For couples · Bath · United Kingdom
Romantic things to do in Bath
Ideas for a couples' trip, from small moments to a special day out.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain
Quick answer
Bath is one of England's most romantic weekend cities: honey-coloured terraces, candlelit restaurants, a rooftop thermal pool and countryside walks right on the edge of town. Couples tend to stay in City Centre.
Key facts
- Romantic ideas
- 5
- Couple-friendly sights
- 3
- Area for couples
- City Centre
- Best months
- May–June and September
Romantic ideas
1.Rooftop pool at night
Float in Thermae Bath Spa's open-air rooftop pool after dark, with the Abbey floodlit beside you.
2.Royal Crescent at sunset
Watch the low sun turn the crescent's stone gold from the lawns of Royal Victoria Park.
3.Afternoon tea in the Pump Room
Take tea under the chandeliers of the Georgian Pump Room, as Austen's characters did.
4.Canal walk to Bathampton
Follow the Kennet and Avon towpath past narrowboats to a waterside pub for lunch.
5.An evening at the Theatre Royal
See a play at the Georgian Theatre Royal and have a pre-theatre dinner nearby.
Sights couples love
Landmark · City Centre
Pulteney Bridge and weir
Walk down to the riverside below Grand Parade for the classic view of the bridge and weir together.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- Couples
Experience · City Centre
Thermae Bath Spa
Go up to the rooftop pool after dark, when the Abbey is lit up and steam rises from the water.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Couples
- Views
- Rainy day
- After dark
Garden · Widcombe
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Wear sturdy shoes; paths are steep and muddy after rain, and there is no visitor car park.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Outdoors
- Views
- Nature
- Couples
Where couples should stay
$$$ · Best for first-timers, shopping and couples
City Centre
The compact old centre around the Abbey, the Roman Baths and the Pump Room is mostly pedestrianised, with shops along Stall Street, Union Street and Milsom Street and small lanes such as North Parade Passage. Bath Spa station and the bus station are a five-minute walk south. Hotels here are central for everything but often small and pricey.
- Good
- Everything within a few minutes' walk; Near the train and bus stations; Plenty of restaurants
- Watch out
- Crowded with day-trippers and tour groups; Rooms are small and expensive at weekends
- Nearby
- Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, Thermae Bath Spa, Milsom Street
Romantic day trips
- Bradford-on-Avon (About 10–15 minutes by train) — A small stone town on the Avon with a medieval tithe barn, a bridge with a tiny lock-up chapel, a rare Saxon church and a towpath walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal back towards Bath.
- Lacock (About 30–40 minutes by car or bus) — A National Trust village of half-timbered and stone cottages largely unchanged since the 18th century, with Lacock Abbey, where William Henry Fox Talbot made one of the earliest photographic negatives, and many film and TV locations.
- Castle Combe (About 30 minutes by car) — A southern Cotswolds village of honey-coloured stone cottages around a market cross and a bridge over the By Brook, often called one of the prettiest villages in England.
- Wells (About 45 minutes–1 hour 15 minutes by car or bus) — England's smallest city has Wells Cathedral, with its famous scissor arches and carved west front, the moated Bishop's Palace and Vicars' Close, one of the oldest complete residential streets in Europe.
For dinner
Share local specialities such as Bath Soft Cheese, Cheddar cheese and Sunday roast. Pubs usually serve food until about 9pm; order at the bar.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Bath romantic?
Bath is one of England's most romantic weekend cities: honey-coloured terraces, candlelit restaurants, a rooftop thermal pool and countryside walks right on the edge of town.
+What is the most romantic thing to do in Bath?
Rooftop pool at night: Float in Thermae Bath Spa's open-air rooftop pool after dark, with the Abbey floodlit beside you.
+Where should couples stay in Bath?
City Centre: Abbey Churchyard, the Roman Baths and pedestrian shopping lanes.