Bath

Bath is a city built for pleasure. The Romans understood this — they built an elaborate bathing complex around the hot springs that still flow at 46 degrees. The Georgians understood it better — they built an entire city of honey-colored stone crescents, circuses, and assembly rooms designed for the express purpose of socializing, dancing, and taking the waters. Jane Austen set two novels here and the city has never quite stopped performing the role.

The Royal Crescent is the masterpiece — thirty terraced houses curving in a perfect arc of Palladian architecture above a sloping lawn. The Roman Baths below are remarkably intact, their green waters still steaming. The modern Thermae Bath Spa lets you swim in naturally heated rooftop pools with views across the city’s skyline. Pulteney Bridge — one of only a handful of bridges in the world lined with shops — crosses the Avon beside a crescent weir. The food scene has sharpened in recent years, with restaurants and cafés that match the setting.

When to go: April through June for blossoming gardens. December brings a popular Christmas market in the abbey courtyard.