a row of homes during our walking tour of bath from the mayor’s honorary guides.

last year, my husband and i were in devizes, england for a wedding, and found ourselves just 45 minutes away from the world heritage site town of bath.  i’d heard of the eponymous roman baths located in town, but honestly i thought the town sounded slightly boring and perhaps stuck in the past, most likely because the only thing i knew of the town was its ancient namesake.  however, we were so close and it seemed ridiculous to not go, so we decided to spend a day in bath before a weekend in london.  the day turned out to be one of my favorites of our entire trip, and i was so pleasantly surprised that i can’t wait to return!  bath was somehow both quaint and urban, charming and modern.  independently owned boutiques, restaurants, and pubs are scattered throughout the city center, which created a unique and vibrant mix of the past and present.

a view of the pultaney bridge over the avon river.

we drove from devizes and parked outside the old city of bath and caught a shuttle inside using the park and ride system, which provided shuttles every 15 minutes and dropped us off just a short walk from the roman baths.  (click here for information on visiting via other modes of transportation.)  we only spent 12 hours in bath, but we made the most of our time.  the itinerary for our day in bath is below.

the famous roman baths! yes, the water looks that green.

9:00am (during some parts of the year they do not open until 9:30am) – visit the roman baths (yes, you must see these)! the romans built a temple over the naturally-occurring hot springs in 60-70AD following their invasion of england, and it has been modified and updated ever since.  the self-guided tour is extremely well done, and allows you to stroll through the temple and baths at your own pace, which could take anywhere from 1-2 hours.  while you can’t relax in the warm waters here, you are able to at multiple nearby spas.  if you’re interested in testing out the waters, check out some of the spas here.

an adorable theater (theatre) on our walking tour of bath with the mayor’s honorary guides.

10:30am – take the FREE two-hour walking tour offered by the mayor’s honorary guides.  it provides an excellent stroll through the town that captures the main sites and gives you a feel for what you’d like to see more of in the afternoon.  also, it’s free.  the tour covers all parts of town, including the avon river, pultaney bridge, the circus, the royal crescent, queen’s square, and more.  tours begin and end around the corner from the roman baths, in front of the pump house and bath abbey.

lunch at same same but different was delightful.

12:30pm – lunch at same same but different.  located in the more urban downtown area of bath, this delightfully laid back café has delicious sandwiches, salads, and tapas with a mediterranean bent.  the food was flavorful and fresh, and the service was extremely friendly.  due to its highly trafficked location, there is great people watching as locals and tourists stroll by.

the lush patio at colonna and smalls coffee house.

2pm – shop and stroll through the middle of town.  i had found several shops that i wanted to check out, and shopping and walking in the compact city center made for a delightful afternoon.  mr. b’s emporium was the most perfect independent bookstore with three floors of charming rooms packed full of books of all genres.  i browsed for upwards of an hour before settling on ali smith’s how to be both (which i highly recommend).   the grace & ted designer resale clothing store was another surprising gem, and is where i purchased a chloe sweater and my husband purchased a classic barbour jacket, still his favorite today.  the store has two floors of designer clothes at reasonable prices.  we stopped for a mid-afternoon coffee at the hipster colonna & small’s, which probably takes itself a little too seriously, but the coffee was admittedly delicious and the back patio provided a lush reprieve from the minimalist interior.

a room inside the wonderful mr. b’s emporium!

4:30pm – work up an appetite by walking cross-town through shops and over the avon river to sydney gardens.  the park is beautiful and we rested a bit while we watched locals head home from work.  we then stopped for an early evening beer at the salamander pub.  the pub stop (most any pub will do) is a must.

a walk through sydney gardens (and my husband is wearing his new barbour coat from grace and ted!).

7pm – dinner at yak yeti yak, a basement nepalese restaurant.  yes, it seems odd to eat nepalese food in bath, but it had some of the highest yelp reviews in town and was reasonably priced, so we thought “why not?”  the food was delicious and memorable.

dinner at the nepalese restaurant, yak yeti yak.

who should go: history buffs, lovers of jane austen (she lived here for a bit and northanger abbey takes place in bath)

what to read: northanger abbey

what to pack: comfortable walking shoes and a light umbrella in case of rain (tours are rain or shine)

jane austen’s northanger abbey is set in bath. grab a coffee and immerse yourself in stories of love in bath!