Quick Trip: 24 Hours in Bath, England

It’s been a while since I introduced my Quick Trip: What to do in a city when you only have 24 hours series with Boston. Today I wanted to switch gears from recapping our fall foliage cruise and share one of my favorite places in the United Kingdom—Bath, England.

When we were in England, I knew I had to visit Bath for two reasons—to see the Roman Baths and a city where Jane Austen lived. Bath is located only two hours from London and one hour from Stonehenge so it’s a great place to add to a London itinerary. Plus, the beautiful, quaint city is so much fun to explore!

What to do: The Romans built the Roman Baths around 2,000 years ago, and tourists have been visiting since that time (first to bathe, now to explore). I really enjoyed our visit to the Roman Baths, especially the Great Bath. We bought the audio tour, which was well worth it. As we explored the different areas, it explained the purpose of each room. You can’t bathe in the natural mineral water at the Roman Baths, but Bath does have a warm mineral spa called the Thermae Bath Spa where you can relax in the thermal spa.

After we finished at the Roman Baths, we wandered over to the Bath Abbey across the street. The Bath Abbey is absolutely beautiful and worth a visit. We decided not to do this, but you can also pay £6 for a 45-minute guided tour that takes you up to the tower, where you can get a lovely view of Bath.

Another highlight to our time in Bath was the Pulteney Bridge, which has fun shops on both sides (it is one of four bridges in the world that has a full span of shops on both sides). We also enjoyed the gorgeous architecture of the Royal Crescent and the nearby Victoria Park.

Although Bath is known as a place where Jane Austen lived with her family for several years (Northanger Abbey is said to be based on her time living in Bath), I thought the Jane Austen Centre was disappointing. It wasn't interesting to me because it wasn’t close to where she lived, and it didn’t include any artifacts from her life.

Where to stay: We decided to spend the sleeping part of the 24 hours in London instead of Bath. Since London is only two hours away, it made sense for us to spend the night there since we were headed to Belgium the next day. If you would like to stay in Bath, several of my friends have recommended the Bailbrook Lodge.

Have you been to Bath? What are some of your favorite places in the city?