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With a splashy new spa on the way, this charming English city heads into the future.
Clearly visible on the soaring west front of Bath Abbey is a row of stone angels scrambling up a ladder to heaven. The crowd that collects in the square below, though, tends to be more earthbound: On any given day, there can be seen circling acrobats, musicians, mimes, and a pair of jugglers famous for stripping down to black leather thongs as they toss their flaming torches.
FAST FACTS Bath's status as England's best getaway city has something to do with convenience. The regular 90-minute train ride southwest from London delivers you to another world, and the relatively contained town means you can circle every photogenic square twice, even if you have less than 48 hours. DON'T MISS Start your tour where the city's Roman conquerors did—at the baths that were founded in 75 A.D. and are still fed by the town's fortune-making natural mineral springs. Surrounded by an extensive museum of archaeological finds, which includes the bust of a Roman matron sprouting the original Marge Simpson bouffant, the murky pool of steaming water throws even tour groups into a meditative state. Just as majestic is the monument to Bath's second golden age: architect John Wood the Younger's Royal Crescent of joined and classically Georgian town houses. A few blocks away the Jane Austen Centre lets you play the local version of "Where's Waldo?" by offering a rundown of every city landmark the writer visited. You won't find any traces of her, though, at the Royal Photographic Society, where the cutting-edge exhibits suggest Bath still has a thriving artistic soul. WHERE THE LOCALS EAT The proof that England's culinary coup isn't confined to London, Lettonie comes by its two Michelin stars honestly. Forget kidney pie and puddings. Chef Blunos has perfected a new hybrid of classic French and rustic Latvian fare that leans toward roasted sweetbreads on creamed leeks, scrambled duck eggs topped with Sevruga caviar, and a feathery banana and caramel soufflè, all dished up in an elegant Georgian manor. The Bath Priory Restaurant also serves rarefied food (think partridge breast with foie gras, and guinea fowl with calvados and lime) in a plush room overlooking the garden. For more casual dining, the Green Street Seafood Café, where the fish is caught fresh daily, features a New Age swordfish that reinvents fish and chips. Why, though, miss out on the real thing? For the best taste of die-hard English tradition, head for the doll-size Bath Bun Tea Room, where shortbread bigger than a brick comes topped with chocolate and caramel, and the coffee gâteau wears a double layer of butter cream. A short walk from downtown Bath, through lush Royal Victoria Park, the Bath Priory Hotel is the kind of Gothic manor that could have slid off the cover of a romance novel. Surrounded by four acres of gardens, it has recently been outfitted with a spa and gym, but the real mood is less hard-body than soft-edged; each guest room offers a cocoon of overstuffed chintz sofas. Closer to Bath's museum quarter, the Queensberry Hotel approximates a Regency daydream, and the Royal Crescent Hotel lets you wake up to a view of the sweeping crescent itself, laid out like a stone tiara. Best bargains are Dukes' Hotel and the Number 93 B&B, but if Bath's aristocratic air rubs off, and you need one night of real opulence, head 11 miles southwest to Ston Easton Park: an antique-strewn Palladian mansion cum hotel that makes your average Merchant-Ivory set look threadbare. SHOPPING More than 60 vendors at the Bartlett Street Antiques Centre hawk enough Staffordshire figurines to have cleaned out every attic between Dorset and Devon. For less breakable English souvenirs try George Bayntun, a Dickensian bookshop piled with morocco-bound Victorian novels, or Antique Textiles, where the heirloom paisley shawls and beaded bags let you play serious dress up. THREE-HOUR ITINERARY To capture the 18th-century soul of the perfect Georgian city start at the Circus—a graceful loop of town houses that glow golden in the morning sun. Make a pit stop at the nearby Museum of Costume and Assembly Rooms, where one voluminous ball gown resembles a Rose Bowl float. Then head through the center of town across the Pulteney Bridge to the Holburne Museum of Art and its impeccable collection of British portraits. Complete the period promenade at the Pump Room, where the Georgian fashionables once gathered to drink the curative waters. High tea is served next to a fitting statue of Beau Nash—the extreme, 18th-century dandy who became famous for dressing well and turning fun into the highest art. Bath couldn't have found a better local hero. TRAVELWISE
Sightseeing, Culture, Shopping Restaurants & Bars Bath Bun Tea Room: 3 Lilliput Court, +44 1225 462413.
Lodgings
The Bath Priory Hotel: Weston Rd., +44 1225 331922, fax +44 1225 448276. $362 U.S. (including breakfast). www.thebathpriory.co.uk
Visitor Information Bath Tourist Information Centre: Abbey Chambers, Abbey Churchyard, Bath BA1 1LY, +44 1225 477101, www.visitbath.co.uk; or the British Tourist Authority: 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 701, New York, NY 10176; 800 462 2748 (U.S. and Canada), www.travelbritain.org. The information in this story was accurate at the time it was published, but we suggest you confirm all details before making travel plans.
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