Hotels in Bath

Bath is a small city in Somerset built almost entirely from honey-coloured limestone, and it is the only place in Britain with naturally hot springs. The Romans arrived first and built a bathing complex around them; the Georgians came 1,600 years later and laid a spa town of crescents and terraces over the top.

The result is a UNESCO World Heritage city you can cross on foot in 20 minutes. The Roman Baths and the abbey sit at the centre, the Royal Crescent and the Circus curve above them, and Pulteney Bridge carries shops across the River Avon. Jane Austen lived here, and the Georgian streetscape remains intact enough that period dramas film in it constantly.

Bath makes an easy overnight from London — 90 minutes by train from Paddington — and a good base for the Cotswolds, Stonehenge and Bristol. The Thermae Bath Spa lets you swim in the same geothermal water the Romans used, with a rooftop pool overlooking the city.