JANE AUSTEN’S BATH

Fill up on everything Austen at these sites in the city centre

For many visitors, Bath is all about Austen. If you want to learn more about the author’s links to the city, then a visit to the Jane Austen Centre (janeausten.co.uk) on Queen Street (near one of the houses Jane stayed in) is a must.

Jane is known to have attended balls at the city’s Assembly Rooms (nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms), designed by John Wood the Younger, which were the height of fashion in the Georgian era, with a tearoom on one side and a ballroom on the other and they feature in Persuasion, including in a key scene where Anne Elliot’s love interest Captain Wentworth storms off in an apparent jealous rage.

No.1 Royal Crescent, which reopened with a new immersive experience in 2021, hosts a monthly Jane Austen-themed tour (no1royalcrescent.org.uk) and don’t miss the annual Jane Austen Festival (janeaustenfestivalbath.co.uk).

Bed down

A few doors along from No. 1, The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa is a genteel kind of place, with a beautiful drawing room and library, sophisticated bedrooms, a pretty English garden, and afternoon tea, which would no doubt have appealed to Jane’s sensibilities. royalcrescent.co.uk