Discover boutique Bath

The Georgian fashionistas flocked to Bath for their fashion fix. Today, Bath is just as fashionable with great shopping, stunning Georgian architecture, the iconic Roman Baths and excellent hotels and restaurants. For today’s savvy traveller, spa and retail therapy are two essential ingredients for a short break. Bath has traded on both these assets for two hundred years and now delivers a contemporary version of what the Georgians loved about the city. This is 21st century “R & R” in fashionable style.

Shopping in such a spectacular historic city is so popular with visitors that it has become the cornerstone of Bath’s new marketing campaign “Boutique Bath”. What makes it work as a shopping destination? It is compact and walk-able with a high ratio of independent shops (almost 50 per cent) with their very distinctive merchandise and personal service.

Bath Tourism Plus, the official marketing body for Bath and the surrounding area, has created a shopping map to download free of charge. This takes the visitor off the beaten track into the backstreets and alleyways. The website visitbath.co.uk now offers a wealth of information with a focus on fashion and accessories; gifts and jewellery; arts and antiques; speciality food shops and markets and much more. Behind the Georgian veneer shopping in Bath responds to current lifestyle trends.

“It’s the perfect place to find things that you don’t really need but are lovely to have”, according to Marie Matthews, Senior Marketing Executive for Bath Tourism Plus. The organisation successfully operates the Bath Christmas Market, located next to magnificent Bath Abbey, with its attractive wooden chalets selling unusual gifts and crafts.

Milsom Street is the artery to retail heaven in Bath but branch off into Milsom Place and discover a new shopping destination. Housing 26 exclusive shops and four restaurants, this complex will provide an axis across the town connecting the “main drag” to the delightful artisan quarters of Broad Street and Walcot Street. It incorporates the Grade 1 listed Octagon Building, combining carefully preserved historic buildings with sleek plate glass frontages.

“Milsom Place is where Bath meets Notting Hill, home to some of the best fashion stores with delightful open spaces and informal restaurants” says Sarah Mansfield, Director of L&R Group, the company behind the new development. It is here that the flagship “Jamie’s Italian” will open in July 2008, an affordable Italian eaterie designed with plenty of Jamie flair.

Retail in Bath ranges from Jolly’s, the oldest department store in the country, to sleek modern boutiques with labels to covet. Top high street brands like Ted Baker, Reiss and the White Company sit beside the independents. L.K.Bennett recently opened in the exciting redevelopment of the old Post Office which also houses a mega-slick Jigsaw.

The Roman Baths is probably the city’s most renowned attraction but there are plenty of others to discover. The Fashion Museum houses one of the best collections of contemporary and historic fashion in the world. Located in the Assembly Rooms, the museum recently had its own makeover.

“We have chosen objects from our collection and displayed them in a way that will prompt debate and inspire you to find out what you love and hate about fashion,” according to Rosemary Harden, the Fashion Museum’s curator.

Having run a gallery in Bath for four years, Richard Mauger believes that Bath is rapidly consolidating its position as one of the major destinations for art buyers in the UK.

“No one can deny that, with its rich history and sublime architecture, Bath is high up on the tourist wish list, but with the close proximity of galleries to each other, the city is a luxuriously easy place to crawl from exhibition to exhibition in search of that elusive “gem” of a painting or sculpture” says Mauger.

Spa culture was invented in Bath so is a “must” for visitors. With the opening of the Thermae Bath Spa, it is now possible to wallow in the thermal waters which have played such a key role of the city’s history. The rooftop pool, with views across the Georgian skyscape surrounded by the green hills beyond is an unforgettable spa experience. Affordable and accessible, with two hour spa sessions for just £22, it is essential to book ahead for treatments to avoid disappointment.

In between culture, sightseeing and shopping, there are all kinds of options for refreshment from an elegant cream tea in the Pump Room, vegetarian wrap or savoury tartlet in the delightful Metropolitan Café in Bloomsbury, one of the best gift shops in town, or a full Michelin starred indulgence in the Bath Priory Restaurant. With a year round programme of festivals and theatre, the World Heritage city of Bath has all the elements for a superb city break.

First Great Western trains take 90 minutes and leave Paddington every 30 minutes. The city is 20 minutes south of the M4 and the nearest airport is Bristol International Airport with flights arriving from many European cities and daily flights from New York. An efficient Park and Ride service operates from four sites into the city centre, ideal for shoppers visiting Bath for a day trip.

For further information on things to do and see and where to stay in Bath log on to Visitbath.co.uk.