48 Hours In: Bath

WHY GO NOW?

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WHY GO NOW?

The heroine of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey says, "Oh, who can ever be tired of Bath?" And she was right; there's always something happening in this Unesco World Heritage city. Bath's Fringe Festival (www.bathfringe.co.uk) opened yesterday and runs until 12 June. The Bath International Music Festival (01225 463362; www.bathmusicfest.org.uk) continues until 5 June.

TOUCH DOWN

Driving and parking in Bath is complicated and frustrating. Trains run from London Paddington, the south coast, western England and south Wales. From many other stations, you can change at Bristol Temple Meads or Reading; 08457 48 49 50 or www.nationalrail.co.uk for schedules and fares. Bristol is the nearest airport, with flights from Belfast City on FlyBE (08705 676 676; www.flybe.com); from Edinburgh, Belfast International, Glasgow, Newcastle and (starting in July) Inverness on easyJet (0905 821 0905; www.easyjet.com); from Leeds/Bradford, Newquay, Manchester and Plymouth with Air Southwest (0870 241 8202; www.airsouthwest.com); and from Aberdeen with Eastern Airways (08703 669100; www.easternairways.com). Buses run from the airport to Bristol Temple Meads, where you can connect for one of the frequent trains to Bath Spa, or take a taxi for £35 in around 50 minutes.

GET YOUR BEARINGS

Bath Spa railway station (1) marks the south of the city centre. A short walk north along Manvers Street brings you to the Abbey (2). The tourist information centre (3) (0906 711 2000; www.visitbath.co.uk) is just south; it opens 9.30am-6pm daily except Sundays (10am-4pm). Just to the west are the Roman Baths (4) and Pump Room (5). To the west the main shopping street goes under a series of names - Southgate, Stall Street, Union Street and Milsom Street - as it threads northwards to the top of town. A short way west from here is Bath's expansive Royal Victoria Park, and the Georgian masterpieces of the Royal Crescent (6) and Circus (7).

CHECK IN

The Royal Crescent Hotel (6) (01225 823333; www.royalcrescent.co.uk) charges £290 for a double room, including breakfast and use of the spa. At half the price is the Queensbury Hotel (8), spread over four Georgian townhouses on Russell Street (01225 447928; www.thequeensbury.co.uk). Double rooms cost £145, excluding breakfast; at weekends there's a two-night minimum stay. More central and affordable, at £70 without breakfast, is the Travelodge (9) at 1 York Buildings, George Street (0870 191 1718; www.travelodge.co.uk).

TAKE A RIDE

From the tourist information centre (3), walk east along North Parade Passage towards the open space known indelicately as Bog Island. Adjacent to the Parade Gardens (10), hop on an open-topped City Sightseeing bus (01225 444102; www.city-sightseeing.com) for a 45-minute tour. Buses depart every quarter-hour, 9.30am-5.30pm from North Parade, price £9.

TAKE A HIKE

From Parade Gardens, go east across North Parade Bridge (11), taking in the view of the city draping the hill to the north. On the far side of the bridge, go down the steps inside the north tower, and walk along the river past the rugby ground with splendid views across the river. You won't get lost in the Beazer Garden Maze (12) because it is marked out in paving and has no hedges, but you can see a mosaic of the sun god, Sul, in the middle. Beside the Riverside Café, climb another set of steps to Pulteney Bridge (13). Pause to enjoy the majestic Georgian thoroughfare of Great Pulteney Street towards the Holburne Museum (14); then turn left to walk over the bridge - inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. At the end turn right, before taking the left-hand fork up Broad Street between the Post Office and the church. At number 8 is the Bath Postal Museum (15) (01225 460333; www.bathpostalmuseum.org), where the first postage stamps were despatched in 1840; it opens 11am-5pm daily except Sunday, admission £2.90. At the top of Broad Street, turn left onto George Street and cross at the lights to walk up Bartlett Street - passing antique shops and the Itchy Feet travellers' store. Turn left into Alfred Street for the Assembly Rooms (16) - which also includes the Museum of Costum. It opens 11am-6pm, £6.25.

LUNCH ON THE RUN

Bath's oldest house, built in 1482, is 4 North Parade Passage (17) - home to Sally Lunn's, a restaurant specialising in the bun of the same name, a French brioche that was all the rage in Georgian times. It opens 10am-10pm daily (Sundays from 11am). For a superior sandwich of stilton, cranberry and watercress or onion bahji with lime mayonnaise, head for the café on the top floor of Shoon (18), Old Bond Street. Around the corner in John Street (above the Paxton and Whitfield cheese shop) is Café Fromage (19), which has cheese-based fare like grilled flat mushrooms with stilton and walnuts.

CULTURAL AFTERNOON

The city's steaming soul, is the Roman Baths (4) (01225 477785; www.romanbaths.co.uk), where water heated to 46C gushes from the earth and the Roman remains of Aquae Sulis are revealed. It opens 9am-5pm daily (in July and August until 9pm for torchlit visits), admission £9.50 or £12.50 (saving £3.25) if you buy a combined ticket including the Museum of Costume. A tour of the baths ends in the Pump Room (5), a Georgian social club, where a footman will pour you a free glass of the mineral-ridden spa water. If metallic mouthwash is not to your taste, order tea and a Bath bun in the Tea Room. For more Georgian splendour visit No 1 Royal Crescent (6) (01225 428126; www.bath-preservation-trust.org.uk), the first house built by John Wood the Younger in the crescent; open 10.30am-5pm daily except Monday, £4.

WINDOW SHOPPING

In 1740 Shires Yard (20) was a stable that belonged to the Mayor of Bath; today it hosts designer shops selling everything from clothes, shoes and jewellery to flowers, oils, and chocolates. Bath's "alternative" shopping district is Walcot Street (21) where you'll find Harvest, a vegetarian whole food shop (an ideal place to buy a picnic), Walcot Reclamation Architectural Antiques, and the imaginative toy-shop, Tridias.

AN APERITIF

In the cellars under the high pavement of George Street is Sub 13 (22), serving good beer and wine plus subterranean snacks. Above ground to the north of Walcot Street is the Bell pub (23) - with 10 different ales from local breweries.

DINING WITH THE LOCALS

For fine French cuisine and sensational wines head for one of Bath's oldest restaurants, the Beaujolais (24) at 5 Chapel Row (01225 423417). Equally good is the Circus Restaurant (25) at 34 Brock Street. Dinner for two in both places costs around £70. The Bathtub Bistro (26) at 2 Grove Street, east of Pulteney Bridge (01225 460593), is cheaper, more informal - and, like the Tardis, bigger than it appears from the outside.

SUNDAY MORNING: TAKE A VIEW

Bath is surrounded by seven hills - a feature which, apparently, made the Romans feel homesick. The best of many viewpoints is from Beckford's Tower and Museum (27), north of the city on Lansdown (01225 460705), a 120-foot neo-classical tower built in 1827. Reach it on bus 7 or 702. William Beckford (1760-1844) was a writer, collector and patron of the arts and he used it as a retreat. Climb the spiral staircase (154 steps) to the refurbished Belvidere (as spelt in Beckford's time) with a 360-degree view; on a good day you can see the White Horse at Westbury. On the way down, admire Beckford's furniture, rare books, paintings and prints. The tower opens 10.30am-5pm weekends and Bank Holiday Mondays, £3.

OUT TO BRUNCH

Same-Same But Different (28), 7A Prince's Building, opens 10am-4pm on Sundays (9am-midnight on other days) and offers a Big Desayuno (sausage, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, black pudding, beans, and toast with fruit juice) and a Vegetarian Desayuno (with grilled peppers and saute potatoes).

SUNDAY AFTERNOON: GO TO CHURCH

The 15th-century Abbey (2) rises from the ruins of a Norman predecessor and dominates the city skyline. Look up at the stone angels climbing ladders towards heaven on the West Front. Inside, admire the delicate fan vaulting on the ceiling. On Sundays non-worshippers are allowed in between 1pm-2.30pm and 4.30-5.30pm. For worshippers, the main Sunday service starts at 9.15am; on other days you can also visit the Bath Abbey Heritage Vaults, open 10am-4pm, £2.

A WALK IN THE PARK

One reason Jane Austen didn't like Bath was that it lacked a park. That omission was rectified in 1830 when Royal Victoria Park opened. However, in summer the Parade Gardens (10), in the middle of town close to Pulteney Weir, is a fine place to sit or stroll. On summer Sundays local bands play in its old-fashioned bandstand at 3pm. Admission is 95p.

WRITE A POSTCARD

Even if you don't stay at the Royal Crescent Hotel (6), take afternoon tea there (£16.50 for two) and jot down your thoughts in the manicured gardens - a Georgian haven of peace and tranquillity.

ICING ON THE CAKE

On 4 and 5 June the Bedlam Fair takes place: a free street festival of live theatre and music in the city's parks, squares and streets. Expect walkabout performers, street dance, circus acts and art installations.

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