Visiting Bath

Practical Guide To Visiting The City Of Bath

Pulteney Bridge Bath
Pulteney Bridge Bath

Bath Overview

As a travel web site on London, these pages are written from the perspective of visitors to London wanting to spend a day or more outside of the capital.

So What's the attraction of Bath?

The key attraction to visitors to Bath originates from two periods.

The natural resource of a hot spring from the waters of the surrounding Cotswold Hills was a great attraction to the Romans when they invaded England about 2,000 years ago. The resulting Roman Baths are probably the biggest single attraction for visitors to Bath.


The other main period was the Georgian period in the 18th Century. Read our Georgian Bath page that describes the Georgian society and how Bath was transformed from a backwater into an elegant spa town where the cream of society flocked too. Today the charm of Bath emanates from that time.


There is so much to see and do in and around Bath that you couldn't see everything in a weekend. If you are visiting from London on a day tour on a coach, you will probably only get around 2 hours in the city. So its wise to do some preparation and prioritise what's attractive to you personally. You can easily visit Bath independently by rail from London and get a full day. Having a car in Bath, is a millstone around your neck. It'll just stay in an (expensive) car park all of the time.

Sightseeing

We would heartily recommend that visitors with enough time take the free walking tours of Bath as an introduction to your visit. Taken by volunteers, these walks of over two hours explain the history of Georgian Bath by taking you through the city past all the key landmarks.


Use the menu on the right hand side of the page for links to all the main attractions.

The official tourist office itself is on the river (eastern) side of the Roman Baths by Bath Abbey.

Jolly's Department Store Bath

Shopping in Bath

Bath is not a museum piece, its a major thriving town and a regional shopping centre. Part of the charm of Bath is that business and shops coexist with visitors within the Georgian Bath environment. This is old fashion shopping with individual shops, no malls (as yet).


Bath is quite an affluent town and shops cater for all tastes, from the large chain stores down the main High (Main) Street to the quirkier and antique establishments found by exploring.

Getting To Bath From London - Tours Or Independent

The most painless way of visiting Bath is on a one or two day tour from London. For time poor visitors the most popular is the Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath tour that visits all three world class attractions in one long day. Full details of the different kinds of tours are on our Bath Tours page.


However, these tours will only give you between 90 minutes and 3 hours in Bath.

It is very easy to get to Bath independently from London. For a day tour, regular fast trains run from London's Paddington Station take only around 90 minutes and run until late. Frequencies are twice hourly for most of the day.


Cheaper and slower are National Express buses from London Victoria, only worth considering if you're staying more than one day.


Full details are found on our getting To Bath from London by public transport page.

Bath Hotel Accommodation

There is a great variety of hotel accommodation right in the city centre. Bath is certainly a great place to spend 2 or 3 days.


Hotels range from Bed and Breakfasts through to chain hotels like Holiday Inn and Hilton to historic independent hotels with character.


More Details Of Bath City Centre Hotels ...