Bath is a historic Roman and Georgian spa city. It is famous for its hot springs, Roman period baths, Medieval heritage and stately Georgian architecture. Bath has been double UNESCO-listed as a World Heritage Site, both in its own right (in 1987) and as one of 11 "Great Spa Towns of Europe" (in 2021). Set in the rolling Somerset countryside on the southern edge of the Cotswolds, Bath (with a population around 90,000) offers a diverse range of attractions for its 4.4 million visitors each year: restaurants, theatres, cinemas, pubs and nightclubs, along with interesting museums, and a wide range of guided tours. It is also a university city.
Bath is among the oldest of England’s principal tourist destinations and has been welcoming visitors for centuries. The three hot springs within the city were sacred to the Celtic goddess Sulis, whom the Romans later identified with the goddess Minerva. Bath first achieved its status as a sacred spa site with the growth of the Roman settlement Aquae Sulis around the thermal springs.
The Roman period saw a vast complex of baths constructed - the remains of these were re-discovered in the 18th century and helped fuel Bath's modern revival as a luxury resort.
- Wikivoyage
