When an entire city is made a World Heritage Site, it’s a good indication that it offers something special, and small, perfectly formed Bath in southwest England certainly does. History hounds will make a beeline for the Roman baths that gave the city its name. Literature lovers will explore the Jane Austen connections. Architecture aficionados will swoon like an Austen heroine at the Georgian buildings. And after all that, this is also an ideal place for anyone who just wants to relax, unwind and indulge – not least because of an acclaimed modern take on Bath’s oldest attraction.

The Romans made the most of Bath’s naturally heated water, and the result can still be visited today © joe daniel price / Getty Images / Flickr RF

Bath time

Any visit to Bath should start where the city itself began – the Roman Baths. Today one of the most popular attractions here, the baths were built around AD 70 as a place for public bathing and socialising. Over one million litres of steaming spring water filled the site every day, naturally heated to 46°C.

While water still flows to the original baths, visitors are no longer able to take a dip, so nowadays the best way to enjoy the experience is to treat yourself at the Thermae Bath Spa. Derived from the very same underground source as the original Roman baths, the water here is rich in minerals. Relax in the indoor Minerva Bath, enjoy the views from the open-air rooftop pool, sweat it out in the steam rooms and saunas, and book one of the 40-plus spa treatments available.

Thermae Bath Spa offers the chance to take the famous waters while enjoying a spectacular view © Ben Birchall / PA Images / Getty Images

Admire the abbey

Iconic Bath Abbey sits at the centre of the city, proudly sharing its beautiful architecture and peaceful presence with everyone who visits. Start by taking a walk around the outside, looking up to see the elaborate carvings that depict biblical scenes and local history, then head inside to admire the spectacular Victorian Gothic interior.

One of the most striking features is the fan-vaulted ceiling of the nave, which helped it to gain listed building status from Historic England. If you have the energy, you can climb the 212 steps to the top of the tower for unforgettable views of the city, countryside and the church from above.

It’s worth the crick in your neck for a look at Bath Abbey’s beautiful ceiling © Marc Guitard / Getty Images

Take in the view from the bridge

The stats about Pulteney Bridge – three sweeping arches above the River Avon with a narrow street running along its 45m length – don’t capture the appeal of this Palladian-style bridge built from Bath limestone and a scenic focus of city life. It’s one of just four bridges in the world that has stores on both sides of its entire length, meaning an amble over it can easily be combined with a shopping spree at one of the independent retailers or a cake stop at the Bridge Coffee Shop.

Stroll along the Grand Parade, a road with Georgian buildings on one side and, on the other, a balustrade with a miniature colonnade that you can look over to see the weir. Alternatively, descend down the outside staircase to the left of 10 Pulteney Street and follow the path to get riverside access. Here, you can sit on a bench, watch the water go by, board a river cruise and take some excellent photos.

Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon is especially photogenic at sunset © bento42894 / Shutterstock

Watch a show at the Theatre Royal

It would be easy to walk past the Theatre Royal without noticing it; its limestone exterior blends in with the surroundings, and it’s slightly tucked back from the rest of the buildings nearby. Once you step inside, it’s a very different story, with an eye-catching rich red and cream auditorium facing the grand proscenium-arched stage. Shows here range from West End productions from London to touring shows featuring well-known actors, as well as lots of entertainment for little ones.

Theatre-goers can enjoy top shows at the wonderful Theatre Royal © Charles Bowman / Getty Images

Time-travel amongst Georgian architecture

Throughout the Georgian era (1714–1837), the number of people living in Bath grew enormously. This led to a lot of building development in the city, the majority of which was done using wonderful cream-coloured Bath stone. Look out for buildings with stylish columns, friezes depicting literary scenes, finials (knobs that decorate roofs and ledges) and parapets.

For a walk past plenty of Georgian gorgeousness, stroll from the Pump Room via The Circus (a historic circular street of townhouses) to the Royal Crescent. There, you can go into the museum-house at No 1 to see how Georgians lived – the inside is just as impressive as outside. A joint ticket for the house gets you into the Museum of Bath Architecture, which has an excellent scale model of the city made with painstaking attention to detail.

The graceful curve of the Royal Cresecent is just one of Bath’s many Georgian gems © chris dorney / Shutterstock

Retrace the footsteps of Jane Austen

If you love Jane Austen, a trip to Bath offers many opportunities to indulge your passion. The famous author lived here from 1801 to 1806, and the city has celebrated its connections to her ever since. The Jane Austen Centre gives visitors the chance to learn all about the woman behind the books, see trinkets and mementos from her past and try on some Austen-esque clothes.

Elsewhere, see the Assembly Rooms (a grand social spot mentioned in two of her novels), go on a Jane Austen walking tour or join in with literary events. Truly devoted fans will want to visit in autumn when the Jane Austen Festival takes over the city with Austen-inspired shows, talks, activities, concerts and events, including the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, when guests dress up as characters before parading through the streets.

Dress up as your favourite Jane Austen character and literally follow in her footsteps during the annual Austen Festival © Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Ride the open top bus tour

If you want to take in the sights of Bath quickly and easily, ride on one of the open top bus tours. Every city has one of these, but Bath’s is particularly good as it takes you out of the city centre to places less easy to visit on your own. There are many drop-off points, you can hop on and hop off as you please within a 24-hour period, and running commentary gives you historical titbits as you take in the sights.

The City Tour takes you around the main tourist spots in central Bath, while the Skyline Tour takes you into the surrounding area with stops at Prior Park, the Bath Skyline Walk, Holburne Museum and lots of beautiful lookouts over the valleys and hills that surround the city.

See the sights without punishing the feet on a bus tour of Bath © Geography Photos / UIG / Getty Images

Where to sleep, eat and drink

Bath is an easy day trip from London, but squeezing so much into a day can make things feel rushed, so to enjoy the city at a more leisurely pace, spend the night and eat at one of the following highly recommended places.

• No 15 Great Pulteney Top-class hotel on one of Bath’s fanciest streets. Rooms and hallways are decked out with pieces by modern artists, while indulgence comes in the form of comfy beds, outstanding treatments in the on-site Spa 15 and fine dining at Café 15.
• Harington’s Hotel A more affordable option in the heart of the city with individually styled rooms, warm service and private hot tub access.
• Menu Gordon Jones Theatrical, sensational, surprising dining – book well ahead to be sure of a space.
• The Circus English classics meet European flair – one not to miss.
• Acorn A restaurant that puts vegetables at the front and centre of creative fine dining. You’re guaranteed to leave feeling amazed, full and eager to return.
• The Marlborough Tavern Queen of Bath’s gastropubs.

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Washington, DC is best known for its monuments to the nation’s founders and forebears, those grand marble memorials along the National Mall. But there are other statues worth your attention sprinkled in and around the nation’s capital – many more unexpected than you might think.

This striking 1931 monument honors the men who died on the
Titanic so women and children might live © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Women’s Titanic Memorial

Where: Washington Channel Park, Fourth and P Sts SW

The outstretched arms of this red granite figure seem to mimic Rose’s in the movie Titanic, but this statue at Fort McNair’s northernmost tip, overlooking the Washington Channel, was installed long before the 1997 blockbuster hit the silver screen. Designed by socialite Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (who opened the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC) and unveiled in 1931, it’s dedicated by female survivors ‘to the brave men who perished in the wreck of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. They gave their lives that women and children might be saved.’ Every April 15, formally dressed members of the Women’s Titanic Society convene here to sip champagne and lay a wreath honoring those who perished that night.

Adams Memorial

Where: Section E, Lot 202, Rock Creek Cemetery, Petworth

Perhaps one of DC’s most chilling statues, this seated, shrouded bronze figure, tucked away behind a ring of tall conifers in Rock Creek Cemetery, captures the complex mingling of grief and serenity upon death. It’s also known as ‘Grief’ – and rightly so. Novelist Henry James commissioned it from esteemed sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1886 to memorialize his photographer and socialite wife, Clover Adams (1843-1885), who committed suicide at age 42 by drinking a photography-developing chemical. The inspiration derives from James’ travels in Japan, where he stumbled upon the notion of the profound peace of mind that results following Buddhist enlightenment – a unique philosophy during those Gilded Age times.

Insider Tip: You’ll find a replica of the statue at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

One of the first statues of Abraham Lincoln, this monument depicts attitudes toward free Blacks in the late 19th century © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Emancipation Memorial

Where: Lincoln Park, Capitol Hill

Standing in the heart of one of Capitol Hill’s prettiest parks, the Emancipation Memorial was one of the nation’s first memorials to honor Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). It’s also one of the most controversial. Sculpted by Thomas Ball and dedicated in 1876, the towering bronze statue depicts Lincoln as a generous, self-assured leader. The former President is holding the Emancipation Proclamation in one hand, lording over a half-dressed formerly enslaved man, his broken chains by his side. Yes, it was paid for by formerly enslaved people, beginning with a five-dollar donation by the formerly enslaved Charlotte Scott, but the African American figure’s subservient stance reflects the era in which it was created. Today, some see it as an example of the ultimate failure of Reconstruction.

Insider Tip: You’ll also find the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial in the park, DC’s first statue dedicated to an African American woman.

Kids and adults alike love to clamber over this larger-than-life Einstein © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Albert Einstein Memorial

Where: National Academy of Science, on Constitution Avenue, NW

Anyone who has sat in the lap of this larger-than-life bronze statue of a relaxed, seated Einstein (1879-1955) states this is their favorite statue in DC. Yes, that’s right, sat. Kids love crawling all over it; well, adults do, too. Dedicated in 1978, on the 100th anniversary of the scientist’s birth, the giant figure holds a bronze paper containing his three greatest scientific contributions: the photoelectric effect, the theory of general relativity and the equivalence of energy and matter. In front, a star map – an expanse of emerald pearl granite studded with accurately placed planets, sun, moon and stars. But really, visiting this one is mostly about having fun (and a great photo op).

This eerie statue of Mary Magdelene emerging from Jesus’ tomb is by one of the sculptors of Mt Rushmore © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Rabboni

Where: Section B, Lot 164, Rock Creek Cemetery, Petworth

A bronze Mary Magdalene reaches toward the risen Jesus Christ on Easter morning in what must be one of the city’s most startling statues. Black streaks run down her face, and her hollow eyes look into the empty void. The aging effects on the bronze – creating a green-black patina – adds to the effect. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum of Mount Rushmore fame and located in Rock Creek Cemetery, it memorializes the family of Charles Matthews Ffoulke (1851-1909), a prominent DC banker and tapestry collector. According to scripture, ‘Rabboni’ – teacher in Hebrew – is what Mary cried upon seeing Jesus.

Batter up at this lively monument to baseball © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Full Count

Where: Federal Reserve Bank courtyard, 20th and Virginia Ave NW

Right in the heart of downtown DC, mere blocks from the White House, a pitcher, batter, catcher and umpire are caught up in a game of baseball on the courtyard of the Federal Reserve Bank. They’re in perfect, game-correct positions, waiting for the pitch … graceful bronze statues all. The sculptor, John Dreyfuss, who created the group in 1988, once stated, ‘Baseball is still the lens through which Americans see themselves and debate controversial issues.’ Fitting, in the nation’s capital.

The lead statue of the daughter of Senator Seward is a haunting memorial © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Olive Risley Seward

Where: Just off Seward Park, 6th St and North Carolina Ave SW, Capitol Hill

She stands graceful and somewhat obscure in someone’s front yard, just off Seward Square on Capitol Hill. Sculptor John Cavanaugh decided that statue-less Seward Square, named for William Henry Seward, Lincoln’s secretary of state (best known for the purchase of Alaska, known as ‘Seward’s Folly’), needed a monument. Just why he chose to memorialize Seward’s adopted daughter is anyone’s guess, especially given the fact that he did the work, fashioned from hammered lead, in 1971, long after her death – with no photos for reference. The thick dark lines that striate her face, like pools of black tears, are downright creepy.

A. Philip Randolph

Where: Union Station

It may seem odd that this stately statue was placed at Union Station, in front of a Starbucks and amid the hustle-bustle of Amtrak’s boarding gates. But considering the fact that Randolph (1889-1979) served as president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, one of the first labor unions led by African Americans, it makes perfect sense. Randolph went on to become a key Civil Rights leader, partnering with Martin Luther King Jr to become one of the chief organizers of the 1963 March on Washington. Ed Dwight sculpted the bronze statue in 1990.

The sculpted head of poet Kahlil Gibran emerges from a stately stone wall, alongside doves © Barbara Noe Kennedy / Lonely Planet

Kahlil Gibran Memorial Garden

Where: Massachusetts Ave NW

Along Massachusetts Avenue toward Observatory Circle, a series of statues honors some of the world’s greatest men, Gandhi and Mandela among them. Kahil Gibran (1883-1931) is there too, the Lebanese poet and philosopher who wrote The Prophet (fun fact: he’s the third best-selling artist after Shakespeare and Laozi). The thing is, this statue, designed by Gordon Kray on the 100th anniversary of Gibran’s birth, is not your typical monument. It’s a floating bronze head affixed to a stone wall embracing a fountain, with bronze pigeons flitting about. Gibran was a proponent of all religions, so it doesn’t go without notice that his memorial is within walking distance of both the Islamic Center and the National Cathedral.

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There can be few places on earth changing faster than Doha right now – in true Gulf style, the cityscape of Qatar’s capital is rising as steadily as a plume of shisha smoke. A short jaunt around town will pass all-new luxury hotels, art complexes and lofty skyscrapers designed by the world’s finest architects, not to mention the odd Venetian town complete with canals.

Doha is a tiny city, and most of its major attractions, from souqs to art galleries, are within a short taxi ride of each other, making it easy to squeeze them all in on a short stopover.

A couple admire the Doha skyline from outside the Museum of Islamic Art © Helen Elfer / Lonely Planet

Sports stadiums, malls and hotels are springing up as Qatar readies itself to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, set to go ahead in the wake of a series of controversies. But despite the international appearance of all this development, it would be a mistake to think that Qatar was drifting away from its own culture. A strong sense of identity and heritage infuses every experience here, whether that’s hearing the dawn call to prayer through the window of a five-star suite, or watching a traditional dhow boat sail past the contemporary Museum of Islamic Art. This place may be moving quickly, but it seems determined not to leave anything behind.

The Corniche

A drive, cycle or walk along Doha’s long, horseshoe-shaped corniche is the perfect way to introduce yourself to the city. The man-made bay stretches for seven kilometres, past palm trees, skyscrapers, soft sands, grassy parks or traditional wooden dhow boats, depending on which area you find yourself in. On cooler evenings the spacious pathways that line the waters’ edge get busy with families and couples relaxing – join them to admire the views and get your bearings.

The Museum of Islamic Art juts out into the Doha’s bay © Marcus Lindstram / Getty Images

Museum of Islamic Art

The treasures in this world-class museum have been sourced from across the Islamic world, although are not necessarily religious works. Displays are as diverse as a ruby-studded golden falcon from India, Ottoman-era pointed steel helmets and exquisitely painted Persian pottery, not to mention the rare and ancient collection of Quranic manuscripts. Then of course, there’s the building, a work of art in itself. Before creating it, starchitect IM Pei travelled through the Middle East for months on end, searching for ways he could convey ‘the essence of Islamic architecture’. The result is utterly inspired, its bright white cubes reflected in the surrounding sea by day and illuminated by night. Look out for Islamic details incorporated in the design – the curved openings in the top tower resemble the eye slit of a burqa, and the museum’s ceiling is a traditional geometric pattern. It’s no overstatement to say that this heart-stirring place alone would make a visit to Doha worthwhile.

A busy evening at Souq Waqif © Terry McCormick / Getty Images

Souq Waqif

This market was built on the site of an old Bedouin marketplace, and in the last few years was given a complete revamp, using stone and wood to create an old-world feel. The Souq Waqif’s animal market is the most exotic corner, with everything from plastic tubs of baby terrapins to cages full of tropical parrots, rabbits, kittens and lizards. Drop in to the nearby Falcon Souq to check out the highly prized hunting birds too.

In other corners of the souq, there are plenty of more packable souvenirs for sale, such as pashminas, pretty homewares, teas and spices. That said, it’s more of a place to wander around than do any serious shopping. Do as the Qatari families do and stroll through for an evening’s entertainment, taking in the scent of sweet Arabic perfumes mixed with the unmistakable whiff of rabbit, the low buzz of market negotiations and the steam billowing from the food stalls. There are plenty of casual cafes and restaurants around too here, so grab an outdoor table if you want to sit and soak up the atmosphere.

Driving the desert dunes © Matilde Gattoni / Getty Images

Desert safari

Got a little bit longer to spend in Qatar? For a total change of pace, a dune-bashing drive into the desert might be just the thing. Once you’re strapped firmly in the seat of a 4WD, you’re at the driver’s mercy, hurtling up and down steep dunes with sand spraying against the windows – it’s adrenaline pumping stuff. Survive that, and the reward is a photo-op in one of the desert’s most scenic viewpoints – if you’re lucky, just as the sun is setting.

If you have time, ask the driver to include a stop at the inland sea and squint over at the Saudi border on the other side. Desert safari packages can also include camel riding and quad biking. Qatar International Adventures offer a decent range of tours.

Where to stay

Be prepared to shell out big – Doha’s accommodation is far from cheap. Many of the major five-star chain stalwarts are here including the grand and sprawling St Regis, trendy W Hotel, Grand Hyatt and Four Seasons brands. For an equally luxurious but more local experience, choose one of the eight Souk Waqif Boutique Hotels. These smaller properties give the impression of staying in an (extremely wealthy) Arab home and are based right in the heart of all the market action. Anantara’s Banana Island Resort is open for business too. The island lies about 20 minutes’ away from the mainland by ferry (or you can use the helipad if you’d rather), and there’s a range of resort-style accommodation here, including rooms with pool and beach access and villas built right over the sea.

Need to know

• Qatar is a conservative Muslim country, and so alcohol is only served in 5-star international hotels.
• To show respect to the country’s religion and culture when out and about, women should avoid wearing revealing clothing (it’s expected that shoulders and knees stay covered), and men should stick to long shorts or trousers. It’s OK to wear what you like within the walls of your hotel and swimwear is fine on hotel beaches and by pools, but not on public beaches.
• The best time to visit Qatar is between October and March when the weather is warm and dry, but not quite hot. The temperatures might be scorching in the summer, but air conditioning in malls, hotels and taxis can be fierce, so it’s worth packing light cardigans or jumpers as well as the sunhats.
• If you don’t have your own transport, taxis are the easiest way to get around and are relatively cheap. Be aware that street names aren’t commonly used. Instead locals navigate using a combination of landmarks and directions. If your destination isn’t well-known, find out a nearby landmark to tell your driver before you set off.

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