Bath still hot despite change of focus

The Life: The English city of Bath is worth the 1.5-hour express train ride from London for any business traveller with a day or two to spare for a visit.

Bathers paddle in the roof top pool of the Thermae Bath Spa enjoy in Bath, England. Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Q&A: What about Bath?

How do I get to Bath? From Bristol Airport, the city is only a 20-minute drive away. If you are flying in through London's Heathrow Airport, you can take the Heathrow Express train to Paddington Station, followed by a 1.5-hour rail ride to Bath.

Where might I stay in Bath? The Queensbury Hotel, at about US$300 (Dh1,101) a night, is within walking distance of areas such as the Circus and fashion retailers and art galleries.

If there is extra time available, what is worthwhile seeing? While it is not advisable to bathe at the Roman Baths, the Thermae Bath Spa offers a baths using filtered spring water from the Roman Baths. Treatments are considered extra.

The English city of Bath, named after its well-preserved Roman baths, is a World Heritage site and worth the 1.5-hour express train ride from London for any business traveller with a day or two to spare for a visit.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, people came to soak in its hot springs, meet for tea in the Pump Room and attend balls in the Assembly Rooms. Though that era is in the past, Bath is still an alluring, albeit small, city.

At the Roman Baths, now converted into a museum, the free audio player does a great job explaining how the entire baths complex looked almost 2,000 years ago. The best-known object in the museum's collection is the stone image of the Gorgon - a mythical creature with snakes for hair. Also intriguing are the skeletal remains of a 45-year-old man who was buried at the baths and is believed to have come all the way from Syria, according to isotope analysis,the museum says.

If there's time, fit in the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, a small independent museum dedicated to the astronomer William Herschel, known for his discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781.

The Jane Austen Centre, dedicated to her life and works is minutes away from the Herschel museum. Jane Austen was a resident of bath from 1801 to 1806. Many of the characters in her books Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were born from the city.

Bath's Georgian architecture has made it into films and television series over the years. Be sure to check out the Royal Crescent, a curving sweep of townhouses overlooking a sloping green park. No. 1 Royal Crescent is a restored town house that recreates what life was like for the wealthy in 18th-century Bath.

The nearby Circus, a circular street mimicking Rome's Colosseum, is also a must-see.

There are numerous good restaurants, both plain and fancy.

Top 5: Sites in Bath

1 Roman baths

2 Bath Abbey

3 No 1 Royal Crescent

4 Circus (Georgian architecture)

5 Pulteney Bridge

The Quote: As for Bath, all history went and bathed and drank the waters there. - William Makepeace Thackeray, 19th-century English novelist