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The tour begins at the Guildhall, a symbol of the growing power and wealth of the mercantile classes during the late 1700s, and ends at the delightful Sydney Gardens, home to one of Bath's great attractions, the Holburne Museum, a dizzying cornucopia of art and artefacts .

View of the River Avon and Parade Gardens.

APA/Corrie Wingate

THE GUILDHALL

This Guildhall 1 [map] (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm, free; some rooms may be closed due to private functions) was designed in the 1770s by architect Thomas Baldwin after much competition and council infighting to replace an earlier building of 1625 on a different site. The wings topped by decorative cupolas were added by John Brydon in 1891, more than a century later.

The Banqueting Hall

Baldwin's great achievement in the Guildhall is the Banqueting Hall, one of the finest public rooms in Britain, which made the Guildhall a suitable place for balls and entertainment as well as being a seat of government. Forget about the uninspired interiors of most municipal buildings, this magnificent room belongs on a completely different level. Walter Ison, an expert on the architecture of Georgian Bath, described it as ‘beyond any question the finest interior in Bath and a masterpiece of late 18th-century decoration'. The walls and ceilings in this beautifully proportioned room have a richness and variety not previously seen in the city and never since surpassed. The three great chandeliers are a match for, or arguably better than, those in the Assembly Rooms. The Banqueting Hall and anterooms, intended as ‘assembly rooms' for the aldermen and their guests, rivalled the more exclusive Upper and Lower rooms in their magnificence. Portraits of famous Bath figures surround a large portrait of George III (‘mad George') by the studio of Joshua Reynolds. Over one of the fireplaces is a portrait of Ralph Allen (for more information, click here), by William Hoare. For details about these artworks and others in the Guildhall, pick up a leaflet or ask at reception. The Guildhall, as well as being home to council offices and the debating chamber, also hosts weddings and various events and festivals.

Pointing the way to some of Bath’s many sights.

APA/Corrie Wingate

Covered market

Next door to the Guildhall is the entrance to the covered market (Mon–Sat 8am–5.30pm). The site for the market is one of the longest-running shopping venues in Bath, serving the community for around 800 years and operating from its current venue in one form or another from at least the 16th century. As the Guildhall Market 2 [map], it came into existence in the 1770s and acquired its famous dome in 1863. More than half the market was lost in a redevelopment in the 1890s when the Guildhall was extended. Apart from the entrance doors on both sides, little else remains of the 18th-century market except for the ‘Nail', a stone pillar upon which market transactions used to take place.

The market is on the cheap and cheerful side but with several stalls, such as the hardware and electrical one, offering items that are difficult to find elsewhere in the city centre. You can also pick up reasonably priced jewellery, second-hand books, cheap greetings cards, and good-value fare from the deli stall. There's also a bakery, fruit and veg stall, café, fancy dress shop and a barber's.

BATH POSTAL MUSEUM

From the market entrance on High Street, head north to Northgate Street, where you will find the Bath Postal Museum 3 [map] (tel: 01225 460333; www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk; Mon–Sat 11am–5pm, 4.30pm in winter; charge), in the same building as the city's central post office on the corner with Green Street. The museum's original home was on nearby Broad Street, where the world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, was sent on 2 May 1840. Bath played a pivotal role in the development of the British postal system, thanks to the work of Ralph Allen who expanded established routes and stamped out corruption, and John Palmer, who improved efficiency with the introduction of mail coaches.

Exhibits track the development of the postal service and of the postbox, but also touch upon some delightful peripheral topics. You can explore the history of writing, listen to the experiences of postmen past and present and find out what life was like on board a Victorian mail coach or inside a re-created Victorian post office. There is a collection of early valentines and an ‘address cabinet' of famous Bath residents, complete with portraits and biographical notes. It's fun for children, who can play the mail computer challenge and other interactive games, try on costumes, and perforate their own sheet of stamps. It also stocks items for the serious philatelist and would-be collectors.

VICTORIA ART GALLERY

Double back the way you came on High Street, turning lef on to Bridge Street, towards Pulteney Bridge, where you will find the Victoria Art Gallery 4 [map] (tel: 01225 477233; www.victoriagal.org.uk; Tue–Fri and Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 1.30–5pm; free). Its permanent collection, spread over two rooms on the first floor, has paintings from the 15th century to the present day, featuring artists with links to Bath. It includes Turner's West Front of Bath Abbey, Adoration of the Magi, attributed to Hugo Van der Goes, portraits by Zoffany and Gainsborough, a Whistler and several works by Walter Sickert. Also of interest is the collection of coloured glass perfume bottles and drinking glasses. At the foot of the impressive staircase is a fun 19th-century toy, which you can set in motion with a piece of small change. The cost can add up if you have small children as they can't seem to get enough of it.

Bath in Bloom

As you admire the delightful floral displays in Parade Gardens, Royal Victoria Park, and the hanging boxes in Milsom Street and elsewhere in the city, you will have an understanding of the efforts needed to make Bath a perennial contender for the Britain in Bloom prize. It has scooped the regional prize numerous times since the competition was launched in 1964, also winning the national title as best small city more than a dozen times in that period.

There are also temporary exhibitions on the ground floor, including an annual show by the Bath Society of Artists. For children, there are special activities with worksheets and art trolleys stocked with a range of materials, while you can relax with a cup of tea or visit the small shop.

The gallery was named to mark Queen Victoria's 60 years on the throne and features a sculpture of the monarch outside and a frieze of classical figures.

PARADE GARDENS

From the Victoria Art Gallery, before heading on to Pulteney Bridge, take a detour on the right to Grand Parade, which offers picture-postcard views of the bridge and the weir (for more information, click here) and, further down, Parade Gardens 5 [map] (Apr–Sept; charge; free to Bath residents). The gardens, with their beautiful and elaborate floral displays, deckchairs, and brass band performances on summer Sundays, are a very popular place to unwind when the weather's fine. In the gardens, you will also find statues of Mozart and of Prince Bladud, legendary founder of Bath. Nearby are North and South parades (both designed by John Wood the Elder).

The permanent collection at the Victoria Art Gallery.

Alamy

The graceful Italianate architecture of Pulteney Bridge is lit up at night.

APA/Corrie Wingate

Film Location

A taste of Hollywood came to Bath in October 2012 when filming for the movie version of the West End musical Les Miserables took place at Pulteney Weir. Crews captured shots that included a stunt man jumping into the River Avon from Grand Parade, which is believed to be from a spectacular scene at the end of the film where actor Russell Crowe's character, Inspector Javert, commits suicide by jumping into the River Seine.

EMPIRE HOTEL

Looming over Parade Gardens is the Empire Hotel 6 [map], one of the most controversial buildings in Bath. The Empire was built in 1901 by city architect Major Charles Edward Davis, the man who uncovered the Great Bath. The architecture of the roof is supposed to reflect the three classes of people, with a castle keep on one corner for the upper class, a Dutch gable-style house for the middle classes and a country cottage for the lower classes. Richard Morriss, in his book The Buildings of Bath, calls it a monstrosity: ‘stylistically bizarre and far too big for its prominent position between the abbey and the river'. Nonetheless, the Empire still holds a place in the heart of some Bathonians. The hotel was taken over during World War II by the Admiralty, despite Bath's lack of proximity to the sea, and went on to house Ministry of Defence offices long after the war. In the 1990s, the building was transformed into exclusive apartments for over-55s. If you walk down the east side of the hotel, you can see the back of the Guildhall. Take a close look at the middle window, which is artificial and designed to maintain the building's symmetry, masking a chimney shaft running up the middle of the Guildhall.

PULTENEY BRIDGE

Inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and the Rialto in Venice, Pulteney Bridge 7 [map] was commissioned by William Johnstone Pulteney and designed by Robert Adam between 1770 and 1774. It cost a then astonishing £11,000 to build, not least on account of the tiny shops lining both sides. The bridge is both lovely and unique, retaining its grace and charm in spite of later alterations and the clutter of modern shop fronts. The tall Venetian windows, the dominant central feature, are balanced by domed pavilions at each end. It remains one of only four bridges in the world with shops on both sides. The bridge, brilliantly inventive and elegant, paved the way for the development of Bathwick (an estate owned by Pulteney), under the direction of the young Thomas Baldwin, the architect of the Guildhall (for more information, click here). The south side of the bridge was restored to its original glory in 1975, when outbuildings defacing its flat front were demolished. Less elegant, however, is the back. Views from the Podium shopping centre or from the river show it is still overhung with back kitchens and store rooms.

GREAT PULTENEY STREET

Carry on over the bridge to Laura Place with its enticing fountain. From there, Great Pulteney Street 8 [map] sweeps down to Sydney Gardens and the Holburne Museum, providing a magnificent vista. This imposing street was designed by Thomas Baldwin in the late 1780s, incorporating elements of a previous design by Robert Adam, Pulteney's original choice of architect. The Bathwick project was interrupted by the economic slump of the 1790s and the huge array of crescents and terraces that Baldwin envisaged fanning out from Great Pulteney Street was never fully realised. The French Revolution caused shockwaves in the financial markets, banks collapsed and Bath's speculative developments came to a sudden halt, leading to many bankruptcies. Nonetheless, the street was a fashionable address in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as the many plaques testify. William Wilberforce (1759–1833) stayed at No. 36; Emma Hamilton at No. 72; and Thomas Baldwin himself lived at No. 6. It was also a fitting home for the exiled French monarchy in the wake of the revolution. Also here and in Laura Place are examples of the six-sided letter boxes known as Penfold boxes, after their designer J.W. Penfold, which were used for a short while in the mid-19th century until their hexagonal design was found to trap letters – a reminder that style over content is not just a modern trend.

EP Mallory & Son

Behind the elegant facade on the corner of Bridge Street is a family business with roots that go back over four generations, having been established in 1898. Fine jewellery has always been at the heart of this business, having its own workshops to produce bespoke items.

Sydney Gardens backs onto the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath which can be joined at several points between Widcombe and Bathampton.

APA/Corrie Wingate

Railway Path

A 13-mile (22km) off-road route from Pulteney Bridge to St Philips Road in Bristol, the Bristol to Bath Railway Path was the first major project undertaken by cycling charity Sustrans. The path is open to walkers and cyclists, with access for disabled users. It's a lovely, flat ride through beautiful countryside and passes Bitton Station, where steam trains run on summer weekends. There's a sculpture park and other artworks on the route.

THE HOLBURNE MUSEUM

Based upon the collection of Sir Thomas Holburne (1793–1874), the Holburne Museum 9 [map] (tel: 01225 388569; www.holburne.org; daily 10am–5pm, Sun from 11am; free) is devoted to decorative and fine art of the 17th and 18th centuries, including paintings, silver, porcelain, miniatures, glass and furniture. Among the paintings are works by Turner, Stubbs, Gainsborough and Brueghel. Gainsborough made his name in Bath, painting the portraits of the famous. His rapid success can be gauged by his escalating fees, beginning at a modest 5 guineas in 1760 and rising to 100 guineas in around 1774. The museum reopened in 2011 following the completion of a bold glass extension to the rear that has doubled the gallery space and houses a garden café.

SYDNEY GARDENS

Sydney Gardens ) [map] attracted 4,000 visitors a day during its glory years in Jane Austen's time. Later, in the 19th century, they were used for balloon ascents. Dissecting the gardens are Brunel's Great Western Railway (1840–41) and the Kennet and Avon Canal (opened 1810), industrial additions that were elegantly incorporated by means of landscaped cuttings and pretty stone and cast-iron bridges. Other attractions include a mock temple, based on the one that existed as part of the Roman Baths complex. Along with a chance to watch the trains as they whiz through, there are also tennis courts, a bowling green and a kiosk selling drinks and ice creams. From here, you can retrace your steps back to the centre of Bath.

Eating Out

Browns

Orange Grove; tel: 01225 461199; www.browns-restaurants.co.uk; daily lunch and dinner.

Quality, classic food served in elegant Georgian surroundings with a genteel yet cosmopolitan feel. The restaurant is spread over two floors with superb views out of the large windows from the graceful mezzanine. ££

Cafe au Lait

7 Pulteney Bridge; tel: 01225 338007; daily 8.30am–6pm.

It's worth making the effort to walk down to Pulteney Bridge for what, many claim, is the best cup of coffee in Bath. They also have lots of lovely cakes to choose from plus a good range of food. Nice relaxed environment with polite staff. £

Holburne Garden Café

Great Pulteney Street; tel: 01225 388569; www.holburne.org/garden-cafe; Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun from 11am.

Housed in a huge glass extension to the Holburne Museum, natural materials – from wooden panelling to slate flooring and green tinted ceiling tiles – create the impression that you're eating outside amongst Sydney Gardens. A changing menu features interesting light lunches, sandwiches and cakes. £

No 5 Bistro

5 Argyle Street; tel: 01225 444499; http://no5bistro.co.uk; daily lunch and dinner.

Traditional French cuisine from a very talented chef. Simple but well-executed dishes include oven-baked snails and wild mushroom risotto. Live jazz Tue and Thur. ££–££ £

The Rajpoot

4 Argyle Street; tel: 01225 466833; www.rajpoot.com; daily lunch and dinner.

Popular Indian that has won a host of British Curry awards. It offers Tandoori, Mughal and Bengali dishes, such as marinated rainbow trout and tandoori chicken, in a traditional setting. ££

Sotto Sotto

10 North Parade; tel: 01225 330236; http://sottosotto.co.uk; daily lunch and dinner.

Descend the stairs to this beautiful cellar restaurant, softly lit to accentuate the arches and bare stone walls. Simple cooking relying on quality ingredients is the key to the traditional Italian food with a contemporary twist. ££

Thai by the Weir

16 Argyle Street; tel: 01225 444834; www.thaibytheweir.co.uk; daily lunch and dinner.

The menu is packed with Thai delights, including tempura, tom yam soup and wok-fried noodles. Tables at the rear of this bustling restaurant have great views of the weir. £–££