to be built in the Crescent, and originally provided luxury accommodation for the aristocratic visitors who came to take the waters and enjoy the social season. Each room is an exquisite example of Georgian interior design with authentic furniture, paintings, textiles and carpets. The superbly-appointed dining room is set for dessert, whilst the elegant withdrawing room is ready for fashionable visitors to take tea. The gentleman’s retreat reveals the interests of No. 1’s first resident, Mr Henry Sandford, including travel and discoveries, electricity and agriculture as well as local gossip and news. Upstairs are a gentleman’s and a lady’s bedroom, with original paraphernalia and fittings. Below stairs are the original kitchen and scullery, coal-holes and servant’s corridors, the Housekeeper’s Room and Servants' Hall. Guides in every room bring the house to life with stories of the past.

  • The Jane Austen Centre

    Adres:
    40 Gay Street, Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2NT .

    Celebrating Bath's most famous resident.

    The Jane Austen Centre offers a snapshot of what it would be like to live in the Regency times - the fashion, food, society - everything that would have inspired Austen’s timeless novels. The Centre also explores how the city of Bath impacted upon Jane Austen’s life and writing in much-loved books such as Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 

    The Centre is set in a classically decorated Georgian townhouse, where your very own Austen experience will begin with a friendly welcome talk from a knowledgeable and helpful member of staff. After the introduction you’ll be free to wander around the intriguing exhibition at your own pace. 

    Get into the Jane Austen spirit and feel as if you’re really in Pride and Prejudice by dressing up in the exhibition’s Regency costumes, including bonnets, top hats, shawls, fans and dresses. There are lots of opportunities for fun photos with the Jane Austen Centre providing a great backdrop.

    The Centre has a waxwork which, for the first time in history, creates a lifelike portrayal of what Jane Austen would have looked like. It took three years for an experienced team, including sculptor Mark Richards and forensic artist Melissa Dring, to construct the waxwork which is based on eyewitness descriptions and a sketch by Austen’s sister Cassandra. For the first time in centuries, visitors can get up close to Jane Austen herself!

    Once you've finished exploring, head upstairs to The Regency Tea Rooms for a delicious afternoon tea.

    A truly wonderful experience for all.

  • The Holburne Museum

    Adres:
    Great Pulteney Street, Bath, BA2 4DB .

    The Holburne Museum (formerly known as the Holburne of Menstrie Museum and the Holburne Museum of Art) is located in Sydney Pleasure Gardens, Bath, Somerset, England. The city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed building,[1] is home to fine and decorative arts built around the collection of Sir William Holburne. Artists in the collection include Gainsborough, Guardi, Stubbs, Ramsay and Zoffany.

    The museum also provides a programme of temporary exhibitions, music performances, creative workshops, family events, talks and lectures. There is a bookshop and a café that opens out onto Sydney Gardens. The museum reopened in May 2011 after restoration and an extension designed by Eric Parry Architects, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

  • Victoria Art Gallery

    Adres:
    Bridge Street, Bath, BA2 4AT .

    Located next to the famous Pulteney Bridge, the Victoria Art Gallery houses a collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative arts. It is known for its friendly atmosphere, an exciting and varied programme of exhibitions, and a stunning, free-to-visit, permanent collection from Turner and Gainsborough to the moderns.

    The permanent collection occupies two rooms on the first floor, whilst the ground floor contains two temporary exhibition spaces which change every couple of months. Should you visit during an exhibition changeover, don't forget that the displays on the first floor remain open as normal.

  • Prior Park Landscape Garden

    Adres:
    Ralph Allen Drive, Bath, BA2 5AH .

    Prior Park Landscape Garden surrounding the Prior Park estate south of Bath, Somerset, England, was designed in the 18th century by the poet Alexander Pope and the landscape gardener Capability Brown, and is now owned by the National Trust. The garden was influential in defining the style known as the "English landscape garden" in continental Europe.[1] The garden is Grade I listed in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in England.

    Around 1100 the site was part of a deer park set out by the Bishop of Bath and Wells John of Tours. In 1720s it was bought by Ralph Allen and landscaped to complement his new house. Further development was undertaken after the house became a seminary and then a Roman Catholic grammar school (which later became Prior Park College). In the 1990s 11.3 hectares (28 acres) of the park and pleasure grounds were acquired by the National Trust and a large scale restoration undertaken. Features of Prior Park Landscape Garden include a Palladian architecture bridge, lake and ancillary buildings.

  • Bath Skyline Walk

    Adres:
    Bath, BA2 5AH .

    Explore the Bath skyline famed for its wild flowers and elevated views. Along six miles of way-marked footpaths you will discover hidden valleys, rich in limestone, flowers and tranquil beech woodlands, interspersed with extensive views over Bath and out towards the Blackdown Hills.

    It's perfect for picnics, kite flying and strolling out. The Iron Age fort on Little Solsbury Hill offers the perfect vantage point for spectacular views over Bath and there are other archaeological sites of interest along the way including Roman settlements and eighteenth-century follies.

    Download the map from the National Trust Website or pick up a copy from Bath Visitor Information Centre or Prior Park Landscape Garden.