Museums in Bath

Bath weekend breaks offer the perfect chance to discover a beautiful city with a wealth of history. One way to find out more about the heritage of this magnificent spa resort is to visit some of its museums. There are collections celebrating everything from Bath's Roman and Georgian past to fashion, food, astronomy and even the postal service.

If you are looking for a boutique bed and breakfast in Bath which you can use as a base to explore the city, Dukes is the answer. Our central location is within easy walking distance of a host of fascinating museums, as well as all kinds of other attractions, from shops to restaurants and theatres. We cater for couples, families, or groups of friends as our hotel has 17 bedrooms, ranging from romantic four posters to family rooms.

Here Dukes has put together a selection of some of the most interesting and unusual museums which you can visit during your Bath weekend breaks.

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The Roman Baths – Open all the year round, this unique piece of history is a must for any visitor to Bath. The centrepiece is the Roman Great Bath, filled with hot spa water, where characters in Roman costumes wander through to add to the atmosphere. You can also see the saunas, changing rooms and other artefacts from the Roman era. The Georgian past is celebrated here too, with the original pump room which was popular in Jane Austen's day. This is now a restaurant, where it is possible to taste the spa water. You can buy a joint ticket for admission to both the baths and the nearby Fashion Museum. 

Fashion Museum – Bath's Assembly Rooms are the historic setting for the city's Fashion Museum, which attracts around 130,000 visitors every year. The massive collection, open all year, includes clothes, fashion plates, dress patterns and much more, ranging from late 16th-century fashions right up to modern-day catwalk designs. You will be offered the chance to dress up in replica clothes, including crinolines and corsets, something which especially appeals to children.

No 1 Royal Crescent – This unique Georgian town house reopened its doors to visitors in summer 2013 after major renovation. It was the first house to be completed in the famous Royal Crescent, and wealthy guests stayed there during spa visits. Ten rooms have all been beautifully fitted out with period furniture, so the house will give you a glimpse of 18th-century life both above and below stairs. It is open all week from February to October, with limited access out of season.

Jane Austen Centre – If you are a lover of literature, a must-see attraction to fit into your weekend breaks in Bath is the Jane Austen Centre. It is open throughout the year, with costumed guides and a fascinating exhibition looking at the author's life in the city and how it affected her classic novels. The centre is in Gay Street, where Jane Austen lived during her time in Bath.

Bath Postal Museum
Fans of hit TV series 'Lark Rise to Candleford' might find this museum strangely familiar. The reason is that its collection served as an inspiration for the costume drama. Bath played an important role in the development of the postal service. Former postmaster Thomas Moore Musgrave is famed for the mailing of the very first postage stamp used anywhere in the world – the original Penny Black. The museum is open year-round, with activities including the chance to perforate your own stamps.

Sally Lunn's Historic Eating House and Museum
Young French Huguenot baker Sally Lunn is said to have created her famous buns in Bath around 1680. This unusual combined museum and restaurant, open all year, offers the chance to see the kitchens where she first cooked the sweet rolls, as well as sampling them. You can also see excavations showing the history of the site from Roman times onwards.

Herschel Museum of Astronomy
William Herschel was the astronomer and musician who discovered the planet Uranus in 1781. The town house where he and his sister Caroline lived, in King Street, is open for most of the year except for a short winter break in December and January. Attractions include Herschel's music room, and the garden where he made his famous discovery using a telescope he had constructed himself.

American Museum in Britain
Despite being just outside the city, the American Museum in Britain is very easy to visit, as there are regular shuttle buses from the centre of Bath. Set in beautiful 120-acre grounds, this is said to be the finest American heritage collection outside the USA. Its collection includes many folk art items and a fine array of quilts, and it stages special exhibitions, activities and concerts for all the family. Its opening season runs from March to November, but it also opens over the Christmas period. The museum is usually closed on Mondays.

These are only some of the great variety of museums in the city. There are also many more, so the only problem you are likely to face during your Bath weekend breaks is that you just won't be able to fit it all in! Dukes boutique bed and breakfast in Bath is the perfect base for your visit at any time of the year, with elegant accommodation and a relaxed atmosphere. We also offer a choice of hearty breakfasts to set you up for a day of sightseeing fun.

Boutique Bed and Breakfast in Bath – contact us now to book your break.