If you love beautiful old buildings, English tea, romantic novels, pretty dresses and the general feeling that you were born approximately 200 years too late… I have a travel tip for you: go to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath. I visited the Jane Austen Festival in Bath in September 2024 with a friend, and it was such a fun and unique trip. Bath is already one of those cities that feels like it belongs in a period drama, but visiting during the festival takes that feeling to another level. Imagine walking through beautiful Georgian streets while people in Regency dresses and bonnets stroll past you.
Add afternoon tea, historical tours, literature, dancing and a little Jane Austen obsession, and you have yourself a very memorable weekend. If you love beautiful old buildings, English tea, romantic novels, pretty dresses and the general feeling that you were born approximately 200 years too late… I have a travel tip for you: go to the Jane Austen Festival in Bath.
I visited the Jane Austen Festival in Bath in September 2024 with a friend, and it was such a fun and unique trip. Bath is already one of those cities that feels like it belongs in a period drama, but visiting during the festival takes that feeling to another level.
Imagine walking through beautiful Georgian streets while people in Regency dresses and bonnets stroll past you. Add afternoon tea, historical tours, literature, dancing and a little Jane Austen obsession, and you have yourself a very memorable weekend.
Why Visit Bath During the Jane Austen Festival?
Bath is famous for its Roman history, Georgian architecture and beautiful honey-coloured buildings, but it also has a special connection to Jane Austen. Jane Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806, and the city features prominently in two of her novels, Northanger Abbeyand Persuasion. That makes Bath the perfect setting for a festival celebrating her life and work.
Even without the festival, Bath is a gorgeous destination for a weekend away. But during the Jane Austen Festival, the city feels even more magical. There is something about seeing people dressed in Regency clothing while you're walking around the historic centre that makes you briefly forget you're carrying an iPhone instead of a handwritten letter.
The Grand Regency Costumed Promenade 👒
One of the highlights of the Jane Austen Festival is the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade.
Hundreds of people dress up in Regency-inspired clothing and walk through the streets of Bath together. It's probably the event you'll see most often when looking up photos of the festival—and for good reason. You can participate in the promenade yourself or simply watch from the sidelines. I would definitely recommend seeing it even if you don't dress up. It's such a fun atmosphere and makes for some lovely photographs.
And if you do want to dress up, go for it! There is something wonderfully silly and wonderful about walking around Bath in a Regency-inspired outfit surrounded by people wearing bonnets, empire-waist dresses and waistcoats. You might feel slightly overdressed at first. Then you'll see 300 other people dressed exactly like you and suddenly feel completely normal.
This is worth mentioning because photos of the Jane Austen Festival can make it look as though you need to own an entire Regency wardrobe before visiting. You don't! There are plenty of ways to enjoy the festival in normal clothes. You can attend talks and tours, visit the Jane Austen Centre, explore Bath, have afternoon tea, browse the festival events or simply enjoy the atmosphere around the city. So if you're thinking, “I love Jane Austen, but I'm not sure I'm ready to wear a bonnet in public,” don't worry. You can absolutely come as you are. Although… if you secretly want an excuse to wear a pretty dress, this is probably one of the best excuses you'll ever get.
There Is Much More Than the Promenade
The festival is much bigger than one costumed walk. The programme usually includes a wide variety of events, and the 2024 festival featured activities including talks, walking tours, Regency dancing, workshops, historical activities, afternoon tea, performances and even murder mystery events.
This is one of the things I particularly like about the festival: you can make the experience whatever you want it to be. If you're interested in history, book a historical talk. If you're a literature lover, choose an Austen-focused event. If you want something more social, try a dance or workshop. And if your main goal is to drink tea and admire pretty buildings, honestly, that's a perfectly respectable itinerary too.
Visit the Jane Austen Centre
No Jane Austen trip to Bath would feel complete without visiting the Jane Austen Centre. Located on Gay Street, the centre explores Austen's life, her connection with Bath and the world she lived in. You can learn more about her writing, see Regency costumes and get a better understanding of what life was like during her time. There's also a Regency Tea Room, which feels like a fairly obvious opportunity to stop for tea and cake. And when in doubt, choose cake. It's historically accurate. Probably.
One of my biggest tips for visiting Bath is to leave some time in your itinerary to simply wander around. Bath is incredibly walkable, and many of the city's most beautiful sights are close together.
Make sure to see the Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge and the beautiful Georgian streets around the city centre. If you're a Jane Austen fan, you can also explore places connected with her novels and her time living in Bath. One of the nicest things about visiting during the festival is that you never quite know what you'll come across while walking around. You might spot people in elaborate costumes, stumble upon a festival activity or simply find a pretty little café that you want to sit in for an hour.
Don't underestimate the value of an unplanned coffee stop. Especially when you're wearing shoes that looked cute but were absolutely not designed for walking around historic England.
How Long Should You Stay?
You don't need to stay for the entire festival to enjoy it. For a first visit, I'd recommend two or three nights in Bath. This gives you enough time to experience some of the festival, explore the city and still have a relaxed trip rather than trying to squeeze every single activity into one weekend.
If you're specifically travelling for the Jane Austen Festival, check the programme before booking your trip. Some events require tickets and have limited spaces, while other parts of the festival are free to watch or enjoy. The exact programme and dates change each year, so always check the official festival information when planning your trip.
My Ideal Jane Austen Weekend in Bath
If I were planning an Austen-inspired weekend in Bath, I'd keep the itinerary fairly relaxed.
Friday: Arrive in Bath, check into your accommodation and explore the city centre. Have dinner somewhere cosy and take an evening stroll through the historic streets.
Saturday: Watch the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, explore the festival, visit some of Bath's most beautiful sights and stop for afternoon tea.
Sunday: Visit the Jane Austen Centre, take a walking tour and spend a few hours exploring Bath without a strict schedule.
And if you have some extra time, why not visit one of Bath's famous spas? Because if you're going to visit a historic spa city, you might as well embrace the relaxation.
