Bath

As a center for curative mineral bathing dating back to the Roman Empire, Bath in England is aptly named. Even before the Romans, the Celts in Bath built a shrine to the goddess Sulis around the mysterious sparkling water bubbling out from the earth. Chock-full of history and breathtaking architecture, it’s no wonder that Bath has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even when looking out the window of the train (which stops in Bath on the Bristol-London route), Bath exhibits a breathtaking architectural richness.

Inside the city, visitors to Bath will discover arching stone bridges over mirror-like waterways reflecting needle-sharp turrets of ancient, tan, salmon colored spires hearkening back centuries – even millennia – into the past. Verdant, pastoral parks are also a chief fixture in the city planning – despite the centuries of civilization at which the breathtaking architecture hints, there is an unmistakably green, almost overgrown feel to this heavily rained-up on city, which serves to add a luscious coolness, especially in the height of summer.

When touring Bath, a good place to start is the Thermae Bath Spa, where you can relax in the millennial tradition of the Romans and, more recently, Europe’s most decadent aristocrats of the 18th century who made Bath their summertime destination. Learn more about Bath’s rich Victorian history at the Assembly Rooms, where those who’d had enough pampering (you may indeed get to that point at the Spa, if you can imagine!) would move on to other diversions such as live music and dancing in style. A more modest tour of Bath would include the Bath Abbey, the very last Medieval Church in England and currently a Parish Church. For a laugh, the Mad Max Tours will provide a gleeful introduction to the city’s wonderful, and a fair share of arcana.

Nightlife in bath lives up to the city’s history as a place of elegance, repose and, if you care for it, rollicking good times. Despite the fact that you’ll be carousing in a museum-esque town, local culture retains a strong identity, and there are plenty of fun nightclubs and pubs, as well as, on the more sophisticated side of things, wine bars and lounges.
It’s an open secret that The Old Farmhouse on Lansdown Rd has the best jazz in Bath, so aficionados traveling to Bath should set aside an evening to be thoroughly entertained. The Bell is a pub with a more relaxed vibe – live music and a tasty variety of local ales and lovers of literature may want to check out Charles Dickens’ old haunt, The Saracen’s Head at 42 Broad Street.