The stakes are high for a trip to Bath: we know too much about this golden city. There are the Roman Baths of primary school textbooks, and the Georgian splendour of every period drama that you’ve ever watched. Bath is the only city in the UK to be a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in its entirety, so it has plenty to brag about. But the secret to a trip to Bath is ticking off the big sights without realising that’s what you’re doing, soaking up the crescents and parades by winding down alleys and away from the camera-wielding coachloads of tourists to uncover a cooler side to the city.
There are farm-to-fork spots to flit between; craft coffee spots to refuel at; independent shops to lazily browse; and speciality cocktails waiting in the wings for after dark. It’s all walkable (brace yourself for some lung-busting hills; the city is in a bowl-shaped valley), but to save you crossing your tracks, here’s our guide for how to spend three near-perfect days in Bath over a long weekend.
Day One
Morning
There’s a relief that comes with getting to the good stuff first, which is why weaving to the top of Milsom Street and George Street towards the Royal Crescent for a Regency fix is a good place to start. Arm yourself with a coffee and cardamom bun at the newly opened bakery Morso on Saville Row before making your way via a peek at the Assembly Rooms (Georgian Bath’s social hub, currently being revamped and due to reopen in 2027), through John Wood the Elder’s Circus and onto Margaret’s Buildings. Here Arte House is due to open at the end of the summer 2026 (where design studio Berdoulat once was) – a trove of antiques, sculpture, modern British art, textiles and homeware. Then there’s 8 Holland Street to dive into, the go-to gallery and design store, on the corner of Margaret’s Buildings and Brock Street, before you reach the big-hitting Royal Crescent. For lunch it’s a short hop back to Saville Row and the Beckford Bottle Shop for a stool in the window, a cold glass of Picpoul and a steady stream of small plates.
