Date ideas in Bath
Sunset from Alexandra Park, the rooftop pool at dusk, dinner on Walcot Street and a walk back across Pulteney Bridge: Bath was built for it.
19 picks that fit, best first. The order follows the live forecast and the time of day.
Thermae Bath Spa
Hot Bath Street
Bathe in the natural hot water on a rooftop pool with the Abbey in view, steam rooms below.
Mostly under cover. Good in the evening.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
- Fine in rain
Roman Baths
Abbey Churchyard
The steaming Great Bath and the temple complex around it, two thousand years old and still flowing.
Mostly under cover. Good in the evening.
- Over £25
- In and out
- Half a day
- Fine in rain
- Good with kids
Komedia
Westgate Street
Comedy, gigs and club nights in a former cinema in the middle of town.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Good in the evening.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Sally Lunn’s
North Parade Passage
The Sally Lunn bun, served in one of the oldest houses in Bath, with a kitchen museum in the cellar.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Good in the evening.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
The Bell Inn
Walcot Street
A community-owned pub with free live music most nights, a garden and a proper local crowd.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Good in the evening.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Theatre Royal Bath
Sawclose
A Georgian playhouse that gets West End productions before London, plus a studio and a children’s theatre.
Indoors, so the rain doesn't matter. Good in the evening.
- Over £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Royal Crescent and the Circus
Upper town
The two great Georgian set pieces, five minutes apart, with a museum house at No. 1.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Free; No. 1 Royal Crescent ticketed
Walcot Street
Walcot
Bath’s artisan quarter: reclamation yards, independent shops, good restaurants and the Bell pub.
Good in the evening. Free.
- Free
- In and out
- Under 2 hours
Alexandra Park
Beechen Cliff
The viewpoint on Beechen Cliff that puts the whole city in one frame, ten minutes from the station.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Pulteney Bridge and the weir
Grand Parade
One of only four bridges in the world lined with shops, above a horseshoe weir on the Avon.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Jane Austen Centre
Gay Street
Austen’s years in Bath, told by costumed guides in a Georgian townhouse, with a Regency tea room.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
The Holburne Museum
Great Pulteney Street
Gainsborough and Georgian silver in a grand villa at the end of Great Pulteney Street, with a garden café.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- £10 to £25
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Victoria Art Gallery
Bridge Street
The city’s own gallery beside Pulteney Bridge, with Bath painters and Gainsborough, free upstairs.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- Free
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Permanent collection free; exhibitions ticketed
Beckford’s Tower
Lansdown
An eccentric’s gilded tower on Lansdown hill, restored and reopened, with a view over the city.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- Under £10
- Indoors
- Under 2 hours
Limited opening days
Parade Gardens
Grand Parade
Formal gardens below the Abbey on a bend of the river, with the best view of Pulteney Bridge.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Under £10
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
- Good with kids
Small charge in summer
American Museum and Gardens
Claverton
Period American rooms, a quilt collection and gardens with a valley view, in a manor above the city.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Dyrham Park
Day trip: Dyrham
A baroque house in a deer park on the edge of the Cotswolds, twenty minutes north of the city.
Usually closed by now; try tomorrow.
- £10 to £25
- In and out
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Kennet and Avon Canal to Bathampton
Sydney Gardens
A flat towpath walk from Sydney Gardens to a canalside pub in Bathampton, and back by the river.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- Free
- Outdoors
- Half a day
- Good with kids
Prior Park Landscape Garden
Ralph Allen Drive
A Palladian bridge over lakes in a valley garden, with the city framed at the bottom.
Wet right now, so save this for a dry spell.
- £10 to £25
- Outdoors
- Under 2 hours
Good to know
What is a good date idea in Bath?
Sunset from Alexandra Park, the rooftop pool at dusk, dinner on Walcot Street and a walk back across Pulteney Bridge: Bath was built for it. There are 19 ideas here, ranked for the conditions right now, with viewpoints pushed up around sunset and indoor picks pushed up when it rains.
Are there cheap date ideas in Bath?
Plenty. Look for the "Free" and "Cheap" labels: galleries, viewpoints and walks make good first dates and cost little or nothing.