Spending at least one day in Bath should be at the top of every traveller’s UK bucket list. This stunning, historic city is easily one of the most beautiful in the country—no small feat considering how many charming towns the UK has to offer. Bath is a place where history surrounds you at every turn, from the medieval Abbey and ancient Roman Baths to the sweeping Georgian crescents that make the city feel like a period drama set come to life. It’s no surprise that Bath was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1987, recognizing both its architectural beauty and historical significance.
I feel incredibly lucky to have lived near Bath for the past few years, and it’s my go-to place whenever I want a dose of history, a wander through breathtaking streets, or even just a bit of retail therapy. No matter how many times I visit, I always find something new to love. This one day in Bath itinerary is designed to help you experience the very best of just one day in Bath —but if you have the chance to stay longer, I highly recommend it!
How to Move Around During Your One Day in Bath
Bath is a relatively small city, and all the major things to do in Bath are within a small walkable core. For your one day in Bath, you’ll be walking from site to site.
As a small historical city, Bath’s roads tend to be small and narrow. There are few parking spaces and they are pricey. I don’t recommend taking a car into Bath, as traffic can be bad and you’ll pay a lot to park. Instead, get the train or bus – both will bring you directly to the city centre. If you’re doing one day in Bath from London, it’s easy to get the train from London Paddington.
A Perfect One Day In Bath Itinerary
One day in Bath: Your morning
For your morning, you’ll be taking in the best of Georgian Bath. This period, during the 18th and early 19th centuries, are when Bath really came to life. Made famous by Jane Austen’s novels, and later by shows such as Bridgeton, Georgian architecture gives Bath a sweeping, majestic feel.
Breakfast at The Pump Rooms
Start your one day in Bath with a visit to one of the city’s most iconic buildings – The Pump Rooms. Built during the Georgian period, the Pump Rooms were the heart of Bath during its most fashionable period. Notable guests even included Jane Austen and Charles Dickens!
You can enjoy breakfast or brunch, along with a taste of the famous Bath Spa water, in incredible Georgian splendour – just make sure to book in advance if you want to have breakfast in style!
The Royal Crescent
For your first stop, head out of the city centre to the iconic Royal Crescent. About a 20 minute walk from the centre of town, this stunning terrace of 30 houses is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the UK. It’s also one of the most visually famous – No 1. is now famous as the home of the Featherington family in Bridgerton.
Apart from soaking up the beauty, you can also visit No 1 Royal Crescent., which is now a museum detailing what Georgian life would have been like.
Jane Austen Centre
After your trip to the Royal Crescent, you’ll stay on theme with a visit to the Jane Austen Centre, about a 10 minute walk away. Bath became fashionable during Austen’s life, with the upper classes using Bath as an alternative to London. Jane herself lived in Bath from 1801-1806, and many of her novels feature characters staying in or visiting the city.
Ironically, Austen was not a fan of Bath – partly because she saw it as somewhere she would be expected to find a husband. However, it remains an important part of her life, and it’s worth a quick visit to the Jane Austen Centre to understand how it shaped her life and works. There’s also the opportunity to dress up in period clothing!
The Jane Austen Centre also has a tea shop, so it’s a good place for a mid-morning pick me up. As an alternative to this one day in Bath itinerary, you could visit later in the day for afternoon tea with Mr Darcy – if this is part of your plan, it’s best to book in advance.
Pulteney Bridge
After your tea or coffee at the Jane Austen Centre, walk another 10 minutes towards the centre of Bath. For your last morning stop on this one day in Bath itinerary, you’ll visit Pulteney Bridge, Bath’s iconic bridge over the River Avon.
The bridge was built in the 1770s and inspired by the iconic Rialto Bridge in Venice and Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It’s one of only four bridges in the world with shops across both sides.
Spend a few minutes browsing the shops on the bridge, or if you didn’t stop for coffee at the Jane Austen Centre, there are also cafes on the bridge itself, where you can sit looking out at the river.
Optional Stop: Bath’s Independent Bookstores
If you still have time before lunch, pop into some of Bath’s thriving independent bookstores. While there are chain bookstores on the High Street, Bath has some of the best independent bookshops in the UK.
Visit the beautiful Topping and Co near Pulteney Bridge to marvel at the incredible architecture. Built in 1817, the house was originally a Masonic Hall before being owned by the Religious Society of Friends. It has the beautiful tall bookcases and rolling ladders that are every book lover’s dream.
You can also visit the quirky Mr B’s Emporium. Full of beautiful decor, including a mural-filled children’s section. The bookshop also offers their Surprise Read service. Pick a Surprise Read category as you browse, and staff will pick you a book that matches your chosen genre.
Finally, check out George Bayntun. This second hand bookstore near the station specialises in antique and rare books. Stepping inside feels like stepping back in time.
Lunch at Sally Lunn’s
Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House is a Bath institution, and it marks your change to a different period of Bath’s history. Sally Lunn’s is hosted in what’s believed to be the oldest house in Bath, dating from 1482. The restaurant certainly feels this old – when you step inside, it’s into a small, low ceilinged space entirely different from the sweeping Georgian buildings in other parts of the city.
The restaurant was founded by Sally Lunn herself in the 1680s, after she fled religious persecution in France. She created the famous Sally Lunn Bun that you’ll try for your lunch today – a brioche bun that can be eaten with sweet or savoury treats.
Once you’ve devoured your bun, pop down the cramped staircase to see a replica of the kind of oven originally used to cook the buns, as well as excavations showing the original medieval walls.
Sally Lunn’s cannot be booked in advance, and it’s very popular (and small). Expect to wait a while to be seated. If you’re very keen to eat at Sally Lunn’s, they do accept evening bookings, but in my opinion the food is more of a lunch option.
Your Afternoon Bath Itinerary
For your afternoon in Bath, you’ll be stepping out of Georgian Bath and into other periods of the city’s famous history. You’ll visit the stunning Roman Baths and the medieval Abbey, before joining the modern world at the newly renovated Thermae Bath Spa.
The Roman Baths
Built around 70 CE, a visit to the Roman Baths takes you back to an entirely different era of Bath’s storied history. The original site was built to worship the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and Romans flocked there to both pray and bathe in the natural hot springs that make the city famous.
After the Romans left Britain, the baths were abandoned until they were rediscovered in the 18th century and excavated in the 1870s. The heart of your visit will be the Great Bath, an open air, stunningly beautiful pool surrounded by Victorian replica Roman statues. You can also see a range of objects that have been excavated at the site, including the famous bronze gilt head of Minvera, and curse tablets that the Romans used to wish ill upon others.
The modern site is incredibly well set up, with excellent historical information and even holographs showing how the Romans would have used the baths. You can even taste the spa water, which has long been believed to have healing properties, within the museum.
It’s essential that you book in advance for the Roman Baths, and take care in selecting the right time slot for you. Popular timeslots sell out and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to buy the timeslot you want on the day. They also only accept online tickets and you can’t buy on the door.
If you are keen to really understand the history of the Roman Baths, you can also join a guided tour, which are offered at various points throughout the day – details are available on the website.
The Medieval Bath Abbey
After your visit to the Roman Baths, step forward in time and across the plaza to the stunning medieval Bath Abbey.
There has been a religious building on the site since 675 CE, when a local king, Osric, gave lands to the Abbess Bertana. In 1088, the Bishop of Wells ordered the building of a large new cathedral to replace the Saxon Abbey, but this fell into disrepair. Finally, in 1499, Bishop Oliver King ordered the building of the cathedral we can see today.
It’s had a troubled history since then, as it was closed and partly ruined as a result of Henry the Eighth’s closure of the monasteries, while some of the historic windows were damaged by a bomb during World War 2. However, today you can visit the stunning structure and wander around inside. Even as someone who’s not religious, a visit to the Abbey gives a real sense of peace and respite from the very busy square outside.
While you can book your tickets to the Abbey in advance, I’ve never found this to be necessary and tickets are available on the door.
Thermae Bath Spa
After all the walking you’ve done on your one day itinerary for Bath, you’ll definitely deserve some time for rest and relaxation.
As we’ve seen above, Bath has been famous for its hot springs since Roman times, right up to the Georgians and Victorians! This is your chance to join your historical counterparts and enjoy a dip in the famous hot water.
Thermae Bath Spa is a big complex offering multiple pools to enjoy the healing waters of Bath Spa. The most famous is the stunning rooftop pool, which offers a glorious view out across the city. There are also indoor pools (important if you visit in winter!) and a wellness suite including a steam room and sauna. You can even book yourself in for a massage!
Booking Thermae Bath Spa in advance is strongly advised, although a limited amount of tickets for each session are available on the door. Tickets give you entry for 2 hours, a towel and a robe – meaning you don’t have to carry a towel around with you all day. Massages cost extra and must be booked in advance.
Depending on your dinner plans, you could even book yourself in for the Twilight experience and watch the sun go down over beautiful Bath!
Dinner in Bath
Bath is absolutely full of restaurants and cafes offering meals from any cuisine you could possibly want – there’s even a Nepalese restaurant (which has over one thousand excellent reviews).
However, my view is that Bath is more famous for its lunch and afternoon tea options – there’s no dinner equivalent to the breakfast or afternoon tea at the Pump Rooms, or Afternoon Tea with Mr Darcy at the Jane Austen Centre.
Instead, walk around the nighttime city and explore your options – just avoid the big chains like Pizza Express, Las Iguanas, Bills and Browns. Bath has so many independent restaurants for you to choose from instead!
I can personally recommend excellent pizza at The Real Italian Pizza Co. You could also take a short taxi ride out of the main city centre to the stunning Boathouse, on the River Avon. This beautiful pub offers excellent food with an incredible view over the river and a peaceful setting.
Your Evening in Bath
Bath has a thriving evening scene, with a variety of pubs and bars spread out through the city. I recommend heading to the Bath Gin Distillery Bar in the centre of the city. You can try their Bath Gin range, as well as a huge variety of other gins and gin-based cocktails. As with many activities in Bath, I recommend booking a table at the Bath Gin Distillery Bar in advance.
If you’re not a drinker, or looking for more culture from your visit, you could also explore the huge variety of events on offer in Bath during your stay. Check out Bath Box Office for music and comedy events at a variety of venues. Bath also has a thriving scene of visiting authors – check out Topping and Co, Mr B’s Emporium and Waterstones to find out what’s on. Finally, Visit Bath also lists out events happening around the city, from comedy to wellbeing to exhibitions.
One thing is certain about a Bath one day trip – you’ll never be bored!
More Than One Day In Bath: Spending the Night
If you’re planning to spend more than one day in Bath, the city is absolutely full of hotels to suit any budget. As a local, I’ve never actually stayed in any of them! But a few you could try are:
The Abbey Hotel – highly rated, in a fantastic location right by the river in the centre of the city. Always my preferred spot for an early morning coffee.
Bath Backpackers – a highly rated hostel in the city centre
The Boathouse – step away from the city centre to try a room at the Boathouse, on the River Avon. With a strong rating on Booking.com and Google Reviews, this is a beautiful option for a more peaceful stay.
The Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa – for true luxury, stay in this incredible hotel on the Royal Crescent.
Bath is a city that effortlessly blends history, beauty, and charm, making it an unforgettable destination for any traveler – or local! Whether you’re captivated by its Georgian elegance, fascinated by its Roman past, or simply looking to relax in the famous hot springs, Bath offers a perfect day out that feels like stepping through time. From breakfast at The Pump Rooms to a rooftop soak at Thermae Bath Spa, my itinerary ensures you experience the best the city has to offer. Of course, one day is never quite enough to take in all of Bath’s magic—so don’t be surprised if you find yourself planning a return trip before you’ve even left. I never get tired of visiting!
Spending longer in the South West of England? Check out my guide to the most amazing things to do in Wiltshire, the county next to Bath.
Author box: Em is in her late 30s and has been travelling solo since her early 20s. She’s been to 48 countries (and counting) and is currently travelling for a year around South East Asia. She shares tips and tricks, destination guides, and what it’s really like to travel solo when you’re over 21, all on her blog Em’s Globetrotting Gems.
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