What to see in Bath (England) in 1 day, from Roman baths to the Gothic abbey

One of the essential visits in your trip through the south of england is thermal city of bath, which you find a little more than two hours west of London, near Bristol.

I have already visited it a couple of times, and especially on my most recent visit I have been able to better discover the great charms it has. Bath. declared city Heritage awarded by the Unesco.

To position you for your future trip, I am going to tell you several historical curiosities, and I am going to highlight the best that see trust your Bath visit with their Main tourist attractions.

To know the importance of your historical roots, the information helps you that Bath It was converted by the Romans, in the first century of our era, into the first spa in england.

Curiosities from the history of the thermal city of Bath

Now, it is estimated that the existence of the hot springs that have made this city in the south of England so famous date back to about one hundred thousand years ago!!

During their occupation, the Romans built walls and a temple next to the hot spring.

From the Roman temple to the Gothic Abbey

After the departure of the Romans in the 8th century, an Anglo-Saxon church was built where the Roman temple was located.

This was followed in the 11th century by a cathedral of norman style and, finally, at the beginning of the 16th century, the gothic abbey which you can now visit in your tourist trip to Bath.

It is a building that stands out for its Perpendicular Gothic style architecture, of which its main façade stands out, with a huge stained glass window, and its great interior luminosity.

Georgian architecture buildings

The next notable stage in the history of Bath, in which the city that we can now see is configured, takes place in the 19th century.

At that time the architects Wood the Elder and his son, Wood the Younger, they build numerous neoclassical style buildings for whose construction they used a type of honey colored stone extracted from quarries in the area.

It is now known as the bath stone, and its consistency and color give the so-called Georgian architecture of the city a characteristic style.

The best expression of this type of architecture are the groups of buildings known as Royal Crescent y The Circus.

What to see on a visit to Bath, our experience

When visit the city of BathBased on the experience of the two visits I have made to this city so far, there are two areas where you should focus.

Roman Baths of Bath

On the one hand, in the historic center is where you find the aforementioned Roman Baths, which are located next to the gothic abbey.

These hot springs house the unique hot water springs What is there in Britain.

The original hot springs date back to the 6th century, and during your visit you will be able to see what is known as Sacred Spring through which hot waters flow.

Here you have all the information for visit the Roman baths of Bath.

Pump Room, Georgian style tea room in Bath

Next to the thermal baths building is the Tea Room pump-room, a very popular corner where visitors can drink the spring waters.

Gothic Bath Abbey

The great attraction of Bath Abbey is located in its imposing Perpendicular Gothic style architecture, whose best expression is in its west facade.

In fact, the origins of Bath Abbey dates back year 757 , when the aforementioned Anglo-Saxon church was located in the place now occupied by said abbey, which was destroyed by the Normans in 1066.

These rose in the year 1090 a Norman style cathedral, but due to its enormous dimensions and the impossibility of maintaining it, the building was left in ruins.

Journalist Jorge Méndez was in 1499.  when the current building of the Abbey of Bath.

After the dissolution of the monasteries decreed by the King Henry VIII In 1539, the building was abandoned, but it was finally completed in 1611.

La Bath Abbey You will find it very easily when you arrive in this small town in the south of England.

Located in the center of it, it is located next to the largest tourist attraction in Bath, the aforementioned Roman Baths.

When you agree to visit la bath abbey, you will be surprised by its great interior luminosity, especially if you visit it when it starts to get dark, hours when sunlight comes in strongly through its large windows.

Indeed, the enormous stained glass windows They are arranged not only on the west façade but on all the façades of the abbey.

From the architectural point of view, you should look at the beautiful fan vault of the central nave of the abbey, which was added in 1874.

Bath Abbey Visiting Hours

The  Bath Abbey visiting hours They are: Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 17,30:XNUMX p.m., with last access half an hour before.

On Saturdays it closes at 18 p.m., and on Sundays, visiting hours are adjusted to those of masses, opening from 13,14:14,30 p.m. to 16,30:18,15 p.m. and from XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. to XNUMX:XNUMX p.m.

La Entry to Bath Abbey is free, although they will ask you for a voluntary donation.

Tours and guided visits in Bath Abbey

During your visit you can climb the tower of Bath Abbey in a tour, which lasts 45-60 minutes.

To reach the top of the tower, you will have to climb 212 steps and on the way you will pass over the vaulted ceiling of the abbey and sit inside the clock on the main façade.

Here you can consult the schedules and ticket prices to climb the tower, which vary depending on the time of year.

Pulteney Bridge

On your walk through this area, in addition to seeing the characteristic stately atmosphere of the buildings of Bath, you can also see the history Pulteney Bridge,

When you see it, I can tell you that in some ways it may remind you of the famous Ponte Vecchio in Florence It also has a succession of shops on both sides.

He took the Florentine bridge as a reference Robert Adam, the 18th-century English architect who was commissioned to build the Bath City Bridge, which crosses the river avon.

El Pulteney Bridge It was completed in 1773, although since then it has undergone various renovations, and on your visit to Bath you will find it very close to the Gothic abbey.

Parade Gardens

From the top of the Parade Gardens that extend along the banks of the river avon, in front of the cathedral, where there is another bridge, you can already see the Pulteney Bridge, whose exterior configuration already shows you the row of shops on its south side.

When you reach the bridge, you will be able to see various stores, from antiques to a tea room where you can sit and have tea next to a window from where you can see the river.

I can tell you that due to the width of the road and the configuration of the stores, you will not have the feeling of being on a bridge.

As a curiosity, I will tell you that in the year 1800 the bridge had to be renovated since the north façade was badly damaged by floods.

In any case, now you will be able to see that this last façade is much less elegant than the south one, which maintains a much more uniform architectural design.

Royal Crescent, Georgian architecture in Bath

When you visit Bath, you must not miss seeing two large buildings that are one of the best examples of Georgian architecture in England.

La Georgian architecture It is a style that developed in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, coinciding with the successive reign of four kings with the name of Jorge, hence its name.

This Architectonic style which you can see profusely in London and many other British cities, represents a return to the neoclassical architecture based on the architectural works of the Renaissance Andrea Palladio.

During the great boom of Bath , the spa town At the end of the 18th century, it became necessary to undertake urban development.

In this way, between 1767 and 1774 the complex of buildings known as Royal Crescent, which is currently one of the most characteristic images of Bath.

It is a succession of 33 semi-detached buildings that form a large semicircle in front of a large meadow.

This special configuration is the result of the attempt by architect John Wood the Elder to recreate a Roman circus, although the building was finally built by his son of the same name.

When you arrive before the Great Royal Crescent Meadow, you will be able to see the impressive facade with classical decoration and ionic columns of these buildings in which notable people from Bath have lived since their construction.

Currently, a large hotel and a museum are located between the buildings.

The Circus, Georgian architecture in Bath

Very close to Royal Crescent is The Circus, a large circle of neoclassical buildings whose long façade is interrupted by the access of three streets.

The Circus It is considered the masterpiece of the aforementioned John Wood the Elder, who finished it in 1768.

Tours in Spanish to visit Bath

If instead of going on your own from London you prefer to sign up for one organized excursion, here you have the information of the tour in Spanish to Winsdor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath, which is done in a single day.

Also for a day trip you can sign up for the tour in Spanish to Stonehenge, Salisbury, Bath and Winsdor 12 hours long.

Finally, here you have information and you can reserve various Tours and guided visits in Bath.

Map: where it is and how to get to Bath

La city ​​of bath You can find it in the southwest of England, near Bristol, a city where flights arrive from Spain, and it is also not far from Cardiff, the capital of Wales.