Are the Roman Baths worth a visit?

The Roman Baths in Bath, England, are a breath taking historical site that offer a unique glimpse into ancient Rome today. We often get asked by our guests about them and we hope you find the information below useful. Whilst a visit to the "Roman Baths Museum" is not essential to your visit to Bath, it may be something that you want to factor into your time there, and YES, there will be adequate time to visit The Roman Baths whilst on our tour, should you wish to…

The Roman Baths are one of the best examples of Roman remains in Britain where you can see first hand the ancient Roman bathing experience, whilst standing inside a stunning Georgian structure. The 18th-century Pump Room, with its elegant architecture, surrounds the Roman remains, blending two iconic periods of the city's history. As you explore the preserved Roman baths below, you’ll be immersed in the rich heritage of Bath, where the grandeur of Georgian design complements the remarkable Roman engineering and culture. This unique setting offers a fascinating contrast between ancient and more recent history.

The Pump Room at the Roman Baths is an elegant Georgian salon, famous for its grand chandeliers, high ceilings, and classical columns. Built in the late 18th century, it was a social hub where visitors came to "take the waters", known for its healing properties, from the natural hot springs. Today, it remains a beautiful setting where visitors can dine or enjoy afternoon tea, overlooking the ancient Roman Baths, making it a perfect blend of history and refinement.

Built around natural hot springs nearly 2,000 years ago, the site includes the impressive Great Bath, the Sacred Spring, and a temple dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva. Perfectly preserved, this iconic attraction showcases ancient Roman engineering and culture, making it one of England’s top historical destinations.

On our tours that visit Bath, we aim to be on the ground in Bath for 2 to 2.5 hours - this includes time for a short walking tour of the centre of the city - and/or a visit to the Roman Baths if you wish. We then complete a panoramic driving tour of the most significant and beautiful parts of the city that are a little too far to walk to and get back from in the time that we have. 

We don't include entry to the Roman baths museum. The museum inside is very good, but on a typical tour only around half our guests are interested in visiting so we like to give people the choice.

While the Roman Baths museum is very interesting, unless you are very into Roman history and or are an absolutely avid photographer, a visit is not absolutely necessary!

It is a very interesting building, but the name is rather misleading, as the building only dates back around 300 years - the original Roman Baths were built almost 2000 years ago but fell down and crumbled into the ground in the 5th century when the Roman empire collapsed. The current building has only been known as the "Roman" Baths since the Victorians in the 19th century, while digging some new foundations, came across some old Roman stonework in the ground. They then set about trying to make the building look as Roman as they could. So the "Roman" baths are more Victorian than Roman, although there are some Roman remains, discovered in the ground, on display.

If you know for certain that you wish to enter the Baths museum, then you can pre-purchase your tickets HERE We advise guests that they should allocate 45 minutes to visit, although of course you could spend longer there.

We aim to arrive in Bath around 2.15pm, and depart around 4.30-4.45pm, so the best time to visit would be a time slot between 2.30pm - 3.15pm.