ToursGaGa

Bath tours

Bus tours

Bath Bus Company operates the City Sightseeing Tour, a hop-on, hop-off tour that takes in the main sights and attractions of the city, including the sweeping Royal Crescent and the famous Roman Baths. The bus tour lasts 45 minutes, and sightseers can either opt for recorded commentary (available in 10 languages) or a live guide.

Tel: +44 1225 330 444.
Website: http://www.bathbuscompany.com

Walking tours

The Mayor's Guides' free walking tours offer a general historical and architectural introduction to the city. Lasting around two hours, they depart daily from the 'Free walking tours here' board in the Abbey Church yard. MP3 walking tours are available from the Bath Tourist Information Centre or online at Tourist Tracks (www.tourist-tracks.com). Jane Austen Walking Tours start from outside KC Change in the Abbey Churchyard and allow visitors to dress up in Austenian costume and promenade around Bath.

Tel: +44 1225 477 411; +44 1225 443 000.
Website: http://www.bathguides.org.uk

Bath excursions

Cotswolds

Gentle hillsides ('wolds'), cosy cottages and picture-perfect towns with twisted streets built from the local honey-coloured limestone characterise this bucolic paradise. The area stretches out to the northeast of Bath and offers what for many is the quintessentially English rural landscape, with picturesque villages such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Moreton-in-Marsh and Stow-on-the-Wold. If you've got a car, the best way to take it all in is to drive the Romantic Road.

Tel: +44 1242 264 118.
Website: http://www.the-cotswolds.org

Stonehenge

Located only 57km (35 miles) from Bath, off the A344 road in Amesbury, Wiltshire, Stonehenge is undoubtedly the world's most famous megalithic stone monument. Nobody knows for certain what its purpose was: some have suggested that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities, others have speculated that it was a sacred site for the burial of the dead from the societies of long ago. In any case, it is one of Britain's great national icons, a UNESCO site and well worth a visit.

Tel: +44 370 333 1181.
Website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge