Bath

With a thriving night life, beautiful countryside, and world heritage sites, Bath is one place you don't want to miss.

You'll want to start with the Roman baths. Over 2000 years ago, the Romans took over a natural spring the Celts believed to be a sacrad site and built large temples and bathing areas around it. These are known as the Roman Baths and are seen as the best preserved Roman religious spas from the ancient world. The visitors center opens at nine o'clock in the morning and closes anywhere from 430 to 930 in the evening depending on this season.

Another architectural marvel is "The Circus" which was built in 1754. The Circus is a circular place surrounded by large townhouses. It is a beautiful example of Georgian architecture and is a main fixture in town. The architect who designed it, John Wood the Elder, had a vision to recreate a classical Palladian architectural landscape for Bath. Wood's inspiration for "The Circus" was the Roman Colosseum and it is considered a masterpiece of work.

You'll also want to drop by the botanical gardens in Royal Victoria Park and Sydney gardens which is the oldest park in Bath. If you enjoy hiking, you can hike 600 feet up Solsbury Hill. Solsbury Hill has traces of an ancient circular camp used by the Saxons in their siege of Bath.

It is advisable if you are driving to find a park and ride station as parking is very limited. If you enjoy riding your bicycle, Bath is very accomodating to cyclists. Often times, you'll find it is easier to get around on a bicycle than it is in a car.

Bath is a city that is accustomed to having many tourists, so it is not difficult to find things to do. The night life has many live music venues, theaters, comedy clubs and restaurants. Also, you want to bring change to tip the many street performers.

There are four theatres in Bath for live performances, the Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, The Egg and Rondo Theatre which attracts internationally renowned companies and directors. There are also many music festivals every year, including the Bath International Music Festival and Mozartfest. Tickets for these go fast, so you'll want to call a few months in advance for reservations.

Hotels are very easy to find, but you want to book early in the heavy tourist season in the summer.

Bath is easily accessible by train, car, or coach. Buses run from most major airports including Gatwick and Heathrow. It is also possible to take the train to Bath, but direct routes are not available from all towns. You'll want to check out www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney to plan your train ride well in advance.

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See a Map of Bath