Bath is a historic resort city in southwestern England. It lies on the River Avon. Bath has the United Kingdom’s only hot mineral springs, which some people believe have health-giving qualities. Bath is the chief city of the unitary authority (local government area) of Bath and North East Somerset. The unitary authority has a population of 193,409.
Bath was the site of the Roman spa of Aquae Sulis, the remains of which can still be visited today. The Abbey Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, in central Bath, dates from 1499. Bath is known for the Georgian architectural style of its houses, notably the Royal Crescent, a row of elegant, joined houses built between 1767 and 1775.
The English artist Thomas Gainsborough lived in Bath. The Wife of Bath is a character in the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared Bath a World Heritage Site—an area of unique natural or cultural importance.
