Bath is a city break first and a cottage holiday second, and the choice of where to stay comes down to one question: will you bring a car? We list 63 stays under Bath, and 28 of them are apartments, most in Georgian terraces in the centre with no parking of their own. The other half are townhouses, mews houses and cottages, some in the villages around the city where the parking is easy and the Roman Baths are a bus or train ride away. Fifteen take dogs. Pick the area, then check the stairs, the parking and any age limit before you book.
Compare the eight featured stays
These eight stays give a spread of sizes and locations across the areas below. Compare group size, dog limits and parking first, then read each property’s restrictions before checking dates with its booking provider. A missing parking count means it has not been confirmed, rather than that no parking is available.
| Stay | Sleeps | Bedrooms | Dogs allowed | Parking spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circus House Apartment | 4 | 2 | No | Check with provider |
| Royal Crescent Prospect | 5 | 2 | No | Check with provider |
| Argyle Riverview Apartment | 4 | 2 | No | Check with provider |
| Hummingbird House | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Bridge Lock Mews | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 Crescent Gardens | 12 | 5 | No | 3 |
| Peipards Barn | 12 | 6 | 2 | Yes, spaces not stated |
| The Fold | 2 | 1 | No | 2 |
The areas at a glance
| Area | What you get | Parking | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Crescent and the Circus | Georgian flats, often on upper floors | Public car parks, rarely your own space | Couples on foot |
| Bathwick and Great Pulteney Street | Flats and mews houses east of the river | Some mews houses have a space | Museums and gardens |
| Widcombe and the canal | Townhouses and canalside mews | Mixed, check each one | Towpath walks and dogs |
| Villages around Bath | Barns, cottages and farm stays | Off-road, usually several cars | Families, groups and drivers |
The whole city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, so the streets are narrow and historic almost everywhere, not just in a small core. Bath also has a charging clean air zone, which matters if you drive in from junction 18 of the M4. Check whether your vehicle has to pay before you set off.
Royal Crescent and the Circus
The upper town, around the Circus, the Royal Crescent and the Assembly Rooms, is where you stay to walk everywhere. No. 1 Royal Crescent, the first house built on the crescent between 1767 and 1775, is now a museum of Georgian life, and the Roman Baths are a walk downhill. Circus House Apartment is a second-floor flat in a Grade I listed townhouse on the Circus, and Circus Heights is on the third floor with views over the Circus buildings.
Parking here means a public car park, and the listings are honest about how far. Alfred Street, a first-floor flat for two opposite the Assembly Rooms, has a car park 450 metres away. Royal Crescent Prospect has Charlotte Street car park under 100 metres from the door, though it takes no children under 12. Catharine Place View overlooks a square near the Royal Crescent, with several car parks within a mile.
Expect stairs. Many flats here are on an upper floor, and Johnstone Retreat, a former townhouse kitchen for two, is reached by 17 stone steps. For outdoor space, Garden Flat near the Royal Crescent has an enclosed courtyard, a cot and highchair, and a pub 10 metres away.
Bathwick and Great Pulteney Street
Cross Pulteney Bridge, Robert Adam’s Grade I listed bridge with shops along both sides, and you are in Bathwick. Great Pulteney Street runs from the bridge to the Holburne Museum, Bath’s first art museum, which stands in what it calls the UK’s only surviving Georgian pleasure gardens. Its cafe is dog friendly, while Bath Abbey allows only assistance dogs.
Argyle Riverview Apartment is part of a building designed by Robert Adam, by the bridge. Georgian Great Pulteney is a townhouse flat for six with a sauna in the en-suite and a walled courtyard, though it takes no children under 12.
The mews houses behind Sydney Gardens solve the parking problem. Hummingbird House and Bathwick Retreat each have a space and an EV charger, and both allow one dog. Pulteney Mews House sleeps six in three king-size bedrooms, with two parking bays under a car port. Sydney Gardens has cast-iron bridges over the Kennet and Avon Canal for a short waterside walk.
Widcombe and the canal
South of the river, Widcombe sits along the Kennet and Avon Canal, less than a mile from the centre. Bridge Lock Mews overlooks Wash House Lock with easy access to the towpath, and one dog is welcome. Church St House sleeps eight across four levels with a large walled garden and takes two dogs, but it comes with one street parking permit, so a second car needs a plan.
For a family who want a garden in the city, Highbury is a semi-detached house with an enclosed lawn and a gated path into National Trust fields. Ascension Bungalow, 1.5 miles from the centre, sleeps eight on one level, with parking for four cars and the Two Tunnels cycle path half a mile away.
The villages around Bath
Several stays filed under Bath are in villages a few miles out, and they suit anyone driving. Freshford, south-east of the city, has a working farm with Peipards Barn for 12 and Pipehouse for six, both with every bedroom on the ground floor and two dogs allowed on leads. Hillbyre in the same village is a one-bedroom cottage for two with parking for four cars.
North-east of the city, Batheaston has The Fold, a shepherd hut with Little Solsbury Hill walkable from the door, and Batheaston House, a historic house for 12 with the only hot tub among our Bath stays and a 12-seat cinema room. It takes three or seven-night bookings only.
To the south, Fortnight Farm Manor in Combe Hay, 3.5 miles from the city, sleeps 14, with walled gardens, an orchard and a games room. Laundry Cottage Combe Hay sleeps six but allows no dogs. At Priston, about 6 miles out, Cider Press Cottage and Pheasant Cottage both come with 18 acres of grounds, and Pheasant Cottage is all on one level.
What to do from your base
The Roman Baths sit about six metres below street level, next to Bath Abbey in Abbey Church Yard, and the Baths ask you to buy tickets only from their own website. Backpacks over 30 litres and wheeled cases are not allowed and there is no storage, so leave bags at your cottage. Thermae Bath Spa on Hot Bath Street is where you bathe in the thermal water, with an open-air rooftop pool. The Jane Austen Centre at 40 Gay Street tells the story of Austen’s years in the city, but its tea room is on the second floor with no lift.
In winter, the Bath Christmas Market runs from 26 November to 13 December 2026, about five minutes’ walk from Bath Spa station, and Park and Ride services run later while it is on. Book early for those weeks.
Tours and tickets
If you want the city explained, a two-hour Blue Badge walking tour from Abbey Churchyard starts at £22 and is rated 5.0 from 2,023 reviews. The Bath ghost tour is £18 for an evening, and a half-day trip to Stonehenge leaves from Terrace Walk from £75, with entry included. Our guide to Bath tours and day trips compares these with a river cruise, the hop-on hop-off bus and longer trips to the Cotswolds, Cheddar Gorge and Glastonbury. Links here may earn us a commission.
Final checks before you book
Use each property page to narrow the choice, then confirm dates, price, access and anything you rely on with the booking site it links to, which handles the booking and payment. Our links may earn a commission when you book.
In central Bath, ask three things: which floor, how many stairs, and where the nearest car park is. Several flats set age limits, so check before booking with young children. If you drive, check the clean air zone, or stay in a village and use the Park and Ride. For a dog, the dog-friendly cottages in Somerset page lists every stay that takes one, and large holiday homes in Somerset has more houses for a group. Our Bath town page covers the city’s sights in more detail.
