13+ Fun Things to do in Bath, England

We’re sharing 13+ fun things to do in Bath, England, from ancient Roman history to Georgian architecture, hidden bookshops, and the best bites in town.

We’ve spent months exploring England and the greater United Kingdom. On our most recent trip in May 2026, we spent time in Bath and were instantly in love.

We’d planned for the Roman Baths and the Royal Crescent. We didn’t expect to spend an early morning with coffee on Pulteney Bridge, walk out of Topping & Company with (another) copy of The Hobbit, or stumble onto a local cricket match by accident.

That’s the thing about Bath. It’s a small city, easy to see in a day or two, but it rewards you for slowing down. The Georgian architecture gets all the postcards, and rightfully so. But the real magic is in the in-between moments: a quiet bridge before the crowds arrive, a street musician outside the Abbey, a bookshop you didn’t plan on spending two hours in.

After spending real time exploring the city on foot, we put together this list of the very best things to do in Bath, England. Whether you’re planning a quick day trip or a full weekend, this guide has everything you need to make the most of your time here.

1) Visit the Roman Baths

We went to the Roman Baths on our first day in Bath, and we figured an hour or so would cover it. We ended up staying almost three hours.

It’s genuinely one of the most interesting museums we’ve visited anywhere. The artifacts are incredible, and the museum mixes in videos and audio throughout, so it never feels like you’re just reading placards.

We highly recommend springing for the audio tour. It gives you so much more context and detail than you’d get walking through on your own. Don’t plan this as a quick stop, either. Block out two to three hours if you want to actually take it all in.

Skip The Line And Book Roman Bath Tickets With An Audio Guide Here

2) Soak at Thermae Bath Spa

If you want to actually get in the water in Bath, Thermae Bath Spa is the only place to do it. It’s the only spot in the UK where you can bathe in natural thermal waters, and soaking in the rooftop pool with the whole city laid out below you is something we won’t forget.

We went in expecting it to feel like the hot springs back home in Colorado, which can run upwards of 111°F (44°C). We like it hot. The water at Thermae actually comes out of the ground that hot too, but it’s cooled to a more comfortable 92 to 96°F (33.5 to 35.5°C) before it reaches the pools. It caught us off guard at first, but the warm, gentle soak grew on us fast, especially paired with the Roman Steam Room, which was a real highlight.

It is a popular spot, so expect some crowds in the locker rooms and pools. Going first thing in the morning helps if you want a bit more breathing room.

One thing we wish we’d known sooner: Thermae opens the rooftop pool to creators and influencers before regular hours for photos. We missed that window this time, but it’s worth looking into if you create content and want that shot without the crowds.

Good to Know: A standard visit is the Thermae Welcome, a 2-hour spa session that includes towel and robe use. It runs £44 per person Monday through Friday, and £49 on weekends. Note that this is an adults-only spa, with a minimum age of 16. The rooftop pool is the main event, but don’t skip the Minerva Bath in the basement either. It’s quieter and gives you a lot more room to actually float around.

Book Your Thermae Bath Spa Session Here

3) Marvel at the Royal Crescent

The Royal Crescent is one of the most photographed things to do in Bath, England, and it earns the reputation. It’s a sweeping row of 30 Georgian townhouses, all curved into a perfect crescent shape, and it’s hard not to stop and stare.

We made a point of walking the Crescent and the park directly in front of it ourselves during golden hour. The light hitting all that honey-colored stone made the whole street glow, and the green space out front gave us room to sit back and just take it in. We weren’t the only ones with that idea. The lawn was packed with people watching the sunset right along with us.

You don’t need a ticket to admire the Crescent itself. Walking the street and lounging in the park in front of it is free, and it’s one of the best things to do in Bath, England, especially if you time it for golden hour.

We got there a bit too late to go inside No. 1 Royal Crescent, the museum at the end of the row. It’s worth carving out time for it if you can. Tickets are £16 for adults, and it gives you a real look inside one of these Georgian homes.

Book No. 1 Royal Crescent Tickets Here

4) Stroll The Circus

The Circus is one of Bath’s other famous Georgian landmarks, a ring of townhouses arranged in a perfect circle just up the road from the Royal Crescent. A few massive trees grow right in the center of it, and the whole space is much bigger in person than we expected.

It didn’t feel like a tourist stop when we were there. Local families were out playing on the green in the middle, which made it feel more like a neighborhood than a monument.

It’s free to walk through, and worth the short detour if you’re already headed toward the Royal Crescent.

5) Explore Royal Victoria Park

We stumbled into Royal Victoria Park right after leaving the Royal Crescent, and it ended up being one of our favorite surprises in Bath. The park is green and well kept, with potted plants scattered throughout that make it feel more like a garden than a city park.

We didn’t expect to find the Bath War Memorial tucked inside, or a full mini golf course right next to it. Victoria Falls Adventure Golf is a fun, unexpected stop if you’ve got kids in tow or just want a break from sightseeing.

Good to Know: There’s a public restroom on the southside of the park just off the car park, but most of the stalls looked out of order when we walked by. Don’t count on it if you need a bathroom break.

6) Ring the Church Bells at Bath Abbey

This was one of the best experiences we had anywhere in Bath, full stop, and it’s one of the most unique things to do in Bath, England if you want more than just a walk-through. We booked the Bath Abbey Tower Tour, and even with part of it closed for essential maintenance during our visit, it’s still one of the best tours we’ve done anywhere in Europe.

The tour takes you up 212 steps through the tower, and we got to explore the Nave roof with views over the city center, plus the Ringing Room where the bells are housed. Maintenance work meant we couldn’t access the tower roof or bell chamber this time, so we’ve already got another reason to go back.

Tickets were £18 each, and for the chance to live out a brief Quasimodo moment, ringing the massive bells and standing right behind the giant clock face, we’d happily pay it again.

You don’t need to be religious to appreciate this Abbey. The architecture and stained glass are genuinely stunning, tour or no tour. The Abbey is also far from a quiet, static building. It hosts a packed calendar of events and concerts throughout the year, and its choirs are genuinely world renowned.

Good to Know: Maintenance work affecting the tower roof and bell chamber access is expected to run through late June 2026. Check the Bath Abbey website before booking if full tower access matters to you.

Book Directly with Bath Abbey for Tower Tours Here
Book a Walking Tour of Bath with a Guided Tour of Bath Abbey Here

7) Wander Pulteney Bridge and the Weir

Pulteney Bridge is one of the most iconic things to do in Bath, England, and one of only four bridges in the world lined with shops on both sides. The horseshoe-shaped weir just below it is just as photographed as the bridge itself, especially with the water rushing over it.

We made a point of getting there early, before the crowds, with coffee in hand from The Bridge Coffee Shop right on the bridge. Having the whole view mostly to ourselves made it one of the calmer, quieter moments of the trip.

The only downside to going early is that most of the shops on the bridge weren’t open yet, including the Bath Stamp & Coin Shop, which we would have liked to poke around in.

In our opinion, the best view of the bridge is from the east side along the River Avon Trail, with the Empire Hotel framed in the background. It’s worth the short walk for the photo alone.

It’s free to cross and free to admire from either riverbank, and it only takes a few minutes, but it’s worth lingering.

8) Walk the Bath Skyline Trail

We’d spent the entire week before Bath walking through the Cotswolds, so we figured we knew what to expect from English countryside walks. The Bath Skyline Trail still managed to surprise us. It’s a gorgeous, genuinely exciting walk, and one of our favorites of the whole trip.

The trail winds through green fields and past beautiful trees, with sweeping views over Bath the higher you climb. We did it on a dry, sunny day, but parts of the trail run right over grass, and a few spots looked like they’d get slick fast in the rain. If you’re walking this after a wet day, watch your footing.

We also ran into a few relentless bugs along the way, so don’t be surprised if you do too.

Good to Know: We walked the loop counterclockwise, which meant the first 30 minutes were almost entirely uphill. Worth knowing before you start, especially if you want to pace yourself.

Get the Bath Skyline Trail Route on AllTrails Here

9) Cross the Palladian Bridge at Prior Park

Partway through the Skyline Trail, we detoured to Prior Park to see the Palladian Bridge, one of only four bridges of its kind in the world. A Palladian bridge is a classical, covered pedestrian bridge inspired by 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio, and seeing one in person is worth the short detour off the main trail.

Entry costs around £10 for adults, and we paid right at the gate.

One thing we didn’t do, but wish we had: climbing the hill behind the bridge. That spot gets you a higher angle looking down on the bridge with Bath in the background, and it’s supposed to be a gorgeous shot. We’re already planning to grab it next time.

Good to Know: National Trust members get in free. We visited enough National Trust sites on this trip that a membership would have paid for itself. Worth looking into before your trip if you’re planning to see more than one or two sites.

10) Stroll the River Avon Trail

The River Avon Trail is an easy, scenic walk that strings together a few smaller stops worth seeing along the way. From this stretch, you get a different angle on the Pulteney Weir, plus a quick detour into the Beazer Garden Maze and a peek into the Recreation Ground, home to Bath Rugby.

The maze itself is tiny. It only took us a few minutes to figure out the correct path, but it was a fun few minutes. We should have timed ourselves and raced through it.

We walked by the Recreation Ground around 7am, and it was completely empty. On the northwest corner near the river path, there’s a set of steps you can climb to get a view into the pitch, which is worth the quick detour even with nothing going on.

11) Catch a Match at Bath Cricket Club

On our way to start the Bath Skyline Trail, we passed Bath Cricket Club mid-match and ended up stopping to watch for a bit. We’ll be honest, we don’t really understand cricket. But the crowd was clearly into it, and we got swept up in the energy anyway.

It was a fun, unplanned little detour, and exactly the kind of local moment you can’t really plan for. We’d love to get a proper introduction to cricket one of these days so we can actually follow what’s happening.

12) Browse Topping & Company Booksellers

This shop is massive, and it’s right next to Bath Abbey, which makes it easy to pair the two stops together. Topping & Company is recognized as one of the largest independent bookshops in Britain, and it’s often cited as having more bookshelf space than any other indie bookstore in the country.

It felt like a bookshop should. Multiple floors, room after room, ladders running up to the highest shelves. We came in just to look around and walked out with another copy of The Hobbit, because of course we did.

13) Catch a Live Musician at Kingston Parade

Right next to Bath Abbey, there’s a small square called Kingston Parade where street musicians regularly perform. We caught a few different performers there over our few days in Bath, but one pianist really caught our attention.

His name was Luke Gajdus, and we ended up standing there for twenty minutes just listening to him play. He played with so much passion that we bought one of his CDs afterward, just to support him. Check out his music here.

It’s the kind of moment you can’t really plan for, but it’s worth slowing down for if you hear music drifting through the square.