When the celebrated author Jane Austen made Bath her home, from 1801 to 1806, the city was a thriving spa resort, popular with fashionable society.
Retrace Jane’s steps on your visit to Bath and you will discover the same elegant yet vibrant city which provided inspiration for two of her six published novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.
There are plenty of ways to discover Jane Austen's Bath. Plan a visit to the Jane Austen Centre during your trip, or join in the Jane Austen Festival for a more immersive experience.
Indulge in some Regency-inspired activities such as taking to the naturally warm waters at Thermae Bath Spa and promenading along elegant Georgian streets on a Jane Austen tour. Begin at Gravel Walk, the Lover's Lane of Jane Austen's day and the setting for a touching love scene in Persuasion. As you stroll along Gravel Walk, look out for the discreet door into the Georgian Garden, which has been sympathetically restored to how it would have appeared in Jane Austen’s time.
Enjoy a quintessential afternoon tea at The Pump Room, once described by Austen as the place where 'every creature in Bath was to be seen in the room at different periods of the fashionable hours'. Alternatively, sample a taste of time gone by at Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House.
Then rest your head, after a day about town, in the grandeur of a four-poster bed or a charming period townhouse, ideal for families or small groups.
Whatever your Jane Austen experience, you are sure to share Catherine Morland’s sentiment in Northanger Abbey: 'They arrived in Bath. Catherine was all eager delight; her eyes were here, there, everywhere, as they approached its fine and striking environs, and afterwards drove through those streets which conducted them to the hotel. She was come to be happy, and she felt happy already'.