The Roman Baths

Bath was founded upon natural hot springs with the steaming water playing a key role throughout its history. Lying in the heart of the city the Roman Baths were constructed around 70 AD as a grand bathing and socialising complex. It is now one of the best preserved Roman remains in the world.

1,170,000 litres of steaming spring water reaching 46 °C still fill the bathing site every single day. The Romans believed that this was the mystical work of the Gods but we now know that the water source, which comes from the King’s Spring, fell as rain water around 10,000 BC.

Visit The Great Bath, the magnificent epicentre to the complex and walk on the ancient cobbled pathways as the Romans did 2,000 years ago. The Great Bath that lies below street level can also be viewed from the Terrace, which is adorned with statues and shadowed by the great Abbey. Other chambers to explore include the remains of the ancient heated rooms and changing rooms as well as tepid and plunge pools.

Be sure to pick up an audioguide and listen to fascinating commentary as you slowly make your way around the site. These are available in twelve different languages, with special guides for children. A special English speaking audio guide narrated by Bill Bryson is also available and offers witty thoughts and observations on all things Roman.

Additional info

Audioguides available in twelve languages at no extra cost.

Pump Room restaurant open for morning coffee, light lunches and afternoon tea, with music by the Pump Room Trio.

Roman Baths Kitchen open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks.

Lift and wheelchair access to 90% of the site.

Discounts for Groups

The entire collection of the Roman Baths is a Designated Collection of national importance.

Some of the best known finds from Roman Britain are to be found amongst the 50,000 objects in the Roman Baths Museum. The collections include objects from the mesolithic to the present which tell the story of seven thousand years of human activity around Britain's only hot springs, which are the heart of the World Heritage Site at Bath.

The Roman Baths and Temple of Sulis Minerva are among the finest Roman remains in Britain. At the hot spring, the Celtic and Classical worlds met in a magnificent complex of stone buildings used for worship, cleansing and healing. The museum, below the 18th century Pump Room, contains the monumental remains of these buildings and evidence of the people who used them.

Collection details

Social History, Decorative and Applied Art, Coins and Medals, Archives, Archaeology

Key artists and exhibits

• Beau Nash
• Designated Collection