Bath Forum: First time visit to bath :)

Hi,

We are in Bath at moment - a weeks holiday and having a lovely time. So lucky with the weather!

Anyway, I have to say that The Raven is a lovely spot for some lunch. Pie and mash - a great choice on the menu. You must visit - we have been twice so far. Enjoy!

Definitely go to both the roman baths and the thermae spa. Go to the baths first and get the history and feel of the place, then go for a dip at the spa, where they have kind of replicated what happens at the baths, seeing as you can't swim there. We loved them both such a lovely day out! :)

As you mention the (high!)price for the baths have you considered having a coffee/tea/drink at the Pump Room; you can see the baths quite well from the windows on the far side of the room and particularly if you pip through to use the loos. You also get to enjoy the lovely Pump Rooms for the price of a drink!

I too, thought the tickets to the Roman Baths were high, but that was before my visit; I had no idea how extensive the tour would be, and what a fascinating venture that was. Well worth the money. I think we spent about 3 hours down in the baths, learning about the Roman civilization, how and why the baths were used, etc. If you just look at them, and don't do the audio guide, you won't really know what you're looking at, and won't fully appreciate it.

Through Roman baths are a must as well as elevenes in the pump room.

If you walk up to the circus and then the cresent, make a mini detour to "hansel and gretel" in the road just before the cresent. It is an alpine home store with a strudel bar in the basement!!!

How interested are you in history? f you are wondering about whether you should go to the Roman Baths, then my hunch is that you would probably prefer to spend the money somewhere else. That said, as a local who gets free access, I rarely hesitate to drag visitors around when they visit. Somebody has tried really hard to make to put the exhibits/artefacts into context. If you've ever sat through an episode of Time Team and enjoyed it, you've a fighting chance of enjoying a couple of hours at the Roman Baths

[Just to clarify in case there was any doubt, you MUST NOT swim or even dip your finger in the water in the Roman Baths. The officials are worried that you'll catch some sort of disease. In contrast, they conduct all manner of tests at the Thermae Spa to avoid lawsuits].

The HoHo bus is an optional extra on a trip to Bath. The City centre itself fits comfortably into a square mile (probably much less, but I've not measured it). If you were thinking "oh, but I wanted to do the Skyline walk or visit Prior Park, send me a PM and I'll double check the local bus service; the route changed recently).

Another option for the slightly lazy (but sensible tourist) would be to get a taxi to take you up to a viewpoint and then walk back down the hill.

Pubs, like restaurants, are a bit of a personal choice.

ooh thanks to you all for your comments and tips! They are very much appreciated :) Think the baths, the thermae spa, the pump room, the Hansel & Gretel strudel bar and the Raven pub for pie and mash are all a must!

It was also interesting to learn that we cant as much as dip in the Roman Baths water...very much looking forward to visiting the city now!

The Baths get 3/4 of a million visitors a year - imagine the damage it would cause if they all wanted a dip in the Baths.

My wife's graduation ball, in the late 1970's was one of the last times people were allowed to swim in the Great Bath. A few years after that an 11 year old girl died after catching meningitis from the spa water fountain, and since then swimming has been banned.

They found an alternative, disease free, supply, btw.

Hi ,visiting Bath for the first time in April with 3 kids aged 5,4 and 2.We fly to Bristol and plan on hiring a car and driving to Bath,won't get to Bath til about 7.30/8pm.Hope to stay central in self catering accomodation but will have a car to spend a day or more driving around the countryside.Lots of kid friendly stops needed,any ideas would be very much welcomed.Also want to see as much as we can but can't see the kids lasting on a 3 hr tour of the Roman Baths!!!.Can small kids go to the Thermal baths?We have three days to do everything!

Royal Victoria Park sounds fun for kids,maze at Beazer gardens maybe??Is Longleat worth a visit?how long would you need ,don't want to spend all day there?Is the Avon Valley Railway worth a trip,have a few Thomas the Train fans!

My husband and I really want to go to Stonehenge and /or Avebury,any ideas for a day on the road taking these in with some pretty villages like Castle Combe,Malmesbury??

Also any ideas if the weather is wet??

Thanks for your time