Photo: MichaelMaggs (CC BY-SA 2.5), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Bath
The best holidays are planned around great days out. Here's what's on the doorstep in Bath, from big-ticket attractions to rainy-day savers.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
🎟️ This weekend near Bath
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 19:30
Evening of Mediumship with Nikki Kitt - Chipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, Chipping Sodbury, Br · 11.0 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Glastonbury Audio Tour: A Sacred Tapestry Tour
Glastonbury Abbey, Glastonbury · 22.4 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Birmingham Audio Tour: Birmingham's Eastside Odyssey
Martineau Place, Birmingham · 1.6 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Bath Highlights Audio Tour: Georgian Splendour
Roman Baths (Bath), Bath · 0.0 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Aquariums
11.4 mi from Bath
Bristol Aquarium
Bristol Aquarium sits in the heart of the city on the historic Harbourside, with more than 40 naturally-themed displays of tropical sharks, rays, seahorses, turtles and other aquat...
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Museums & Galleries
0 mi from Bath
Bath World Heritage Centre
Bath World Heritage Centre sits right in the centre of Bath, near Bath Abbey, and is free to enter. Inside you'll find interactive exhibits and displays exploring what gives the ci...
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0.1 mi from Bath
Bath Medical Museum
Bath Medical Museum is a volunteer-run organisation celebrating the rich medical history of Bath, based in the Hetling Room at Thermae Bath Spa. You can explore collections dating...
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0.3 mi from Bath
Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution
The Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution is a long-established museum and cultural hub in central Bath, offering talks, exhibitions and youth education projects covering sc...
0.3 mi from Bath
Mary Shelly's House of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's House of Frankenstein is a multi-sensory museum in Bath exploring the story behind Shelley's novel, with a creepy basement walkthrough available alongside the main e...
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0.3 mi from Bath
Jane Austen Centre
The Jane Austen Centre is a Regency-themed museum in Bath exploring how the city shaped Jane Austen's life and writing, with an accompanying Regency Tea Room serving afternoon tea...
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0.4 mi from Bath
Herschel Museum of Astronomy
The Herschel Museum of Astronomy is the former Georgian home of astronomers William and Caroline Herschel, set at 19 New King Street in Bath. You can explore the workshop where Wil...
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0.4 mi from Bath
Assembly Rooms and Fashion Museum
Fashionable dress for men, women and children from the late 16th century to the present day
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0.4 mi from Bath
Museum of Bath Architecture
The Museum of Bath Architecture explores the city's architectural story, from medieval beginnings through Georgian Palladianism to the present day. It's housed in the Countess of H...
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0.4 mi from Bath
Museum of East Asian Art
The Museum of East Asian Art is an independent educational charity based in a converted Georgian townhouse in Bath, holding a collection of over 2,000 objects from East and Southea...
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0.5 mi from Bath
No.1 Royal Crescent Museum
No.1 Royal Crescent is a restored Georgian townhouse museum on Bath's famous Royal Crescent, furnished as it would have looked between 1776 and 1796. You wander from room to room u...
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0.5 mi from Bath
Holburne Museum
The Holburne Museum is Bath's first art museum, set in a striking building where a permanent collection sits alongside a changing programme of exhibitions and events. You can explo...
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1.6 mi from Bath
Museum of Bath Stone
The Museum of Bath Stone tells the story of Combe Down and the oolitic limestone that built Georgian Bath, from its formation 160 million years ago to its use by Ralph Allen and Jo...
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2 mi from Bath
Beckford's Tower
Beckford's Tower is a Georgian tower and museum just outside Bath, built for collector William Beckford, telling his story while honestly addressing the transatlantic slave trade t...
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2.1 mi from Bath
The American Museum (Claverton Manor)
The American Museum & Gardens sits on a hilltop estate at Claverton, just outside Bath, with American collections displayed in the manor house alongside changing special exhibition...
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5.3 mi from Bath
Bradford on Avon Museum
This small, volunteer-run museum tells the story of Bradford on Avon and the surrounding villages of the old Hundred of Bradford, with collections covering local industries, natura...
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7.2 mi from Bath
Radstock Museum
Radstock Museum tells the story of the former Somerset Coalfield and the life of a typical Somerset coal miner and his family, with permanent displays on mining heritage and a rece...
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10.4 mi from Bath
Frome Museum
Frome Museum in Frome, Somerset, England houses a collection of local history and has a particularly important collection of artefacts from the bronze foundry of J. W. Singer. — Wikipedia
10.6 mi from Bath
Glenside Hospital Museum
Glenside Hospital Museum sits in a Grade II listed former asylum church in Fishponds, Bristol, documenting the history of mental health and learning disability care through medical...
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Theme Parks
28.9 mi from Bath
Brean Theme Park
Brean Theme Park is a free-admission theme park just off the M5 in Brean, Somerset, offering a day of rides and attractions for all ages. You'll find roller coasters, dodgems, a tr...
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Zoos & Wildlife
24.9 mi from Bath
Slimbridge Wetland Centre
Slimbridge Wetland Centre is a wildlife reserve and visitor attraction where you can explore adventure play areas, take a canoe safari, join expert-led talks and tours, and visit S...
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Where to stay near Bath
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Bath
Haunted Britain
Bath is a city you can walk end to end, which makes it one of the easier places in the West Country to plan a day around. The honeypot sights sit close together, the smaller museums fill in the gaps when the weather turns, and within a short drive there's a run of grand houses and gardens that most visitors never get to. With 287 places to stay on BritStays across the region, it also works well as a base rather than a day trip.
Start with the Roman Baths
The Roman Baths are the reason most people come, and they earn it. Give them more time than you think you need — it's the kind of place where you drift from room to room reading things. Go early in the day if you can, partly for the light and partly because the central streets fill up as the morning goes on. Check opening arrangements before you travel, as the busiest sites often want you to book a slot.
Afterwards, stay on foot. The Museum of Bath Architecture is a good second stop because it explains what you've just been walking through — why the terraces look the way they do, how the city was put together. Pair it with the Museum of Bath Stone and you get the full story, from the quarries to the finished frontages. Together they turn a pretty city into a legible one, and both are small enough that you won't flag.
Rainy-day plans
Bath copes well with rain, mostly because so much of it is indoors and close together. A sensible wet-weather run is the Roman Baths, then the Museum of Bath Architecture, then a long sit-down somewhere warm. If you're driving out for the day instead, the wider region has plenty of small, dry, slightly offbeat museums:
- Cirencester Air Raid Shelter, in the Cotswolds — short, atmospheric and good with older children.
- Arcade Archive in Gloucestershire, if you've got teenagers to win over.
- Glastonbury Tribunal in Somerset, a quick stop that fits neatly into a bigger day out.
- Dean Heritage Museum in Gloucestershire, for a proper couple of hours under cover.
Heritage days out beyond the city
This is where Bath really pays off as a base. Dyrham Park is National Trust and the obvious first choice — house, parkland, the lot — and three of the region's big properties are Trust-owned, so membership is worth doing the sums on before you pay individual admissions.
Beyond that, Iford Manor is known for its gardens and makes a gentle half-day; Great Chalfield Manor is the sort of moated medieval house that photographs better than it has any right to. Badminton House and Ashton Court Mansion House are both worth a look, and Sutton Court, Saltford Manor House and Beckington Castle round out the list. A word of caution: opening varies enormously at houses like these, and some are far more limited than others, so ring or check the website rather than turning up hopefully. The Bishop's Palace is the one to pick if you want moat, grounds and a proper afternoon's wandering.
Family days out
Small children need more than museums. Aquaventure in the Cotswolds is the one to keep in your back pocket for a hot day or a washout — both work. Towards Weston-super-Mare, Brean Down Bird Garden suits younger ones, Webbington Farm is straightforward outdoor fun, and Oakham Treasures is a genuinely enormous collection of old shop and farm paraphernalia that grandparents tend to enjoy more loudly than the children do. Any one of these makes a full day with travel either side; don't try to stack two.
Where to eat
All of these hold 5-star hygiene ratings, which is a reasonable first filter when you're somewhere new:
- Boston Tea Party — reliable for breakfast before an early start at the Roman Baths.
- Coffee#1 — the quick mid-walk stop when you just need to sit down.
- The Larkhall Deli — good for picking up lunch to take out to a house or garden.
- One — a proper tea-room pause between museums.
- The Assembly Inn — the evening option, when you want a pub rather than another cafe.
Making it a short break
Three nights is the sweet spot. Day one on foot in the city: Roman Baths, Museum of Bath Stone, Museum of Bath Architecture, dinner at The Assembly Inn. Day two by car to Dyrham Park or Iford Manor, with a deli lunch. Day three either Great Chalfield Manor and The Bishop's Palace together, or a family day at Aquaventure or Oakham Treasures.
Practical notes: parking in central Bath is awkward and expensive, so choose a stay you can walk from or plan to park once and leave the car. Pack shoes you can walk hills in — the city is steeper than it looks on a map. And if your trip hinges on one particular house, confirm its opening days first and build the rest of the itinerary around that.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main thing to see in Bath?
The Roman Baths. It's the city's best-known landmark and worth building your first day around. Go early if you can, and check opening arrangements before you travel, as busy sites often ask you to book a time slot.
What can we do in Bath if it rains?
Stay in the city and move between indoor sites: the Roman Baths, the Museum of Bath Architecture and the Museum of Bath Stone are all close enough to link on foot. Further afield, Cirencester Air Raid Shelter in the Cotswolds, Arcade Archive and Dean Heritage Museum in Gloucestershire, and Glastonbury Tribunal in Somerset all give you a dry couple of hours.
Are there any National Trust places near Bath?
Yes. Dyrham Park is National Trust, and three of the region's properties in total are Trust-owned, so if you're planning more than one visit it's worth checking whether membership works out cheaper than individual admissions.
What is there for children to do around Bath?
Aquaventure in the Cotswolds is the obvious family choice and works in both hot and wet weather. Towards Weston-super-Mare you've got Brean Down Bird Garden for younger children, Webbington Farm for outdoor fun, and Oakham Treasures for a big indoor collection. Each of these fills a day once you've added travel, so don't try to combine two.
Where should we eat in Bath?
Boston Tea Party is handy for breakfast before an early start, Coffee#1 for a quick stop mid-walk, One for a sit-down tea-room break, The Larkhall Deli for lunch to take out to a garden or house, and The Assembly Inn when you want a pub in the evening. All of these hold 5-star hygiene ratings.
Which historic houses can we visit near Bath?
Iford Manor is known for its gardens, Great Chalfield Manor is a moated medieval house, and Dyrham Park has house and parkland together. Badminton House, Ashton Court Mansion House, Sutton Court, Saltford Manor House and Beckington Castle are also in the region, along with The Bishop's Palace. Opening varies a lot between them, so check before setting out rather than turning up on spec.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Bath.