Take a break in Bath and enjoy 10 attractions for under £20

According to Travelmole a new survey has shown that almost half of British travellers are avoiding costly eurozone countries, with an increase in popularity of travel within the UK. Recently voted the 4th ‘Best European Destination’ by TripAdvisor, Bath is the ideal place for a holiday closer to home and offers everything needed for the perfect break, even on a limited budget. The following guide provides tips on 10 things to do in and around Bath for under £20.

1. Mayor’s Honorary Guides
Bath is an historic city bursting with Roman and Georgian heritage and what better way to learn more about it than taking a walking tour around the main sights with a professional and knowledgeable guide? With an impressive number of Grade 1 listed buildings, discover some of the highlights including the Royal Crescent, The Circus and Pulteney Bridge, as well as streets of beautiful Georgian townhouses, parades and charming cobbled alleyways. Starting from outside the main entrance to the Pump Room the Mayor’s Honorary Guides offer free walking tours which last approximately 2 hours. The tours run daily (details can be found on visitbath.co.uk) and are a great introduction to Bath’s fascinating past.

2. Victoria Art Gallery
The Victoria Art Gallery on Bridge Street has free entry and is an excellent place to spend some time enjoying the work of Gainsborough, Sickert, Zoffany and many other leading artists from the 15th century to the present day. The Gallery also has one of the best temporary exhibition programmes in the region, ranging from prints to sculpture, including national touring exhibitions.

3. Boat Trip along the River Avon
See the city from a different perspective and join a pleasure boat sailing downstream through Bath along the River Avon. Listen to the commentary on the historic sights whilst taking in some of the tranquil views of the river and its wildlife. There are several companies that offer boat trips with frequent departures from Pulteney Bridge all day long. Tickets cost around £5.

4. Bath Abbey
Situated in the centre of the city next to the Pump Room and Roman Baths the striking Bath Abbey, which towers over adjacent buildings, is the last of the great medieval churches of England and is well-worth a visit. (A donation of £2.50 is welcomed to help conserve and maintain the church). Over the past twelve and a half centuries, three different churches have occupied the site of today’s Abbey; an Anglo-Saxon Abbey Church dating from 757; a Norman cathedral begun around 1090 and the present Abbey founded in 1499.

5. Drink the spa water in the Pump Room
Spa water has been used for curative purposes for two thousand years and originally involved bathing in the hot waters. In the late 17th Century, however, drinking spa water also came to be a recognised treatment for certain conditions. Today the hot spa water, which contains 43 minerals and has an ‘unusual’ taste, can be bought for just 50p a glass at the fountain in the Pump Room.

6. Explore Bath’s countryside and gardens
Bath is located in a delightful setting with rolling hills, waterways, nearby villages and picturesque market towns. What better way to explore the surrounding countryside than to enjoy a walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal or the Bath Skyline Walk with six miles of marked trails offering views of valleys, woodlands, patchwork meadows and beautiful Georgian cityscape. Maps with details of the trails are available from the Tourist Information Centre in Abbey Chambers. There are many manor houses and stately homes with beautiful gardens in and around Bath that are well worth a visit. Corsham Court, one of England's finest stately homes based upon an Elizabethan Manor dating from 1582, has extensive formal gardens that can be enjoyed for a small admission cost of £2.50. The Georgian Garden situated behind Number 4 The Circus has been recreated to the original plan of 1760 to show a typical layout of the period. Admission to the garden is free and open 7 days a week.

7. Jane Austen
‘In the footsteps of Jane Austen’ is a free audio walking tour of Bath which can be downloaded from the visitbath.co.uk/janeausten website. Jane Austen was one of Bath's most famous residents and two of her novels are mostly set in Bath, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. The tour takes you around the highlights of the city and includes extracts from Jane Austen's novels and letters, which brilliantly describe Bath as it would have been in its Georgian heyday. And after the tour, visit the Regency Tea Rooms in the Jane Austen Centre for afternoon tea with 8 varieties of loose leaf tea to choose from.

8. Theatre
Now more than 200 years old, the Georgian Theatre Royal in central Bath offers a year-round programme of top-quality drama, opera, comedy, dance and frequent Sunday concerts. 40 standby tickets are available for purchase on the day of the performance for £5 and once sold, standing places can be purchased for just £3.

9. Picnic in Victoria Park
Located in the heart of the city with the iconic Royal Crescent as its backdrop, Royal Victoria Park is the perfect setting for a picnic. Pack a hamper with some delicious local food from one of the many superb delicatessens in the city such as the Fine Cheese Company who stock 150 varieties, Deli Shush in the Guildhall or Harvest Natural Foods who sell locally prepared vegetarian savoury and sweet specialities in the deli section of their shop on Walcot Street, and then choose a spot in the park’s 57 acres and enjoy!

10. King Bladud’s Pigs in Bath
According to legend, King Bladud founded the city of Bath and discovered the city’s unique springs when his herd of pigs rolled around in the hot mud near the springs and were cured of leprosy. King Bladud’s Pigs in Bath is a summer 2008 public art event to celebrate Bath, its origins and its artists and provide residents and visitors with some artistic enjoyment. 100 life-size pig sculptures turned into works of art are on display throughout the summer all around Bath and beyond. Printed maps are available from the Tourist Information Centre in Abbey Chambers, showing all 100 pigs and details of their names, artists and sponsors.

Other Money Saving Tips
Bath and the surrounding area offers so much for visitors and the above suggestions are only the start! No visit to Bath is complete without learning about the Roman Baths and for just £14, a joint-entry ticket to the Roman Baths and Fashion Museum can be purchased. Thermae Bath Spa is another of the city’s great attractions and is the only spa in the country where you can bathe in natural thermal waters. Available Sunday - Friday after 5pm, the twilight package offers visitors the chance to purchase a 3-hour spa session for the price of 2 for £35 and includes a delicious, light meal in the Springs Café & Restaurant, a glass or wine or lager and complimentary use of towel, slippers and robe.

To make savings across a number of attractions, restaurants and shops a visitor card can be purchased for £3 from the Tourist Information Centre in Abbey Chambers or online at visitbathshop.co.uk. Offers include 2-for-1 deals, discounts and added extras at restaurants such as the Hole in the Wall, attractions including Bath Aqua Glass and the American Museum in Britain among many others.

The official tourism website visitbath.co.uk offers on-line accommodation booking for B&Bs, hotels, hostels and self catering properties in Bath and the surrounding area. There are also a number of offers and short break packages available on visitbath.co.uk/shortbreaks.

There are so many options available in Bath and the surrounding area for a break or a day out for visitors on a budget. The visitbath.co.uk website provides all the information needed for a trip to this stunning city and offers suggestions on things to see and do, places to eat out, details of festivals and events taking place in the area, shopping, tours and much more.